[Foundation-l] Announcing Erik Moeller as Wikimedia Deputy Director

[Erik Moeller]

Thank you, Sue. :-)

WMF has been a tiny, infrastructure focused organization based in St.
Petersburg, Florida. And in some ways that's good: we've learned to
utilize minimal resources to accomplish amazing things; we've built
large, decentralized networks of volunteers to get things done.

On the other hand, the number of educational opportunities that have
passed us by simply because we did not have the opportunity to respond
or the ability to execute has been staggering.

We could have decided that we'll never be able to respond to a
partnership proposal from a major university, or put together a grant,
or execute a strategic priority like single user login or stable
versions. We have decided, however, that our mission and vision is to
empower everyone to share in the sum of human knowledge. And that
desire is leading us to a new morning, a new beginning.

We're not just a Foundation to host servers. We are a charity of free knowledge.

Our relocation, our new hires, the first systematic budget, all these
are requirements for growing up: not sufficient, but necessary. And
the warm welcome we've already received in San Francisco is great --
few locations host so many unique and amazing organizations. It seems
deeply appropriate for us to be there. :-)

Sue, you've brought an unprecedented level of professionalism to WMF,
and I consider it a pleasure and an honor to be given the opportunity
to work with you.  Planet Earth hungers for knowledge. We have a lot
of work cut out for us - let's get to it!

WikiLove,
Erik