Hi!
I am an occasional editor of Wikipedia, I read it a lot, I edit
sometimes, and I am at all not familiar with bureaucracies and rules
Wikipedia community has developed through years (call me lazy, but
they simply always look too scary and too many for me to even start
reading them, walls and walls of text). When I interact with Wikipedia
I thus try to assume what reasonable rules for creating a
collaborative source of all human knowledge would be.
As such I would like to share one positive feedback and one negative
feedback (frustration). The latter comes from my surprise between what
I would assume rules would be and what I have experienced. I am
sharing this to help prevent similar frustrations to other editors who
maybe be less persistent than me and just give up.
I am also guessing this has come up again and again in the past.
Anyway. First the positive feedback. I love the visual editor! I
finally switched to it and I am not going back! This is a life saver
for somebody who just occasionally edits Wikipedia. No need to anymore
guess if I should use single [ ] or double [[ ]]. No need to try to
remember the syntax for references every time when I am editing
Wikipedia after few months pause. Great job!
But the negative feedback comes from me getting too enthusiastic about
my new visual editor experience and I decided to create some my own
new articles instead of just editing existing ones. The result was
that one of such articles was speedily deleted without any due
process, because it was deemed insignificant, no discussion, in a day.
The whole notion of insignificant and not notable articles comes to me
as a surprise. It seems to me as a legacy of printed encyclopedias
which were limited in number of pages printed. But an online
encyclopedia? How is this possible?
Why I have problems with this:
I created an English article which is significant at least for people
in Slovenia, with references to local news articles. How can other
editors who might not know the subject, and are not from Slovenia,
decide that this is not significant and just delete a page, without
even starting a discussion? I commented on the talk page citing
reasons and it was simply ignored, and everything deleted? Why is not
enough to put a notice there to improve the article? Allow others to
add content, explain more, give their input?
So, a general question is: how can we build a global encyclopedia with
editors who does not understand significance of a particular article
in a local environment?
Why are articles simply deleted instead of guiding users on how to improve them?
Why there is no process involved where interested people could discuss
why is something significant? A voting process where people could say
"oh, I care about this"?
Furthermore, everything happened in a day. There are timezones
involved, some of us have to do other things in our lives. Are you
sure that such short deadlines really foster global community? If this
is something which is regularly done at Wikipedia, I think that this
is coming from a big position of privilege. Of editors who can be in
front of their computers the whole day and engage in editing the
Wikipedia all the time. Not everyone can afford that. Especially
looking at this globally. One day notice? This is crazy.
But my main issue is conceptual. Why is there such a rule in the first
place? Why are we deleting anything except for things which are not
true? Is Internet too small to have all human knowledge in one place?
Why it is a problem if some Wikipedia article is cared by "only" 100
people? 1000 people? Will it run out of disk space?
I think this comes from the reason that we are trying to copy what is
encyclopedia too much without adapting the idea to the 21st century.
It is like academic papers which had selection because it was costly
to print it, but in 21st century we can have then academic journals
which simply accept all submissions, only that they are technically
sound (in case of Wikipedia, that they have structure of an
encyclopedia article, with all other rules about the content of the
article, and references). See Plos One:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLOS_ONE This revolutionized academia.
And I think Wikipedia should do a similar thing.
One reason I found is that the issue why deleting articles is that
there is a limited attention of editors. If there are too many
articles editors would not be able to maintain good quality for all of
them.
I cannot agree with this argument. This is the most short-sighted
argument ever. First, all articles start by being low quality and then
they improve. Second, by allowing new articles to exist, you are also
getting new editors who care about those new articles. The article I
created? Guess what, you would have at least one editor (me) who would
care about it. Now you have 0.5 editor less (me) who cares about
anything else less now.
This is a feedback loop. More content you allow, more editors you will
have. Invite people to write about fiction they love, local spaces,
local events, everything. If it is true, if it has a form of an
encyclopedia article, why it could not exist?
