Recently there have been rumblings and rumors surrounding PHPWomen. Where are we? Are we still active? What have we been up to? Have we disbanded?

Yes, things have been quiet lately. No, we're absolutely not disbanding and we're as passionate and committed as ever to connecting women in the PHP world. As often happens in life, things come up. We get busy. Other things compete for our attention, and sometimes the important, but less urgent things get pushed aside for the moment. Rest assured, PHPWomen is still alive and kicking!

There are some updates I'd like to mention:

1- We'd like to welcome Remi Woler to our core advisory group. We welcome Remi's assistance and feel he is an invaluable resource for us. Did you know our core advisory group of 9 now includes 3 gentlemen? We strongly believe that having a diverse group gives us a much broader perspective and we are thrilled that we have such support from the male contingent. Welcome aboard, Remi!

2- There are still many areas where we need your help! We are revamping our structure a bit, and can use any and all volunteers who would like to be involved. From our mentorship program, to book reviews, to helping represent the group at conferences and helping with the website, there are many ways you can help. We are updating our Get Involved page, so keep an eye out for that, or you can contact me directly if you're ready to jump in.

3- We now have over 600 members at our forums, but we'd like to see that number grow. If you know someone who wants to be connected with other women in the PHP industry, by all means, send her over. She is definitely not alone.

4- We have been discussing some exciting ideas for raising money for charity, for later on in the year, so keep your eyes and ears open. More about this later.

5- We are in the process of creating a calendar of events that may be of interest to our members, or anyone in the PHP industry. We'll be keeping a list of conferences where we will be, places where our members are speaking and other conferences and CfPs.

6- While we have a great time connecting and assisting women in the PHP industry, we want to make sure that we communicate our level of professionalism. Our new mission statement reads

Our aim is to provide a network of support and mentorship to women, help women become more involved with PHP, increase our numbers at conferences as speakers and attendees, and provide a “female friendly” and professional atmosphere.

Our core advisory group will be meeting on a more regular basis in 2010 and we are all excited about keeping the momentum of PHPWomen going. If you are interested in helping out, or want to be more involved with our group, please don't hesitate to contact me (elizabeth .at. naramore .dot. net) or any of us in the PHPWomen community.