Heather VanCura

Introducing Heather VanCura

Heather VanCura is the director and chair of the Java Community Process (JCP) program, an international keynote speaker and presenter, a leader of global Java adoption programs in conjunction with Java User Group (JUG) leaders, expert-in-residence for MedicMobile at Rippleworks, and the organizer of developer hack days (Hackergartens) all around the world. She is passionate about community building, raising the profile of women and all unrepresented people in tech, and meaningful STEM education for students across the globe. Heather has over 15 years’ experience in Java tech leadership, engagement, and community development. Find Heather on Twitter: @heathervc.

Geertjan Wielenga: Could you start by describing what you do?

Heather VanCura: I'm the chairperson of the JCP at Oracle. That's a broad role because there are many different things involved. The JCP acts as the standards organization for Java. The JCP oversees everything that goes into the Java platform and the evolution of the platform itself.

I have an internal group that I manage, which oversees the JCP, the website, and the coordination of all the Java specification requests. I also work with JUGs, trying to increase the adoption of Java tech and their participation in the evolution of Java tech. That's where the international speaking and developer advocacy aspect comes in. I work with the Java development community around the world.

Geertjan Wielenga: What is it specifically about Java that you're passionate about?

Heather VanCura: When I first got started, I felt that the way Java was developed was really unique, and that was intriguing to me. I was interested in the community and the human behavior aspect of it. Java is used literally everywhere. All of the different ways that Java is used are really compelling stories and we don't hear them enough.

Heather's path in tech

Geertjan Wielenga: What's your background and how did you get into the software industry in the first place?

Heather VanCura: I was interested in software development in college, but I was swayed away from it by my guidance counselor. I majored in business and focused on marketing administration, but I took modules in statistics and quantitative methods. I thought I would get into market research or even something to do with human behavior and observing how people interact.

When I got out of college, though, I knew I wanted to focus on tech. I did my internship at a company called Triad Systems. After that, I got jobs working on high tech accounts in advertising agencies, including Microsoft accounts. Eventually, I decided that I didn't like being in advertising. I wanted to get into the customer side, which is where the more interesting work happens at tech companies.

I found a job at Santa Cruz Operation, in market development, until, in 2000, I saw a job opening at Sun Microsystems, which I thought was really interesting because it involved working on Java.

Geertjan Wielenga: What was the job that you applied for at Sun Microsystems?

Heather VanCura: It was a marketing program manager role for the JCP, which had just started at that point. The program only had 100 members and the Executive Committee had just formed.

The job was to grow the membership, so one of the first things I did was build a different website. I thought we should have annual membership events, so that's how the annual JCP party started. I was also responsible for implementing the elections process.

Geertjan Wielenga: Many people would identify you as an advocate or an evangelist of some kind. Would you agree with that? It sounds like you were the original Java evangelist!

Heather VanCura: Yes, essentially, much of my work involves developer advocacy. Being the chairperson of the JCP is a prestigious role in the Java community. It comes with inherent respect and I definitely am seen as an advocate.

Part of the role is to bring the community into the development of Java, so it's very community-focused. I advocate Java, so, of course, many different topics and questions come to me, including on the health of the overall ecosystem.

I've started to speak on topics such as what types of skills you need to succeed as a developer and what types of projects you should work on to succeed. I often take part in panels, or host interviews at conferences, since I know many people in the community.

"I want to see more women attending conferences and women speakers at conferences."

—Heather VanCura

I'm also very involved in promoting diversity. Being one of the few women in the industry, which was especially the case back when I started in 2000, I want to see more women attending conferences and women speakers at conferences. For a long time, I was often one of the only women speakers, so I started to get questions about how we could get more women into tech, especially as the Java developer community got a bit older and started having children of their own.

Developers would look around and say, "There's no one like my daughter here at these conferences." They wanted to know how they could make a difference. Over the last five years, that's become more of a common theme. Often, I will give a talk about how we can change that ratio and make a shift in the community.

Connotations of "evangelist"

Geertjan Wielenga: There's some debate over whether the word "evangelist" is too political to use. Is it all one and the same to you?