We could create special tags instead deletion or a warning at the top
of the article:
"Warning: article has a small readerbase and might lack in quality. Be
extra wary of potential untruths and errors in the article."
Done. Wikipedia grows, Wikipedia is happy, and new editors do not get
frustrated. So simple.
Yes, people will say. But we are building encyclopedia. Encyclopedia
has to have only notable entries. Yes. In 20st century and before.
Maybe it is time we reinvent encyclopedia? And maybe we are doing more
than just encyclopedia, but "a collaborative source of all human
knowledge", in a form of encyclopedia.
I just hope this rule does not exist only so that Wikia has a business
model. You remove pages from Wikipedia so that people have to go to
Wikia. Why?
Why introducing artificial scarcity?
Without such rules to back them up, trigger happy editors would not be
deleting articles. Instead, editors like me would have time and
opportunity to improve them, and articles might through time be proven
significant because people would stumble upon them and you would see
stats of readerbase. Now, nobody can know how many readers are in fact
searching for that article on Google but cannot find it.
I know it is impossible to change anything in how Wikipedia operates.
It is just too big and has too big momentum in a way it is already
doing things. But please please consider changing this rules. No need
for deletion. Just mark them. Grey them out. Let's have another state
between "existing" and "non-existing". Like "articles in limbo". They
are not part of encyclopedia, but they are part of human knowledge. We
are unsure about them.
Thanks for your attention, to those who managed to read through my
long rant. Sorry.
Mitar
--
http://mitar.tnode.com/https://twitter.com/mitar_m
hi all,
this is an update on the work of the Board Governance Committee over the
last months that some of you have requested.
Among other things, the Board Governance Committee has worked on:
- Creating the Board’s competence matrix[1],
- Discussing the most critical needs for the expert seats, and proposing
technology (deep, intimate understanding of how software works, possibly
coming from open-source involvement), as well as global organization and
community management and change in non-profit world as the major ones,
- Discussing the calendar for the vacant expert seat recruitment, and
adjusting to the WMF HR staff available support (scheduled to start in
August),
- Discussing the vacant community seats solutions (and proposing shortening
the terms and having community elections in early 2017, so that the elected
members would join the Board at April meeting),
- Appointing the new Election Committee (and proposing a process in which
the further development of this body will be partially transferred to the
community),
- Reviewing the possibilities for an external Board review (as recommended
by the FDC),
- Increasing transparency (a set of concrete measures soon to be put
forward by Dariusz and Maria, following several discussions),
- Introducing a workshop[2] for external Board members about wiki-culture
and copyright (topics picked by the community[3]) at Wikimania,
- Conducting an internal Board[4] survey about our understanding of our
tasks, governance practices, etc.
- Discussing general governance improvements[5] for the Board.
We have also considered introducing one centralized place on meta for
Board-community communication, but after discussion with the staff we have
concluded that we're going to rely on small incremental improvements in
communication first.
The remaining topics still include:
- the Advisory Board redesign/restart,
- the Board's composition and structure analysis,
- possible external reviews or consulting,
- introducing workshops on best governance practices (and other topics of
interest) for Board members,
- other governance improvements and tasks.
let me know if you have any questions!
dj "pundit"
(current Trustee and BGC member, passing BGC chairing to Natalia Tymkiv)
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_Governance_Commi…
[2]
https://wikimania2016.wikimedia.org/wiki/Training_sessions/Proposals/Wikime…
[3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_Governance_Commi…
[4] https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Minutes/2016-03
[5]
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_Governance_Recommendations_(Apri…
Congratulations to Katherine for being an incredible positive force and make a great impression in such a short time as Interim! A well deserved reward :)
I have all the confidence that you are able to motivate those around you (and in our community) to perform at their best, work together and be creative.
The very best wishes in what is (as always) likely to be a challenging time :)
Jan-Bart
> On 24 Jun 2016, at 11:15, Patricio Lorente <patricio.lorente(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear all,
>
> It is our great pleasure to share that during the Board meeting at Wikimania 2016 in Esino Lario, we unanimously voted to appoint Katherine Maher as Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. This is effective as of our resolution dated Thursday, 23 June.
