A domain for the Queer Community,
by the Queer Community

Aeryn is an IT operations engineer with nearly a decade of experience building and securing infrastructure across industries ranging from automotive to game development. Skilled in cloud environments (Azure, AWS, GCP) and on-premises systems, she specialises in automation, network engineering, and designing high-availability, compliant systems. But beyond the technical expertise, Aeryn’s drive comes from her community. Active in queer organising she has long combined her professional skills with her political values. After seeing firsthand the fragility of queer spaces post-COVID, and being arrested for her activism during Pride in Antwerp in 2024, she became even more determined to help create infrastructure that can’t be so easily taken away. As CEO of .meow, Aeryn brings both technical leadership and a grassroots perspective, committed to building sustainable systems that serve queer communities rather than profit.

TQ is an information security veteran with over two decades of experience, beginning as a Site Reliability Engineer at Google and most recently serving as lead of enterprise cryptography at a major European bank. Their career has spanned the most demanding corners of tech — from securing infrastructure at global scale to navigating the rigorous compliance landscapes of finance. Alongside their professional work, TQ has been a lifelong advocate for open-source software and served on the board of Hackerspace Gent, where they supported grassroots technical communities. At dotMeow, TQ brings not only deep technical expertise but also a steady hand in governance and risk management — ensuring that the foundation’s finances and operations are sustainable, transparent, and resilient.

Nadim Kobeissi is an applied cryptography researcher and security professional who has conducted over 300 cryptography and security audits while maintaining an active research presence. He developed a comprehensive Applied Cryptography course at the American University of Beirut, creating 1,500+ slides and extensive materials covering topics from provable security to post-quantum cryptography — all Creative Commons licensed and freely available. He is co-founder and co-organizer of Real World Cryptography Paris, and his Lebanese background informs his understanding of the challenges facing cryptographers and technologists in developing regions. Alongside his technical work, Nadim has been active in internet freedom and transparency advocacy — from supporting Chelsea Manning and WikiLeaks to hosting a radio program on digital rights and leading successful campaigns for corporate transparency in tech. At dotMeow, Nadim serves as an advisor and external board member, offering strategic guidance and helping ensure the foundation’s work is grounded, ambitious, and informed by lessons learned from building large-scale, impactful projects.

Lauren’s path into tech and activism has been anything but linear. They began their working life in hospitality before transitioning into business and project management. After completing their studies in the Natural Sciences in 2022, they specialized in information security and IT risk management. Alongside their professional life, Lauren has been deeply rooted in community organizing — from youth work with the UK Labour Party during the Corbyn years to years of involvement in Belgium’s hackerspace scene. Known for their ability to bring order to chaos, they’ve helped run conferences, provided technical support for grassroots activism, and kept complex projects moving forward. Living with a serious disability since 2022, Lauren has focused on sustainable, impactful work that strengthens community infrastructure. As project manager for dotMeow, they channel their experience in risk, governance, and grassroots organizing into turning a bold idea into reality.

Ela is a writer, artist, and designer whose work spans trans literature, visual art, and online community building. She has published over twenty novels and short stories, and her essays and creative work have made her a visible voice in contemporary trans writing. With a background in game design and English, she bridges technical skill with a strong sense of narrative and visual identity. Beyond the page, Ela has built a lively online presence as a social media personality, where her creativity and humor have made her a familiar figure in queer spaces. For dotMeow, she has crafted the project’s visual identity — from the logo to the website design — and will be leading social media strategy for the upcoming Kickstarter campaign and beyond. Ela’s role reflects her broader commitment to making queer culture visible, playful, and unapologetic, while also ensuring that the project’s outreach feels as vibrant as the communities it serves.

Janis — known online as ellejay/lj — is a genderqueer hacker from Berlin with a career that spans software security, reverse engineering, and applied computer science. By day, she audits code, builds processes for secure development, and insists on addressing security problems at their root causes rather than patching symptoms. Their technical interests sit at the intersection of theoretical computer science, mathematics, and engineering, often leading her to explore everything from static recompilation and malware research to hardware design. Outside of professional work, Janis has a long-standing passion for exploring the forgotten corners of technology: regularly finding themselves digging into decades-old codebases or ports games and projects for fun. This curiosity and persistence reflect their approach to security — always questioning assumptions, always seeking the deeper structure beneath the problem. When not immersed in code, Janis can be found playing on a FLINTA* handball team, trying their hand at roller derby, or overcommitting to side projects and community events. At dotMeow, he contributes as an advisor and active member, bringing his hacker ethos, technical rigor, and lived experience in queer community spaces to help shape the foundation’s direction.