Heather VanCura: The word "evangelist" condenses down to the same thing as the word "advocate." But I think that both can be seen as being politically charged in some way.

"Evangelical" has a religious aspect for some people and "advocacy" can relate to politics. I don't really have a preference. Obviously, both titles are related to being passionate and speaking on behalf of a constituency. I'm passionate about the Java developer community and I definitely see my role as bringing the community in and ensuring that it's heard within the JCP. Both terms would apply to me.

Geertjan Wielenga: Do you see yourself as having been a spin doctor at Sun Microsystems and now at Oracle?

Heather VanCura: No, I don't see it that way. I think the intentions of the JCP were always good. The JCP was a formalization of the process that Sun Microsystems used from the very beginning to bring in that real-world developer feedback, so I think that's always been the intent. My job was more to explain it than to spin it.

The majority of developers don't understand how Java has developed. It's just one of those things that some developers don't care about or see as unnecessary. We tend to see a certain percentage of developers all around the world who do care passionately and know all the intricate details of how Java has developed. The majority of the 12 million Java developers don't fall into this category, however. Part of what I still do, even 18 years later, is explain how Java developed and how people can participate.

There is a need to reach more developers. Much of the time, you can be more effective with that within JUGs themselves versus the conferences.

At the conferences, you will often see the same people coming again and again, but with JUGs, you reach more developers and get a broader base of developers.

Geertjan Wielenga: Oracle is not an uncontroversial organization. How do you deal with a situation where you want to be authentic, but you may not agree with decisions made by your colleagues?

Heather VanCura: I've struggled with many of the same issues as I did at Sun Microsystems. Fortunately, I'm in a position where I'm not charged with representing my company. It's expected that I balance the needs of the community.

"Being a developer advocate can be like walking on a tightrope."

—Heather VanCura

Being a developer advocate can be like walking on a tightrope. At Oracle, it helps that I'm in the standards organization, so I can take a broader view. I may not always agree with everything that's being done and, if that's the case, I'll convey it in a more factual way. I'll say, "I didn't make this decision. I'm not saying whether I think it's the right decision or not, but this is the decision, so what can we do to move forwards?"

The acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle has been complete now for eight years, but in the early days, people would ask me all the time what I thought about that acquisition. It was challenging for me, but in the end, it was a good thing for Java.

Oracle becoming the steward of Java was a good thing in terms of reinvigoration. Oracle hadn't done much work with developers in the past, but it was willing to learn.

In some ways, advocacy requires some cognitive dissonance and being flexible mentally. That's often a skill people don't have or they don't feel comfortable with. You have to keep it all in perspective: what your role is, what influence you have, and how to use it to the best advantage for the community.

Geertjan Wielenga: What would the 20-year-old you think of the person you are today and the work that you do?

Heather's ambitions as a young person

Heather VanCura: I definitely always saw myself as succeeding and I was a very driven person. You could say that I've been successful in my career, so I think I would be pleased.

One of the things that I always wanted was a global role and responsibility with impact. Some people would see that as intimidating or something they wouldn't want, but I always saw it as something that I aspired to. I wanted a global perspective and I definitely have that in my role. Travel was appealing to me from a young age too.

I'm a keen observer, but I never saw myself as a public speaker until this role. That's a hurdle I had to overcome. I had something to share, so I needed to get over being uncomfortable to share that information.

Geertjan Wielenga: Are you saying that, even if you don't see yourself doing public speaking, you can grow into becoming a speaker?

Heather VanCura: Yes! While communication is key, now there's social media, blogs, and written articles to create as well. You could even do audio interviews and podcasts, where you're not presenting in front of an audience in person. Having said that, you probably would need to get over that hurdle of public speaking eventually because it's a great skill to have. I'm happy that I embraced that as part of my job.

Geertjan Wielenga: Can you talk a bit more about overcoming the anxiety of public speaking?

Heather VanCura: It's a little bit intimidating the first time you give a talk at a conference. I think my first talk was at JavaOne, which was a big conference; at that time, there were approximately 15,000 people coming to it.