>
> Katherine served as interim Executive Director for the past three months, during which time she consistently and repeatedly demonstrated the kind of leadership our organization needs. She is deeply committed to our movement’s values, and brings expertise in civic technology and international development that will be an asset to the Wikimedia Foundation and the movement.
>
> We came to this conclusion after an intensive discovery process led by the ED search committee. Our decision was also informed by direct feedback from staff and community, and our own experience working closely with Katherine.
>
> In March, we assembled an Executive Director search committee[1] consisting of four Board members¹ who were chosen to represent different perspectives and capacities.² Additionally, the Board asked the Foundation’s Chief Advancement Officer Lisa Gruwell to represent the executive team, and Foundation staff member Katie Horn was selected by her peers as someone who could represent staff perspectives. The committee was charged with keeping the process on track and on time, engaging important stakeholders, and facilitating transparency in communications. Their first tasks were to identify a search firm, and define the position description. You can review the committee’s updates on Meta.[2]
>
> The committee recruited Viewcrest Advisors,³ to identify our leadership needs and design a hiring process. Kathleen Yazbak of Viewcrest worked with the committee to conduct interviews with every Foundation department, the executive, the Board, and nearly 20 additional one-on-one interviews with staff. Kathleen attended the Wikimedia Conference in Berlin, collecting feedback from community members and affiliates. The committee launched a community survey in June, receiving more than 1,600 responses about the qualities needed in the next ED; they also asked for feedback on Meta.[3] Taking all of this into account, the transition team developed a profile and requirements for the next Executive Director that reflect our values and our communities.
>
> Throughout this process, the Board and the transition team received very clear and often unsolicited feedback from both staff and community members that Katherine embodies the values of our movement and the traits needed in our next ED. This feedback was only reinforced by the latest Foundation engagement survey results, which showed a strong shift toward renewed trust in leadership. After taking this all into account, and considering what the organization needs at this moment of transition, we moved to appoint Katherine now.
>
> In just three months as interim ED, Katherine worked with the organization and community to make huge strides in management, execution, and transparency. She brought much-needed clarity to our strategic direction, and mobilized the organization to clearly communicate that direction through this year’s annual plan.
>
> After her appointment, she worked with the leadership team to swiftly identify the organization’s priorities during the transition period and execute against them, setting ambitious but reachable targets. Under Katherine’s leadership, the Foundation submitted its annual plan to the Funds Dissemination Committee, leaving ample time for community feedback and discussion.
>
> Katherine is an excellent fit for our movement. She is longtime advocate for global open communities, culture, and technology. She was the Foundation’s Chief Communications Officer from April 2014 until she was appointed interim ED in March. Throughout her career she has focused on freedom of expression, access to information, and digital rights; supporting the efforts of people around the world to deepen participation, advance transparency, and strengthen their communities through her work with UNICEF, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and the World Bank. If you don’t already know Katherine, you can learn more about her on Meta.[4]
>
> With this appointment, we feel strongly that the Foundation has the leadership and clarity to move forward. We wish Katherine the very best in this role, and the Board looks forward to continuing to work with her.
>
> We would also like to thank the many community members and Foundation staff who actively shared thoughtful, highly valuable feedback. Without that, we would not have been able to come to this decision.
>
> Please join us in congratulating Katherine!
>
> Patricio Lorente, outgoing Board Chair
> Christophe Henner, incoming Board Chair
>
> Alice Wiegand (Committee Chair), Dariusz Jemielniak, Guy Kawasaki, Kelly Battles.
> For example, community and governance experience, appointed and community-selected seats, and US and non-US perspectives.
> The committee reviewed 7 different firms and unanimously picked Viewcrest.
>
>
>
> [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra… <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…>
> [2 ]https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Transition_Team/2016/Updates <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…>
> [3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra… <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…>
> [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katherine_(WMF) <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katherine_(WMF)>
> --
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l:
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
> _______________________________________________
> WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list
> WikimediaAnnounce-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l
Hi all,
As many of you have heard, Emily Temple-Wood (Keilana) and Rosie
Stephenson-Goodknight (Rosiestep) have been named as the co-Wikipedians of
the Year at Wikimania.
