Django Weblog: DSF member of the month - Anna Makarudze

Anna Makarudze is recognized as the DSF Member of the Month for October 2025 due to her significant contributions to the Django community. Anna, a Django Girls+ Trustee and former DSF President, founded DjangoCon Africa, expanding Django's global reach. She earned a BSc in Computer Science and is pursuing an MSc in Software Engineering. Anna enjoys baking, walking, and listening to music as hobbies. She started using Django in 2015 after learning Python and being encouraged by a friend. Anna wishes Django had out-of-the-box support for NoSQL databases like MongoDB. Currently, she's working on several academic projects involving Python, Django, and cloud computing. Anna's favorite Django features are the ORM, admin interface, management commands, migrations and authentication system. She emphasizes that being a DSF board member or president is a great way to contribute and shape the Django community. Organizing DjangoCon Africa requires significant community engagement and resilience, but it's vital for reaching African developers.