Open source thrives on diversity—not just of people, but of skills and perspectives. Yet, many feel like outsiders in this technical world because they don’t write code. Matt Denny, a non-coding community builder, and Jay Jackson, a software developer, share how diverse collaboration bridges gaps between technical and non-technical contributors, strengthening open-source projects and the CNCF ecosystem.

This session explores why contributions beyond code—like marketing, communication, design, copy editing, mentorship and more—are essential to open source. Hear Jay’s perspective on how non-coding contributors amplify technical work, alongside his contributions to the DHHWG and projects like ImageSharp. Matt shares stories of scaling CNCF projects like in-toto, Witness, and Archivista through outreach.

Attendees will gain actionable tips for fostering collaboration, breaking silos between "misfits" and "makers," and embracing diversity to unlock untapped potential in their projects.