Congratulations to them both, along with the runner-ups Mardetanha and
Vassia Antanasova (Spiritia)!
You can read more about this on the Wikimedia blog:
https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/06/24/wikipedians-of-the-year/
--
Ed Erhart
Editorial Associate
Wikimedia Foundation
For all of you who are at Wikimania today: a Wikidojo is coming at 17:30 –
19:30 in room 12 of the school. It is fun, cool, nerdy and everybody loves
it!
A Wikidojo is a collaborative practice, which consists of a group of
Wikipedians with different levels of experience in editing wikis. The group
consists of a 'pilot' – the only person in the room who might use the
keyboard, a 'co-pilot' – the only other person who is allowed to speak, and
observers. Every seven minutes the pilot becomes an observer, the co-pilot
becomes a pilot and one observer becomes co-pilot. Ideally the group would
consist of 10 people. Asaf will choose an article to be written and we will
present it at the beginning of the session. The editing is being projected
on a screen.
Read more at https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikidojo, come and have fun!
See you later,
Nikola / User:Lord Bumbury
Wikimedians of Bulgaria
On 24 June 2016 at 10:15, Patricio Lorente <patricio.lorente(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
>
> It is our great pleasure to share that during the Board meeting at Wikimania
> 2016 in Esino Lario, we unanimously voted to appoint Katherine Maher as
> Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. This is effective as of our
> resolution dated Thursday, 23 June.
Hi Patricio,
On a pretty miserable day here in the UK, this is really cheering
news. Congratulations to Katherine and well done to the Board for
making a clear decision.
Andrew.
--
- Andrew Gray
andrew.gray(a)dunelm.org.uk
Congratulations, Katherine! Excellent work and great news. :)
Yours faithfully,
Damon
D∀mon Sicor∃
https://damon.sicore.com
6E98 FBFB
D192 D325
B85D D4FF
FD2A 20ED
DC1D 3975
On Fri, Jun 24, 2016 at 2:15 AM, Patricio Lorente <
patricio.lorente(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> It is our great pleasure to share that during the Board meeting at
> Wikimania 2016 in Esino Lario, we unanimously voted to appoint Katherine
> Maher as Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. This is effective
> as of our resolution dated Thursday, 23 June.
>
> Katherine served as interim Executive Director for the past three months,
> during which time she consistently and repeatedly demonstrated the kind of
> leadership our organization needs. She is deeply committed to our
> movement’s values, and brings expertise in civic technology and
> international development that will be an asset to the Wikimedia Foundation
> and the movement.
>
> We came to this conclusion after an intensive discovery process led by the
> ED search committee. Our decision was also informed by direct feedback from
> staff and community, and our own experience working closely with Katherine.
>
> In March, we assembled an Executive Director search committee[1]
> consisting of four Board members¹ who were chosen to represent different
> perspectives and capacities.² Additionally, the Board asked the
> Foundation’s Chief Advancement Officer Lisa Gruwell to represent the
> executive team, and Foundation staff member Katie Horn was selected by her
> peers as someone who could represent staff perspectives. The committee was
> charged with keeping the process on track and on time, engaging important
> stakeholders, and facilitating transparency in communications. Their first
> tasks were to identify a search firm, and define the position description.
> You can review the committee’s updates on Meta.[2]
>
> The committee recruited Viewcrest Advisors,³ to identify our leadership
> needs and design a hiring process. Kathleen Yazbak of Viewcrest worked with
> the committee to conduct interviews with every Foundation department, the
> executive, the Board, and nearly 20 additional one-on-one interviews with
> staff. Kathleen attended the Wikimedia Conference in Berlin, collecting
> feedback from community members and affiliates. The committee launched a
> community survey in June, receiving more than 1,600 responses about the
> qualities needed in the next ED; they also asked for feedback on Meta.[3]
> Taking all of this into account, the transition team developed a profile
> and requirements for the next Executive Director that reflect our values
> and our communities.