I took courses and shifted my thinking to realizing that I had information that people needed to know. Over time, I've continued to practice and take courses. I've even worked with a communications coach.

Geertjan Wielenga: What are the key takeaways that you carry with you from those courses?

Heather VanCura: The first takeaway is that mental shift I talked about in terms of seeing yourself as educating others. Secondly, you should try to condense your presentation into the main points that you want to convey and organize them in that way so it makes sense and people understand it. You should use visuals instead of a lot of text on slides, which is difficult when you have something to explain like the JCP, which has many details surrounding it.

Another important point is modifying the presentation based on the audience and the type of conference. I always tweak my presentation for the audience and I try to get some interaction in to engage people. Even asking a couple of questions at the beginning, with a show of hands, can help you to gauge where the audience is in terms of their knowledge.

Geertjan Wielenga: The way you describe what you do is very varied. Do you enjoy that?

Variation in the role

Heather VanCura: Yes, I like to do different things because I get bored easily. I like that there's a technical challenge to this job. I don't have a technical background, but I understand and have learned about tech at a high level. I've had to learn that. There's always something new to learn from people and the way they use Java around the world.

There are many different jobs that one can have within this industry. Often, people think that tech is not for them because they don't see themselves as being a programmer. There are many different roles and being a developer advocate is one of them. There are different official job descriptions for that position, as we've discussed. You wouldn't necessarily say that the chairperson of the JCP is an advocate, but that's definitely part of my job.

Geertjan Wielenga: Earlier, you mentioned women in software development. Could you talk about that further?

Heather VanCura: Part of my role is speaking with women and sharing my advice for working in tech.

I've noticed that women appreciate that conversation, especially women who are newer in the field or maybe want to take the next step in their career.

People tend to gravitate toward people like themselves, so women often think they need advice from a woman. What I tell them is that I never had a female mentor. You can do this role without having any other women around you.

There's this pervasive belief that tech is a meritocracy, so it doesn't matter who you are or what you are; if you just do your work and get it done, the belief is that it will be recognized. I think that's a fallacy. You do have to be excellent at your job, get your work done, and work hard to succeed, but that really is just the baseline for keeping your job.

If you want to thrive in tech, you also need to set aside time to grow your network. You need other people. You need to increase your visibility and you can't do that if you're just doing your job and not thinking about anything else. You also need to look at ways to expand your influence. If you're just putting your head down and doing your job, and then going home, you're limiting your ability to be successful in your career. I think that applies to a man or a woman.

Geertjan Wielenga: Are you saying that working hard won't help you to be successful?

Heather VanCura: No, you do need to work really hard, but that's not enough. There are certain things that you need to do, which tend to be things that a lot of women that I've spoken to don't enjoy doing, such as self-promotion and negotiation. Those things are not explicitly stated, but I believe you have to do them.

You also need sponsors, mentors, and allies. You need to take the time to do some out-of-the-office activities, such as going to lunch with people. Take the time to get to know them, especially people who are different from you.

"You have to negotiate for high-profile projects and assignments."

—Heather VanCura

Self-promotion is not just talking about how great you are, but looking at ways to make sure that the work you're doing is actually being seen and recognized. You have to negotiate for high-profile projects and assignments. You can't just take whatever comes your way. You need to take the time to look up and assess the situation. What does your manager care about? What does your vice president (VP) care about? What is the whole direction of your company? Are the projects that you're being assigned things that are going to contribute to that?

Negotiating can also be applied to asking for a promotion. It's not necessarily always going to be given to you if you don't ask. You can't expect that you're going to get a raise or that you're going to be paid well just because you're working really hard. People who ask are more likely to get what they want!

Geertjan Wielenga: What do you think about the idea that women may not be so well represented in tech because they simply are not that interested in tech versus other career choices?

Challenges faced by women in tech

Heather VanCura: I think many women are interested in tech but often don't stay in it. I think the ratio is that over 40% of women who work in tech quit within 10 years, whereas 16% of men do. That's almost triple the rate of women leaving versus men leaving.

What women say is that they're not given the prime assignments, they don't feel welcome, and they face sexist behavior. Those are the top three reasons given for women leaving tech.

