How to be an Effective Outreach Ambassador

As an outreach ambassador, your role is to encourage, support, and guide projects through the CHAOSS Project Badging process. You are not a gatekeeper, you don’t judge readiness or expertise. Instead, you:

• Introduce projects to the initiative.
• Explain the benefits of applying.
• Walk them through the application steps.
• Share resources and answer common questions.
• Encourage re-application and continued engagement.

Best Practices

Do:

• Listen first and adapt to the project’s context.
• Frame badging as supportive, not evaluative.
• Share benefits and success stories.
• Encourage honesty and reflection.
• Provide resources and follow up kindly.

Don’t:

• Oversell it as a compliance certification.
• Pressure projects with guilt or urgency.
• Criticize projects for lack of DEI practices.
• Overwhelm them with too much detail at first contact.

Think of yourself as a bridge — you help projects see that DEI work is achievable, valuable, and supported by the CHAOSS community.