>
> Throughout this process, the Board and the transition team received very
> clear and often unsolicited feedback from both staff and community members
> that Katherine embodies the values of our movement and the traits needed in
> our next ED. This feedback was only reinforced by the latest Foundation
> engagement survey results, which showed a strong shift toward renewed trust
> in leadership. After taking this all into account, and considering what the
> organization needs at this moment of transition, we moved to appoint
> Katherine now.
>
> In just three months as interim ED, Katherine worked with the organization
> and community to make huge strides in management, execution, and
> transparency. She brought much-needed clarity to our strategic direction,
> and mobilized the organization to clearly communicate that direction
> through this year’s annual plan.
>
> After her appointment, she worked with the leadership team to swiftly
> identify the organization’s priorities during the transition period and
> execute against them, setting ambitious but reachable targets. Under
> Katherine’s leadership, the Foundation submitted its annual plan to the
> Funds Dissemination Committee, leaving ample time for community feedback
> and discussion.
>
> Katherine is an excellent fit for our movement. She is longtime advocate
> for global open communities, culture, and technology. She was the
> Foundation’s Chief Communications Officer from April 2014 until she was
> appointed interim ED in March. Throughout her career she has focused on
> freedom of expression, access to information, and digital rights;
> supporting the efforts of people around the world to deepen participation,
> advance transparency, and strengthen their communities through her work
> with UNICEF, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and
> the World Bank. If you don’t already know Katherine, you can learn more
> about her on Meta.[4]
>
> With this appointment, we feel strongly that the Foundation has the
> leadership and clarity to move forward. We wish Katherine the very best in
> this role, and the Board looks forward to continuing to work with her.
>
> We would also like to thank the many community members and Foundation
> staff who actively shared thoughtful, highly valuable feedback. Without
> that, we would not have been able to come to this decision.
>
> Please join us in congratulating Katherine!
>
> Patricio Lorente, outgoing Board Chair
>
> Christophe Henner, incoming Board Chair
>
>
> 1.
>
> Alice Wiegand (Committee Chair), Dariusz Jemielniak, Guy Kawasaki,
> Kelly Battles.
> 2.
>
> For example, community and governance experience, appointed and
> community-selected seats, and US and non-US perspectives.
> 3.
>
> The committee reviewed 7 different firms and unanimously picked
> Viewcrest.
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
>
> [1]
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…
>
> [2 ]
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…
>
> [3]
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…
>
> [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katherine_(WMF)
> --
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately
> directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia
> community. For more information about Wikimedia-l:
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
> _______________________________________________
> WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list
> WikimediaAnnounce-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l
>
>
Looks like a good choice.
Good luck, Katherine
Cheers,
Peter
From: WikimediaAnnounce-l [mailto:wikimediaannounce-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Patricio Lorente
Sent: Friday, 24 June 2016 11:16 AM
To: wikimediaannounce-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: [Wikimedia Announcements] Board appointment of Executive Director
Dear all,
It is our great pleasure to share that during the Board meeting at Wikimania 2016 in Esino Lario, we unanimously voted to appoint Katherine Maher as Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. This is effective as of our resolution dated Thursday, 23 June.
Katherine served as interim Executive Director for the past three months, during which time she consistently and repeatedly demonstrated the kind of leadership our organization needs. She is deeply committed to our movement’s values, and brings expertise in civic technology and international development that will be an asset to the Wikimedia Foundation and the movement.
We came to this conclusion after an intensive discovery process led by the ED search committee. Our decision was also informed by direct feedback from staff and community, and our own experience working closely with Katherine.
