[Meta-Governance] Nominate vegayp.eth

Your preferred name/ENS name: vegayp.eth

Forum username: vegayp

Twitter profile link (optional): @vegaypatino

Why do you want to be a Steward of this Working Group?

Let me tell you a bit of a story: ENS changed my life. That airdrop was an economic lifeline on October 31st, 2021. Because of that, I joined the first Community WG calls with the sole intention of finding a way to give back. I had no idea at that moment that I would eventually become an “evangelist” for what most people simply saw as “the protocol that does the .eth/domain thing.”

I remember joining that first call and navigating the Discord server, feeling confused about why an organization with the guts to pull off an airdrop like that still felt so chaotic. It lacked an onboarding process, was highly uncertain about the practical (rather than philosophical) function of the DAO, and treated concepts like accountability, transparency, and coordination as merely aspirational. Yet, I stayed.

With some help, I went on to manage the onboarding calls for the DAO for the first six months of its existence.

Then came Public Goods. At the time, I wasn’t technical enough for MetaGov or Ecosystem, which already had great candidates anyway. Public Goods felt like the sad apple that no one wanted to bite into or put effort toward.

And oh boy, I took that seriously (perhaps too much so). I spoke about ENS at more conferences than I could count. I still vividly remember being the only Spanish speaking member at DevCon Bogotá, printing NFC cards for hours until we completely ran out.

ENS has been a blessing. Just as I felt when I first joined that Discord, I feel a strong need to contribute again for the sake of doing things right. I have never been a fan of absentee stewardship, a lack of initiative, or the rigid concept that a Steward is only responsible for the specific working group they were elected to. I have always engaged in other WG calls, contributing and participating because this is an organization that shouldn't be treated as a set of silos, but as a cohesive ecosystem striving for a better ENS protocol.

I won’t list all of my contributions here, but I want to highlight two specific ones. First, the Builder Grant, the latest iteration of the grant program created alongside Coltron, which funded more than $2 million in Public Goods. I knocked on countless doors to raise awareness for that program, onboarding long standing contributors who are now pillars of our ecosystem, including MetaGov, EthRome/Urbe, Octant, Giveth, and Revoke.Cash. And second is my commitment to the neutrality and evangelism of this protocol.

So to answer the question of why I want to be the steward of this WG: it is because I have more than 10 years of experience in DAO governance. I understand governance not just as a technical specification for a Snapshot vote or an assessment of how the endowment is performing, but as the active facilitation of a community of token holders. Governance is not just a list of bylaws and a constitution; it is a social commitment to our token holders to do everything in our power to support and improve the protocol. This is not a side gig or a one hour weekly call I am forced to join. It is a space where my independence, legacy knowledge, and professional experience can be truly useful.

Things I would like to focus on for the next term?

A participative governance, and reclaim delegates participation. Improve coordination with Labs, and all the other bodies that are part of the organisation: SPP3, AI group, developers groups and ENS enthusiasts so everyone can feel heard.

Push for improving governance reports and transparency of spending and budget. No backdoor distribution of money, regardless of the amount.

Make sure that the WG transition happens without leaving loose ends.

Keeping the DAO as an active body within the ENS and large Ethereum ecosyste., not just a funding layer that only signs transactions.

Integrate, within the range of possibility, the recommendations outlined by the already paid MetaGov organisational analysis.

P.S. I have also worked as a Business Manager for more than 15 years, collaborating with international NGOs like Techo para mi país, and I helped draft Panama’s crypto law. Additionally, I hold an MBA and a Master’s in Branding (just to provide some professional background context).

Any other information you wish to share with Delegates (e.g. potential conflicts or existing engagements)

Currently applying to the SPP3.