If there’s one thing that stands out when speaking with Noah Oken-Berg, it’s depth. Depth of experience, depth of reflection — and a deep respect for what Magento represents beyond code.

Noah’s journey into ecommerce was anything but linear. In fact, that non-linear path is exactly what shaped how he sees Magento today.

“I came out of college running a small multimedia and design business in the late 1990s,” he recalls. “This was very early web days — HTML-1 era, frames just starting to exist.”

At the time, ecommerce sounded deceptively simple. Add a cart, drag and drop some products, sell online.

“Then I tried to actually do it.”

That moment changed everything.

Once Noah started thinking through what ecommerce really required — transactions, inventory, payments, customer data, fulfillment, scale, security — it became clear that this wasn’t just about building websites.

“Ecommerce was not just ‘a website.’ It was infrastructure. It was systems thinking. It was livelihoods, not just code.”

That realization stuck.

After stepping away from ecommerce for a while to work on the hardware and B2B side — selling wireless technology and early smartphones — Noah eventually returned to the agency world with a very different perspective. Ecommerce was still relatively fresh to him, but his appreciation for its complexity had deepened.

That’s when Magento entered the picture.

At a small agency in Portland — where Noah and Erin were two of the first three employees — Magento was introduced as powerful, flexible, and, in his words, “a beast.”

“Much more complex than WordPress,” he says. “That framing turned out to be accurate.”

What started as a partnership on paper quickly became something more. Noah leaned into the Magento relationship, worked closely with partner managers, and began to understand not just the platform, but the ecosystem around it. That was 12 to 14 years ago, firmly in the Magento 1 era.

Since then, he’s lived through every chapter of Magento’s history — founder-led beginnings, acquisitions, privatization, and ultimately Adobe’s acquisition.

“And through all of it, the open source community remained the constant,” he says. “That’s what kept Magento whole. That’s what gave it identity.”

Noah’s decision to join the Magento Association Board is deeply tied to those experiences — and to why he founded Above The Fray in the first place.

“I wanted the ability to decide how I spent my time, especially my unpaid time,” he explains. “I wanted my work to support the things I believed in, not compete with them.”

Magento’s global community mattered to him long before board service was even a consideration. Watching Magento change hands multiple times only reinforced one truth.

“Without the open source community, Magento would have lost its identity somewhere along the way.”

While ecommerce may not save lives, Noah is clear about its real-world impact.

“Ecommerce does save livelihoods,” he says. “Billions of dollars move through Magento-powered stores. That translates to jobs, families, stability, and opportunity.”

He still remembers attending the very first Magento Association meeting at Imagine.

“I was listening to Joshua Warren and others explain why the Association needed to exist,” he says. “That was the moment I knew this was something I wanted to be part of.”

Noah joined as an inaugural member, later became active on the Membership Committee, and eventually reached a point where committee work alone no longer felt sufficient.

“I wanted to do more,” he says. “Board service became the next logical step — not for a title, but for impact.”

It took three applications. The third one came at the right time.

“I finally had the time and space to contribute meaningfully. That alignment made the difference.”

Ask Noah to define the mission of the Magento Association, and he doesn’t hesitate.

“The Magento Association exists to ensure that Magento’s ecosystem continues to exist.”

Magento, he explains, has always lived in a hybrid world — balancing open source and commercial interests. That balance is fragile.

“Without an independent, member-driven organization advocating for open source, the gravitational pull of large corporate interests eventually wins by default.”

The Association isn’t anti-corporate. Adobe plays a vital role — funding innovation, sponsoring events, and employing people who care deeply about Magento.

“But corporate incentives and community incentives are not always the same,” Noah says. “The Association provides the counterweight.”

Without that counterbalance, Magento doesn’t just lose features.

“It loses its soul.”

Noah sees the Magento Association’s six commitments as an interconnected system.

“You can’t really remove one without weakening the others,” he explains.

Community engagement is the foundation. Open source code is the lifeblood. Education prevents knowledge silos. Marketing keeps the platform visible. Open collaboration prevents stagnation. Governance ensures progress doesn’t turn into chaos. And strong liaison with Adobe prevents the ecosystem from fracturing.

“And the MA exists precisely because this balance does not self-maintain.”

This moment, he believes, is particularly critical. Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce are now structurally diverging, with Adobe Commerce as a Service evolving into a distinct codebase.

