From Consuming to Contributing: How We Built the Space That Was Missing

Hear from GW Engineering alumnus, Saquib Saifee, M.S. '23, at OWASP Global AppSec USA in San Fransciso, CA! On November 6, he, Caroline Lee, and Gaurang Deshpande from IBM will be leading the panel, "From Consuming to Contributing: How We Built the Space That Was Missing." Many of us naturally drift from consuming OWASP resources to contributing to them. At some point, you stop just reading the Top 10 and start showing up at a chapter, submitting a pull request, or volunteering at a conference. But what often gets lost is the "together" part. The shared strategy, the mutual encouragement, a place where experienced contributors can mentor others and people new to contributing can find their footing without having to figure it out alone. It started when two of us ran into each other at the Boston Application Security Conference. Same organization, same department, had no idea the other was there. That conversation grew into three people, then a cross-regional group, and eventually an initiative with executive sponsorship built around a simple question: what if there was a structured space where people at all levels of OWASP engagement could come together, share what they know, coordinate where to show up, and help each other go deeper? That is what we built. A space where seasoned contributors have a home for their work and a way to pass it on, and where people curious about OWASP but not sure where to start can learn, get mentored, and take their first real steps. Contribution gets tracked, progress gets shared, and the work gets recognized internally in ways it never was before. In this talk we share our journey, what the initiative looks like in practice, what we have achieved together so far, and what you can take back to your own organization.