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Robin Ginn | 20 June 2025
It is with deep sadness that we mark the passing of Mikeal Rogers, a leader, builder, and advocate for open source communities and for the people who power them.
Mikeal’s contributions to Node.js, the broader JavaScript ecosystem, the open web, and the global open source movement cannot be overstated. He shaped not only the software we use every day, but also how we come together to build it.
In 2014, at a time of uncertainty and challenge in the Node.js project, Mikeal was one of the key organizers behind the io.js fork – not to create division, but to demonstrate a path forward built on open governance, transparency, and trust.
Rather than let the community fracture permanently, Mikeal orchestrated the reconciliation of io.js & Node.js under a new, more open governance model that persists to this day. Mikeal joined the Linux Foundation as the inaugural Executive Director of the Node.js Foundation, where he helped ensure that Node.js would be managed in the open, by and for its global community. The governance models Mikeal helped champion are now used by projects across the open source world. The Node.js Foundation, and now the OpenJS Foundation, stand as testaments to his belief in open, neutral, community-led institutions.
His passing is a tremendous loss to the Node.js community, to the broader open web, and to everyone who cares about building a stronger open source community. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife, his children, his family, friends, and the many people around the world who learned from, worked with, and were inspired by him. The best way to honor his work is to continue building the kind of open, welcoming, and resilient communities he spent his life advocating for.
Keeping with the spirit of Mikeal’s candid openness on Github the Node.js TSC has created https://github.com/nodejs/mikeal for those who wish to share memories, stories, or otherwise honor Mikeal’s passing & legacy.
The family has shared his obituary, and that donations can be made to his children, the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, ColonTown, or the San Francisco Zen Center.