In March, we assembled an Executive Director search committee[1] consisting of four Board members¹ who were chosen to represent different perspectives and capacities.² Additionally, the Board asked the Foundation’s Chief Advancement Officer Lisa Gruwell to represent the executive team, and Foundation staff member Katie Horn was selected by her peers as someone who could represent staff perspectives. The committee was charged with keeping the process on track and on time, engaging important stakeholders, and facilitating transparency in communications. Their first tasks were to identify a search firm, and define the position description. You can review the committee’s updates on Meta.[2]
The committee recruited Viewcrest Advisors,³ to identify our leadership needs and design a hiring process. Kathleen Yazbak of Viewcrest worked with the committee to conduct interviews with every Foundation department, the executive, the Board, and nearly 20 additional one-on-one interviews with staff. Kathleen attended the Wikimedia Conference in Berlin, collecting feedback from community members and affiliates. The committee launched a community survey in June, receiving more than 1,600 responses about the qualities needed in the next ED; they also asked for feedback on Meta.[3] Taking all of this into account, the transition team developed a profile and requirements for the next Executive Director that reflect our values and our communities.
Throughout this process, the Board and the transition team received very clear and often unsolicited feedback from both staff and community members that Katherine embodies the values of our movement and the traits needed in our next ED. This feedback was only reinforced by the latest Foundation engagement survey results, which showed a strong shift toward renewed trust in leadership. After taking this all into account, and considering what the organization needs at this moment of transition, we moved to appoint Katherine now.
In just three months as interim ED, Katherine worked with the organization and community to make huge strides in management, execution, and transparency. She brought much-needed clarity to our strategic direction, and mobilized the organization to clearly communicate that direction through this year’s annual plan.
After her appointment, she worked with the leadership team to swiftly identify the organization’s priorities during the transition period and execute against them, setting ambitious but reachable targets. Under Katherine’s leadership, the Foundation submitted its annual plan to the Funds Dissemination Committee, leaving ample time for community feedback and discussion.
Katherine is an excellent fit for our movement. She is longtime advocate for global open communities, culture, and technology. She was the Foundation’s Chief Communications Officer from April 2014 until she was appointed interim ED in March. Throughout her career she has focused on freedom of expression, access to information, and digital rights; supporting the efforts of people around the world to deepen participation, advance transparency, and strengthen their communities through her work with UNICEF, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and the World Bank. If you don’t already know Katherine, you can learn more about her on Meta.[4]
With this appointment, we feel strongly that the Foundation has the leadership and clarity to move forward. We wish Katherine the very best in this role, and the Board looks forward to continuing to work with her.
We would also like to thank the many community members and Foundation staff who actively shared thoughtful, highly valuable feedback. Without that, we would not have been able to come to this decision.
Please join us in congratulating Katherine!
Patricio Lorente, outgoing Board Chair
Christophe Henner, incoming Board Chair
1. Alice Wiegand (Committee Chair), Dariusz Jemielniak, Guy Kawasaki, Kelly Battles.
2. For example, community and governance experience, appointed and community-selected seats, and US and non-US perspectives.
3. The committee reviewed 7 different firms and unanimously picked Viewcrest.
_____
[1] <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…
[2 ] <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…
[3] <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…
[4] <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katherine_(WMF)> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katherine_(WMF)
--
Welcome Katherine, from all of us at Wikimedia UK. That's fantastic news!
Michael
____________
Michael Maggs
Chair, WMUK
Patricio Lorente wrote:
>
> Dear all,
>
>
> It is our great pleasure to share that during the Board meeting at
> Wikimania 2016 in Esino Lario, we unanimously voted to appoint
> Katherine Maher as Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation.
> This is effective as of our resolution dated Thursday, 23 June.
>
>
> Katherine served as interim Executive Director for the past three
> months, during which time she consistently and repeatedly demonstrated
> the kind of leadership our organization needs. She is deeply committed
> to our movement’s values, and brings expertise in civic technology and
> international development that will be an asset to the Wikimedia
> Foundation and the movement.
>
>
> We came to this conclusion after an intensive discovery process led by
> the ED search committee. Our decision was also informed by direct
> feedback from staff and community, and our own experience working
> closely with Katherine.
