Outercurve Foundation Board of Directors: Members and History

The Outercurve Foundation, originally called the CodePlex Foundation, was an open source nonprofit active from 2009 to 2017. Its documented board included Stephen Walli. The foundation no longer operates, so there is no current board. Public records such as IRS Form 990 filings and early press releases preserve the roster.

What was the Outercurve Foundation board?

The Outercurve Foundation was a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that hosted open source projects, many of which began in Microsoft's open source projects. The board of directors was the governing body responsible for oversight, policy, and project decisions. Under U.S. nonprofit rules, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization operates for charitable, educational, or scientific purposes. The IRS recognizes these organizations as those organized and operated for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes.

In the foundation's case, the board oversaw projects such as NuGet and ChronoZoom during its active years. The phrase "board of directors" here refers to the nonprofit board that guided a foundation hosting open source galleries, not the corporate boards that often occupy search results for the word "Outer." Because the foundation wound down by 2017, no current board exists.

Board evolution: from CodePlex Foundation to Outercurve (2009–2017)

The board's history follows the foundation's name changes. The CodePlex archive preserves announcements from the 2009 launch and 2010 name change.

2009: Founding as the CodePlex Foundation

The CodePlex Foundation was founded in 2009 to support open source projects connected to the .NET platform. Its initial scope was tied to Microsoft's CodePlex hosting service, but it operated as a separate nonprofit. The launch attracted attention because it placed a nonprofit structure around projects that had lived on Microsoft's CodePlex hosting service. The founding board was formed as part of that launch.

2010: Rename to Outercurve Foundation

In 2010 the organization changed its name to the Outercurve Foundation. The new name marked a broader mission beyond the original CodePlex hosting service. The rename distanced the organization from the CodePlex brand while the board remained in place across the transition. The name change did not alter the board's legal status; the same nonprofit entity continued under a new name. A separate guide covers the CodePlex Foundation’s transition to Outercurve.

2017: Winding down

By 2017 the Outercurve Foundation had ceased active operation. CodePlex itself closed in 2017, and the foundation no longer maintained a governing board after that point. Public-facing board information ceased after 2017. This is why searches for a current board return no official Outercurve Foundation directory.

Documented board members and roles

The documented roster is short. Stephen Walli is the only board member confirmed in the sources reviewed. His affiliation was with Microsoft's open source work.

Name	Role	Period	Affiliation	Source
Stephen Walli	Board member	Not stated in available records	Microsoft open source projects	CodePlex Foundation announcements

No other verified board members appear in the sources reviewed. A fuller roster may exist in IRS Form 990 filings, but the names have not been independently confirmed. Form 990 returns normally list all directors and officers, their titles, and compensation. Because the foundation was small, those filings may include only a handful of names.

What the board governed beyond the directory

The board's scope extended across the foundation's project galleries and research programs. The foundation ran three project galleries: the ASP.NET Open Source Gallery, the Research Accelerators Gallery, and Data, Languages and Systems Interoperability. Several projects are documented:

• The ASP.NET Open Source Gallery accepted projects related to the ASP.NET web framework. For context on what CodePlex was, see the site's CodePlex explainer.
• The Research Accelerators Gallery supported open source scientific software projects, including ChronoZoom and related research tools.
• ChronoZoom was a ChronoZoom research project aimed at visualizing large time scales.
• NuGet, originally known as NuPack, later moved to the .NET Foundation. More on NuGet’s move to the .NET Foundation.
• Data, Languages and Systems Interoperability supported projects that helped different systems share data and code.

These projects illustrate what the Outercurve Foundation board governed during its active years, even though the foundation itself no longer operates.

How to verify the board roster in public records

IRS Form 990 filings are the standard public record for a U.S. nonprofit's officers, directors, and key employees. Nonprofit Explorer from ProPublica includes summary data and full Form 990 documents for tax-exempt organizations, which makes it a practical place to look for Outercurve Foundation filings. Nonprofit Explorer includes data from returns processed since the 2012 calendar years, in PDF and digital formats.

A complete board roster for the Outercurve Foundation would appear in those tax filings. The IRS also maintains a searchable database of exempt organizations through its Tax Exempt Organization Search tool. These records, rather than marketing directories, are where board membership and compensation are documented. ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer covers organizations recognized as tax exempt by the IRS and provides raw filing data, exempt organization profiles, and Form 990 documents.

Why this query returns Outer furniture and Foundation Earth

Search results for "outercurve foundation board of directors" often mix in unrelated entities. As of 2026, six of the first nine organic results are organizations with "Outer," "Outdoor," or "Foundation" in the name. The furniture brand Outer and the nonprofit Foundation Earth are the most common mismatches.

This happens because the query contains the generic words "foundation" and "board of directors." The actual Outercurve Foundation was an open source software nonprofit, not a furniture company or an environmental certification body. The AI Overview in some searches cites a Nonprofit Explorer profile of Outercurve Foundation, but that profile does not appear among the top organic results, which adds to the noise.

FAQ

Who was on the Outercurve Foundation board of directors?

The documented board included Stephen Walli. A full roster would appear in IRS Form 990 filings and early CodePlex Foundation announcements.

Is Outercurve Foundation the same as the furniture brand Outer?

No. Outer is a direct-to-consumer furniture brand, while Outercurve Foundation was an open source nonprofit active from 2009 to 2017.

When did CodePlex Foundation become Outercurve Foundation?

In 2010, after its founding as the CodePlex Foundation in 2009.

Does Outercurve Foundation still have a board of directors?

No, the foundation wound down by 2017, so no current board exists.

Where can I see the original board records?

In IRS Form 990 filings and the CodePlex archive.

Sources

• CodePlex archive
• IRS Charities and Nonprofits
• ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer