New Executive Director Appointed at Tor Project
The Tor Project, renowned for developing one of the most reliable tools for online anonymity and privacy, has finally found its new executive director. Earlier this year, Shari Steele announced her departure from Tor. Since then, the project has been actively searching for a replacement, and now the search is over. In an official statement, the Tor Project confirmed that they have found a successor: Isabella Bagueros.
Who Is Isabella Bagueros?
Isabella Bagueros is no stranger to the Tor Project, having previously held leadership positions within the organization. She joined Tor in 2015 as a project manager. Before that, Isabella spent four years working in International and Growth as a product manager at Twitter. Bagueros has extensive experience in software development, having started her career back in the 1990s. In 2007, she also co-founded and served as director of North by South, a San Francisco-based startup focused on developing free software products.
Notably, she participated in the “Migration to Free Software” project for all computers in the Brazilian royal palace in 2005, while working at the Ministry of Communications in Brazil at the time.
Isabella’s Vision for the Tor Project
As mentioned, Bagueros began working at the Tor Project in 2015 as a project manager. During her tenure, she led various teams in creating roadmaps and collaborative strategies with other organizations. She also heads the Tor UX team, managing improvements to the user interface (specifically the usability of the Tor Browser), and leads the redesign of the Tor Project website.
Shari Steele, the outgoing executive director, noted that Isabella’s contributions to the Tor Project are immeasurable and that she is confident Isabella will excel in her new role. According to Steele, she herself took on the executive director position in 2015, just as the Tor Project was transforming into a more prominent and trusted organization and needed decisive leadership. At the same time, Isabella brought a fresh perspective on censorship and privacy issues, along with unparalleled global experience. In her statement, Steele expressed her confidence that Isabella will take the Tor Project to a new level of sustainable development.
One of Isabella’s greatest strengths is her commitment to a key principle: the user always comes first. This is clearly reflected in the results of her work.
Official Statement from Isabella Bagueros
- She believes the Tor network should be accessible to virtually everyone in the world, so that everyone can enjoy the safety and privacy it offers its users.
- She explains that achieving this requires a scalable and healthy network, supported by a reliable and transparent organization.
- She emphasizes her desire for Tor to gain the global recognition it deserves, not only as a tool for bypassing censorship but also as a means of protecting privacy.
Although Bagueros is currently in a transition period, she will officially take on the role of executive director once she appoints a new project manager to replace her. Shari Steele plans to remain at the helm until her successor is fully up to speed. Afterward, Steele is expected to join the organization’s Board of Directors early next year.