Affiliation: Amazon Web Services
Nominee Classification: Qualified
Nominee Questionnaire
1. Public Contact Information
a) Please provide one URL to an online location (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) where community members can dialogue with you. [Optional.]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpellak
b) Please identify your organizational affiliations. Note that Advisory Council (AC) members serve as individuals required to take ARIN’s best interests into account—not those of organizations with which they are affiliated.
Amazon Web Services
2. Relevant Biography
a) Please refer to the ARIN Advisory Council Guidance to the 2023 Nomination Committee in answering this question:
i) Please describe your relevant professional experience and expertise and explain how this background will make you an effective AC member.
Currently, I work on an IPv4 acquisitions team at Amazon Web Services, purchasing IP addresses that allow AWS to continue to grow their business. Prior to this role, I also spent two years conducting extensive research of legacy IPv4 assets in ARIN and all other RIRs hoping to determine rightful ownership of the space. Due to these two experiences I have a deep understanding of the inner workings of the various RIRs and their respective governing policies. I also have a high-level understanding of the networking community via my research, and participation at numerous community events. This experience has also given me a deep appreciation for the complexity of the Internet as a whole, and the many individuals and organizations who work collaboratively to write the policies and procedures that allow it to continue to function.
In another past role, I ran the membership function of the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), a non-profit organization responsible for administering the GMAT exam. In this position I reported directly to the VP of School Engagement and the Chief Financial Officer and was responsible for the entirety of the membership strategy and budget for the department. During my tenure I frequently presented research findings to senior leadership on the health of the membership, including engagement and participation in non-profit activities and usage of the services we provided. I was tasked with keeping the membership informed on day to day activities of the council, ensuring member engagement, and working with the managing members and leadership on the governance of the council. This experience has allowed me to understand the perspective of a non-profit organization and learn how policy is written to allow for engaged and thriving community members.
ii) Attach a resume, curriculum vitae, or other biography highlighting your experience most relevant to the duties of the AC. Do not include your home address or personal contact information on the resume, as it will be made public as part of the election material.
https://arin-elections.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/pellak_resume.pdf
iii) Optionally, you may also include additional web links to external websites (e.g., social media), though not as a substitute for your biography.
No Response
b) The role of the Advisory Council is to advise the Board of Trustees on Internet number resource policy and related matters. Describe a similar experience you have had in such an advisory role.
I worked closely with the Board of Directors and senior leadership at a non-profit organization to review and revise policy for our governing members. Examples include drafting travel policies, assisting with the election process for new Board of Directors members, and reviewing and revising policy for maintaining membership status for governing members of the Council.
3. Eligibility
a) Please disclose any conflicts of interest you may have, real or perceived, that would impact your ability to perform your duty as a member of ARIN’s Advisory Council. How do you propose to resolve any such conflicts?
No conflicts of interest.
b) Are you currently eligible to serve on the Advisory Council according to the Conflicts of Interest Policy?
Yes
c) If not currently eligible, how will you become eligible to serve if elected (i.e. “If elected, I will resign from the position of ________ before 31 Dec 2023”). If not applicable, simply enter “N/A”.
N/A
d) Describe any limitations on your ability to: attend AC and Public Policy Meetings in person; or serve all of the elected term.
No limitations.
4. Nominee Information
a) Have you attended ARIN meetings or otherwise participated in ARIN activities in the past? What did you find the most rewarding from those meetings or activities? What suggestions for improvement do you have?
I have been able to attend two ARIN meetings, and found both to be fantastic opportunities to learn more about the inner workings of the RIR system, policy development, and the general undercurrents of the Internet Numbers community. Aside from chances to speak with like-minded individuals one of the most valuable aspects of the ARIN meetings is the ability of all attendees to show their support (or lack thereof) for community policy. Coming from a non-profit, I understand the value of having an enthusiastic and engaged membership, so seeing the amount of debate and participation that happens at ARIN meetings is extremely encouraging.
One area of improvement that I discussed with several participants at the last ARIN meeting would be to drive attendance to the meetings themselves. While the current attendees are enthusiastic participants, the overall number of people at a given meeting seems low for the total number of General Members within the organization. I feel that ARIN could do more to drive participation in meetings from their membership, for example by targeting members in a particular region when an ARIN meeting is taking place. Given that attending an ARIN meeting is free for members it seems this could be an easy win if we try to target members in, for example, the city an ARIN meeting takes place in. This would bring greater diversity of thought and opinion to the community and allow more members to feel that they have an actual say in ARIN policy, hopefully further driving participation. When I worked with our Membership in my last role one way that we encouraged participation was by offering free travel to an individual from a Member institution to our conferences. I wouldn’t recommend free travel, but offering a complimentary hotel stay might be an easy way to bring additional community members to ARIN events.
b) What areas of Internet number resource policy, if any, need more attention by ARIN; why?
Not specific to an area of the NRPM, but I would encourage any policy changes to be viewed holistically within the entire document. Based on policies I’ve seen brought to ARIN in the past it appears that sometimes individual sections of the NRPM can be targeted for revision without taking in to consideration how that impacts the entire document. Based on my review of the NRPM, I can see sections that when viewed independently make sense, but become confusing when reading the document as a whole. I also identified areas of the document that could potentially be combined as certain sections seem redundant.
Section 4.10 regarding allocations of /24s to entities looking to implement IPv6 could be clearer. For example, currently the language reads that an entity could not receive an allocation if they had received any resources over the past 6 months. This appears to be including even 8.2 transfers where an entity could simply be updating the registration information to reflect a new name. Was this the intention of the policy? If not that section should be clarified. Finally, I see that a discussion on limiting leasing for space acquired through the waitlist is ongoing in the PPML. While I understand the desire to try to limit that activity as it could encourage bad actors, as others have also pointed out, leasing as it pertains to IPv4 addresses is very tricky to define. Furthermore, ARIN would need to decide when and how to enforce any type of restrictions on leasing which could lead to additional complications and work for ARIN staff reviewing waitlist applications. As much as I understand the intent behind such a suggestion I don’t think it is a good policy as written. I encourage the community to work to find a way to achieve the spirit of the recommendation which is to protect the waitlist IPv4 space from abuse.
c) Aside from the professional experience and expertise detailed above, describe any other specific skills, background, and/or areas of expertise you believe will assist the Advisory Council in carrying out its duties.
In addition to my experience with a non-profit and IPv4 resources, I also worked for a law firm for a time. While my legal background is limited, I did paralegal-type work for a real estate law firm. Most of my experience was involved in researching local laws and regulations to determine how they applied to our specific real estate closings. This background contributes to my ability to read policy and understand how it could be interpreted by others. I also did title search work and general administrative duties that led to me being comfortable with legal terminology and sharpened my research skills.
While not traditional public speaking experience, I also worked in the service and hospitality industry for over 10 years. This has made me very comfortable in speaking with others, and I have been able to put that skill in to practice over the years by giving many presentations to peers, direct reports, and senior leadership.