>
>
> In March, we assembled an Executive Director search committee[1]
> consisting of four Board members¹ who were chosen to represent
> different perspectives and capacities.² Additionally, the Board asked
> the Foundation’s Chief Advancement Officer Lisa Gruwell to represent
> the executive team, and Foundation staff member Katie Horn was
> selected by her peers as someone who could represent staff
> perspectives. The committee was charged with keeping the process on
> track and on time, engaging important stakeholders, and facilitating
> transparency in communications. Their first tasks were to identify a
> search firm, and define the position description. You can review the
> committee’s updates on Meta.[2]
>
>
> The committee recruited Viewcrest Advisors,³ to identify our
> leadership needs and design a hiring process. Kathleen Yazbak of
> Viewcrest worked with the committee to conduct interviews with every
> Foundation department, the executive, the Board, and nearly 20
> additional one-on-one interviews with staff. Kathleen attended the
> Wikimedia Conference in Berlin, collecting feedback from community
> members and affiliates. The committee launched a community survey in
> June, receivingmore than 1,600 responses about the qualities needed in
> the next ED; they also asked for feedback on Meta.[3] Taking all of
> this into account, the transition team developed a profile and
> requirements for the next Executive Director that reflect our values
> and our communities.
>
>
> Throughout this process, the Board and the transition team received
> very clear and often unsolicited feedback from both staff and
> community members that Katherine embodies the values of our movement
> and the traits needed in our next ED. This feedback was only
> reinforced by the latest Foundation engagement survey results, which
> showed a strong shift toward renewed trust in leadership. After taking
> this all into account, and considering what the organization needs at
> this moment of transition, we moved to appoint Katherine now.
>
>
> In just three months as interim ED, Katherine worked with the
> organization and community to make huge strides in management,
> execution, and transparency. She brought much-needed clarity to our
> strategic direction, and mobilized the organization to clearly
> communicate that direction through this year’s annual plan.
>
>
> After her appointment, she worked with the leadership team to swiftly
> identify the organization’s priorities during the transition period
> and execute against them, setting ambitious but reachable targets.
> Under Katherine’s leadership, the Foundation submitted its annual plan
> to the Funds Dissemination Committee, leaving ample time for community
> feedback and discussion.
>
>
> Katherine is an excellent fit for our movement. She is longtime
> advocate for global open communities, culture, and technology. She was
> the Foundation’s Chief Communications Officer from April 2014 until
> she was appointed interim ED in March. Throughout her career she has
> focused on freedom of expression, access to information, and digital
> rights; supporting the efforts of people around the world to deepen
> participation, advance transparency, and strengthen their communities
> through her work with UNICEF, National Democratic Institute for
> International Affairs, and the World Bank. If you don’t already know
> Katherine, you can learn more about her on Meta.[4]
>
>
> With this appointment, we feel strongly that the Foundation has the
> leadership and clarity to move forward. We wish Katherine the very
> best in this role, and the Board looks forward to continuing to work
> with her.
>
>
> We would also like to thank the many community members and Foundation
> staff who actively shared thoughtful, highly valuable feedback.
> Without that, we would not have been able to come to this decision.
>
>
> Please join us in congratulating Katherine!
>
>
> Patricio Lorente, outgoing Board Chair
>
> Christophe Henner, incoming Board Chair
>
>
> 1.
>
> Alice Wiegand (Committee Chair), Dariusz Jemielniak, Guy Kawasaki,
> Kelly Battles.
>
> 2.
>
> For example, community and governance experience, appointed and
> community-selected seats, and US and non-US perspectives.
>
> 3.
>
> The committee reviewed 7 different firms and unanimously picked
> Viewcrest.