“That’s not inherently bad,” Noah says. “But it does mean Magento Open Source now has a clearer opportunity — and responsibility — to define its own future.”

The Magento Association’s role is not to deny that divergence or position Magento as “anti-Adobe,” but to ensure clarity, cohesion, and direction.

When it comes to initiatives that embody the Association’s mission, Noah points first to Meet Magento events.

“What matters most isn’t scale or spectacle,” he says. “Some of the most successful events are grassroots, locally organized, and focused on real connection.”

A modest venue, strong content, and space to connect often matter more than flashy production.

“These events are where knowledge gets shared, partnerships form, careers change, and community bonds are reinforced.”

He also highlights the evolution of the Community Recognition program.

“The old Magento Masters program had good intentions,” he says, “but bias, lack of transparency, and perceived favoritism undermined trust.”

The new Ambassador program is designed to fix that — surfacing real contribution across events, content, code, mentorship, leadership, and advocacy, while reducing human bias.

“Recognition in this community isn’t about money,” Noah adds. “It’s about trust, credibility, and earned reputation.”

For Noah, the value of Magento Association membership is often misunderstood.

“At its core, the MA is an advocacy organization,” he says.

Even passive membership matters.

“Membership alone strengthens the Association’s position,” he explains. “It allows us to say — with credibility — that we represent thousands of professionals and businesses globally.”

That collective weight matters when engaging with Adobe, sponsors, and the broader ecommerce ecosystem.

Beyond advocacy, membership creates access to a global network of people facing the same complex commerce challenges — scaling, upgrades, performance, integrations, staffing.

“You’re not solving those things alone,” Noah says. “And being part of the Association makes that clear.”

For businesses, membership also signals long-term commitment.

“It tells clients, partners, and employees that you’re invested in the health of the ecosystem — not just short-term extraction.”

Noah is candid about how isolating modern work can be.

“We spend our days in front of screens,” he says. “Even collaboration is often transactional.”

The Magento Association creates space for something different: sustained human connection.

“Someone you meet at a Meet Magento event becomes a collaborator. That collaborator becomes a partner. That partner becomes someone you trust.”

That’s how careers grow in this ecosystem.

He also emphasizes the global reach of the community — including underrepresented regions where Magento creates real economic opportunity.

“As an agency owner with colleagues in over seven countries, I’ve seen this firsthand,” he says.

That kind of growth, he adds, doesn’t happen by accident.

“It requires structure, consistency, and shared purpose.”

As a new Board Member, Noah is taking ownership of membership and community recognition.

On the membership side, his goal is to modernize and strengthen the Membership Committee — creating clearer frameworks, improving outreach, and growing the base sustainably.

“Strength in numbers translates directly into stronger advocacy,” he says.

On the recognition side, he’s deeply involved in shaping the Ambassador program.

“Recognition should feel earned, transparent, and meaningful,” he explains. “Not political or arbitrary.”

Both efforts, he says, serve the same purpose: reinforcing trust, participation, and shared ownership.

Noah is clear-eyed about ecommerce trends — SaaS platforms, composable architectures, AI, and promises of simplicity.

“Ignoring that reality would be a mistake,” he says. “But trying to become those things would also be a mistake.”

The role of the Magento Association is not to chase trends, but to provide clarity — about what Magento is, who it’s for, and how it continues to evolve responsibly.

“This is where open source shines when it’s done well,” Noah says. “It listens, experiments, iterates, and evolves in public.”

If he had to summarize the MA’s future in a single thought:

“Not louder. Not trendier. But a better listener, a clearer signal amplifier, and a steadier steward of the platform’s future.”

Noah’s message to anyone considering joining the Magento Association is simple — and deeply personal.

“If you’ve built a career, a business, or a livelihood on Magento, the Association is not abstract. It’s the collective expression of the community that made that success possible.”

Joining isn’t about prestige.

“It’s about stewardship.”

Open platforms don’t sustain themselves — especially at this scale and over this length of time. They require people willing to support the structures that protect them and guide their evolution.

“Even passive participation strengthens the Association’s ability to advocate, convene, and represent the community.”

Ultimately, joining is a statement of continuity.

“It’s an investment in the people and regions that will rely on this platform in the years ahead.”

The Magento Association thrives on the passion and contributions of its members. By becoming a member, you can be part of the decision-making, contribute to the community’s growth, and enjoy exclusive benefits like discounts for events and access to valuable resources.

Become a Member Today!