Geertjan Wielenga: I've seen you do a presentation that addresses men: "Top 10 Ways to Ally for Women in Tech." Can you talk a bit about that and what those 10 ways are in a nutshell?

Heather VanCura: This form of advocacy isn't part of my job, but I want to talk about this and change it. Everyone talks about the concept of diversity, but if we want things to change, we have to do something.

My original idea was to give men 10 ways that they can help. If we want to change the environment, we need participation from men also. The first step is the way you think about women in tech. Rather than saying, "I'm an ally," try to think of it as a verb: a thing that you actually do.

Secondly, you need to listen more than you talk, especially when you talk to women about this topic. Ask questions, acknowledge that you might not always get it right, and be open-minded.

Assignment distribution is the third point. That's thinking about how different people on your team are assigned projects. Are the men getting the prime assignments? Are they the ones taking all the ownership of the code, or are you distributing that across different people on your team?

One way to think about that is housework versus real work. There are always some housekeeping tasks: cleanup, reviewing the slides, and so on. Make sure that you're rotating those things. You can also watch out for housework in an office environment. Make sure that you're not always relying on women to clean up the kitchen or clean up the meeting room afterward. I've observed that happening many times.

"Women often leave tech because they don't feel comfortable."

—Heather VanCura

Creating a friendly environment is the fourth point. This addresses the problem of women leaving the tech field. Women often leave tech because they don't feel comfortable. Look at your job descriptions and the values that you're putting out there. Often, you'll see a culture that isn't as welcoming to people with different needs and interests. Rather than putting women into a mental grouping in your mind, try to relate to every person as an individual.

I don't get this often, but if you meet a woman at a conference, don't assume that she's in marketing or there with her partner.

If you're talking to a woman, don't ask, "Who takes care of your kids when you're at a conference? How do you balance it all?" This tends to send the message that she should be somewhere else right now.

The fifth tip is speaking up. When a woman is talking, one of the common things I've seen is that she will get interrupted. Women get interrupted three times more often than men do. Speak up in those situations. You could say, "I don't think she was finished yet."

The sixth point may seem obvious but it isn't always done. When you see something inappropriate happening, intervene. If you can see someone is uncomfortable, you should be stepping in. It's not enough to just be silent—you need to actively participate. In these types of situations, you need to speak up.

Being aware of character trait assignments is number seven. These are the types of traits that tend to be attributed to women when they're behaving a certain way, for example, abrasive, aggressive, or bossy. Filter that out and think, "If a man was behaving in the same way, would I call him abrasive?" It tends to be a word that we don't really use for men. Often, if a man is behaving in that same way, he will be called a strong leader.

The eighth point returns to the idea of self-promotion and negotiation. Be willing to encourage women if you get an initial reaction of resistance and self-doubt.

Number nine is about unconscious bias. You have to recognize that everyone has bias, men and women. One of the best ways to identify bias is by mentoring someone different from you.

If you're a woman, you don't have to mentor a woman and if you're a man, you don't have to mentor a man. You're actually going to learn more from each other through your differences.

The final point is inviting women to attend and speak at conferences or other speaking opportunities. Suggest women. Invite and encourage women to participate in panels. Often, people say, "This conference is open to everyone, but I don't see any women submitting talks."

I reply, "Maybe you need to specifically invite women, just to get them started." It could be that once you get through that initial resistance, there is progress from there. Once you start speaking at one conference, another conference will want you. Before you know it, you're speaking at many conferences and booking travel!

The fear of not knowing enough

Geertjan Wielenga: I think many people, and maybe especially women, as you indicate, have the feeling that they need to know absolutely everything, whether it's about public speaking or a particular tech, before they can give a talk or submit an abstract to a conference. What would you say to that?

Heather VanCura: That was exactly the topic of the breakfast I hosted for the Women Who Code group in Atlanta last week at DevNexus. The topic was submitting a talk for a conference. The women attending felt that they didn't know enough yet and worried about what they would say if someone challenged their knowledge.

It's going to happen that you don't know the answer to everything and you must be open and willing to acknowledge it, whether you're a man or a woman. There are lots of different ways to deal with a situation where you don't have an answer. You can say, "I don't know the answer to that. I can go back and find an answer for you." You can also ask if anyone in the audience has anything to share on that topic. That's a way to get more interactive. Speaking on a panel is another option.

"User groups or small environments can be great places to share your first presentation."

—Heather VanCura

User groups or small environments can be great places to share your first presentation. Do a lunchtime session with your user group team, then smaller regional conferences, and then work your way up to a larger audience.

Geertjan Wielenga: Have you been traveling to many overseas conferences recently?

Heather VanCura: I just got back from the first Oracle Code day in L.A. It seems like I've been traveling most of the year already. I haven't had the chance to settle and do some deep thinking about anything; I've just been traveling from one event to the next. I've been to India, Australia, Japan, Kenya, and Bulgaria. I've been doing too much travel, but it's ideal to be able to tie that travel to a community conference. With so much going on in the community, you have to engage.

Geertjan Wielenga: Can you explain more about the difficult life of a global traveler in the sense of jet lag and missed flights?

Heather VanCura: I've learned through trial and error. I do enjoy traveling, but I have some tips. I try to only take carry-on luggage. I've found this helpful in terms of getting around when I'm there but also for reducing the time spent in airports. I've got my carry-on luggage and then my backpack on top, and I wheel it, so I don't have to lug around heavy things when I'm traveling.

Some people say, "Oh, just stay up all night and get your work done the night before a flight because you can sleep on the plane." I don't recommend that: it doesn't work. I try to keep my regular sleep routine. As soon as I get on the flight, I do whatever I think I should be doing at that time. If it's the middle of the day and it's my nighttime back at home, I force myself to stay awake and get on that local time.

Exercise, too, is really important. I try to get a workout in, even if it's brisk walking to get my blood flowing. I also try not to eat the food on the airplane. Obviously, water is your friend. Hydrating is essential when traveling.

Geertjan Wielenga: Is burnout a risk? How do you know you have it and how can you avoid it?

The pressures of the job

Heather VanCura: Burnout is always a risk with any job, especially in tech. There's constant pressure to keep doing more. I try to be conscious of my stress levels because your body will tend to give you signals that you're doing too much.

You should also listen to your support system. If you're hearing that you look really tired, you need to listen. I've never been at the point where I can't function, but I've heard of that happening to others.

You should look at what's really essential and peel away all the extra things because, as an advocate especially, you can be tempted to say yes to everyone. In reality, you just can't do that. Be conscious of how much you can actually do as one person. Part of being in a community is asking people for help.

I hardly ever take vacation. Most of my vacation time is spent visiting family, but it's nice to be at home sometimes. I'm planning on spending some time at home this summer. We'll see how that works out because there's always something coming up! I may be compelled to say yes depending on the activity.

Geertjan Wielenga: When you finally get to a conference on the other side of the world, how do you deal with unexpected technical situations when you're actually in the conference room?

Heather VanCura: Inevitably those happen, so I try to be prepared. I try to have all my connectors and multiple ones as spares. You can obviously borrow from the hotel or ask the conference organizers when you get there. If you end up at a conference and a technical glitch happens, there's usually someone there in the room who can help you out, so don't be afraid to ask for help.

To share a funny story, last year, in the Ivory Coast, I was giving an impromptu keynote talk. It wasn't something I had traveled to the Ivory Coast to do, but all of a sudden, I was at this boot camp for women coders.

There were 300 women there. I thought I was going to visit a school, but it turned out they wanted me to give a keynote presentation!

I did a variation of a past talk, but the power went out, so that meant that there wasn't any air conditioning. I didn't have my slides and the audience didn't necessarily understand English, as they actually wanted the talk in French. I don't speak French!

"They were just overjoyed that I was there and had shared what I know."

—Heather VanCura

I was sweating profusely in a climate I'm not accustomed to, so I had to be willing to adapt in that situation. At the end of the talk, I've never been so overwhelmed with requests for selfies. They basically rushed me and they all wanted selfies with me. They were just overjoyed that I was there and had shared what I know.

Geertjan Wielenga: In your experience, are there particular cultures where interaction from a stage works especially well and others where it definitely shouldn't even be tried?

Heather VanCura: I think throughout Europe speaking from a stage works well and also in the U.S. Audiences tend to come forward with questions throughout and interact.

It's more challenging in places like Japan and India, where it's difficult to get any questions at all. Although, last time I was in Japan, I did get some questions after my talk.

I had allowed time for questions. Some people also came up after the talk, even if they didn't say anything during the talk. I noticed a change, which was nice.

Geertjan Wielenga: What changed? Was it the culture or was it you?

Heather VanCura: I try different things to encourage questions, but there have been Java Days in Tokyo for several years. They get some Western speakers and I think it's a pretty common thing now to ask for questions, so people might have just got over that barrier.

Geertjan Wielenga: You're traveling a lot, but what does your typical day look like?

Heather VanCura: I don't really have a typical day. I'm traveling about 20-25% of the time. Otherwise, I'm doing events, meeting people, writing, and doing interviews. When I'm not on the road, I usually have one or two days a week where I go into an office and have meetings. This could be either in Santa Clara, where many of the Java development team are based, or in Redwood City.

I go and meet the VP one or two days a week. For the remaining days, I actually work from home. Those days are really when I get my actual work done, not that those other things aren't my work!

If I have meetings with people in other parts of the world, where I don't need to be face to face, I do that from home, early in the morning usually. Talking to people in Europe, Brazil, or Asia can mean an early start.

Apart from that, I will be developing materials, presentations, or abstracts, or working on JCP activities, like minutes or materials from meetings. I have several working groups that I run, as well as the Executive Committee board meetings. There is also the time spent responding to emails and communicating on social media is constant.

Geertjan Wielenga: How do you use social media in your role?

Connecting through social media

Heather VanCura: I used to use many different kinds of social media, but that can quickly start to take up all of your time. I decided to figure out where the concentration of developers is that I'm working with around the world.

They're primarily on Twitter. There is some variation in some parts of Africa, where they're mostly using Facebook right now. Largely, I try to put my efforts into Twitter as a social media vehicle and some LinkedIn.

I experiment with Instagram and Snapchat, and Slack for talking with people. I feel I can only do so much, though, so I think concentrating on the Twitter platform has been the most effective use of my time in terms of getting feedback and sharing news and things that are happening. I would like to do a little bit more with social media, but at the same time, I've got out of the cycle of feeling compelled to post multiple times each day.

Geertjan Wielenga: How do you see other developer advocates? What do you like about presentations when you see someone up on stage doing a talk?

Heather VanCura: I always like it when people move a little bit away from their specific topic. Usually, there's the core topic, but looking at ways you can apply that in the world around you always makes it interesting and sparks different ideas or thoughts. I admire any developer advocate who doesn't have to use a script. Having a true interaction with the audience takes a lot of practice.

Geertjan Wielenga: Do you see yourself doing exactly this for the rest of your life? What is the career trajectory of a developer advocate?

Heather VanCura: I probably won't do this for the rest of my life; although, it's stayed interesting for a tremendously long time. As this role has become more common, I've definitely started to get more messages from recruiters. I think as developer advocacy becomes more valuable, it will translate into other things, including higher leadership roles within companies.

Geertjan Wielenga: Do you see the demand for this kind of role increasing, then?

Heather VanCura: Yes, I see the demand for this type of experience increasing. I definitely could see myself going into a chief experience officer (CXO) position or similar, but not immediately.

Geertjan Wielenga: What could be done to carry on raising the profile of this profession?

Heather VanCura: I hardly ever hear developer advocacy being spoken about, other than in the circle of people I know. Sometimes, as developer advocates, we don't think that our job is interesting to other people. I think many advocates are unique individuals, with different character traits that aren't necessarily the norm.

It might be the case that people don't like to talk about that other side of tech because they feel we don't have enough people getting into development work, and they want to encourage that by only talking about hard tech skills and jobs. The truth is that developer advocacy is a great job and I love it.

Geertjan Wielenga: Thank you, Heather VanCura.