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> [1]
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…
>
> [2
> ]https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Transition_Team/2016/Updates
>
> [3]
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…
>
> [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katherine_(WMF)
> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katherine_%28WMF%29>
>
> --
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l:
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
> _______________________________________________
> WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list
> WikimediaAnnounce-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l
This message is also available on Meta-Wiki for translation: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/24_J…
-greg
---
Gregory Varnum
Communications Strategist (Contractor)
Wikimedia Foundation <http://www.wikimediafoundation.org/>
gvarnum(a)wikimedia.org <mailto:gvarnum@wikimedia.org>
> On Jun 24, 2016, at 11:15 AM, Patricio Lorente <patricio.lorente(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear all,
>
> It is our great pleasure to share that during the Board meeting at Wikimania 2016 in Esino Lario, we unanimously voted to appoint Katherine Maher as Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. This is effective as of our resolution dated Thursday, 23 June.
>
> Katherine served as interim Executive Director for the past three months, during which time she consistently and repeatedly demonstrated the kind of leadership our organization needs. She is deeply committed to our movement’s values, and brings expertise in civic technology and international development that will be an asset to the Wikimedia Foundation and the movement.
>
> We came to this conclusion after an intensive discovery process led by the ED search committee. Our decision was also informed by direct feedback from staff and community, and our own experience working closely with Katherine.
>
> In March, we assembled an Executive Director search committee[1] consisting of four Board members¹ who were chosen to represent different perspectives and capacities.² Additionally, the Board asked the Foundation’s Chief Advancement Officer Lisa Gruwell to represent the executive team, and Foundation staff member Katie Horn was selected by her peers as someone who could represent staff perspectives. The committee was charged with keeping the process on track and on time, engaging important stakeholders, and facilitating transparency in communications. Their first tasks were to identify a search firm, and define the position description. You can review the committee’s updates on Meta.[2]
>
> The committee recruited Viewcrest Advisors,³ to identify our leadership needs and design a hiring process. Kathleen Yazbak of Viewcrest worked with the committee to conduct interviews with every Foundation department, the executive, the Board, and nearly 20 additional one-on-one interviews with staff. Kathleen attended the Wikimedia Conference in Berlin, collecting feedback from community members and affiliates. The committee launched a community survey in June, receiving more than 1,600 responses about the qualities needed in the next ED; they also asked for feedback on Meta.[3] Taking all of this into account, the transition team developed a profile and requirements for the next Executive Director that reflect our values and our communities.
>
> Throughout this process, the Board and the transition team received very clear and often unsolicited feedback from both staff and community members that Katherine embodies the values of our movement and the traits needed in our next ED. This feedback was only reinforced by the latest Foundation engagement survey results, which showed a strong shift toward renewed trust in leadership. After taking this all into account, and considering what the organization needs at this moment of transition, we moved to appoint Katherine now.
>
> In just three months as interim ED, Katherine worked with the organization and community to make huge strides in management, execution, and transparency. She brought much-needed clarity to our strategic direction, and mobilized the organization to clearly communicate that direction through this year’s annual plan.
>
> After her appointment, she worked with the leadership team to swiftly identify the organization’s priorities during the transition period and execute against them, setting ambitious but reachable targets. Under Katherine’s leadership, the Foundation submitted its annual plan to the Funds Dissemination Committee, leaving ample time for community feedback and discussion.
>
> Katherine is an excellent fit for our movement. She is longtime advocate for global open communities, culture, and technology. She was the Foundation’s Chief Communications Officer from April 2014 until she was appointed interim ED in March. Throughout her career she has focused on freedom of expression, access to information, and digital rights; supporting the efforts of people around the world to deepen participation, advance transparency, and strengthen their communities through her work with UNICEF, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and the World Bank. If you don’t already know Katherine, you can learn more about her on Meta.[4]
>
> With this appointment, we feel strongly that the Foundation has the leadership and clarity to move forward. We wish Katherine the very best in this role, and the Board looks forward to continuing to work with her.
>
> We would also like to thank the many community members and Foundation staff who actively shared thoughtful, highly valuable feedback. Without that, we would not have been able to come to this decision.
>
> Please join us in congratulating Katherine!
>
> Patricio Lorente, outgoing Board Chair
> Christophe Henner, incoming Board Chair
>
> Alice Wiegand (Committee Chair), Dariusz Jemielniak, Guy Kawasaki, Kelly Battles.
> For example, community and governance experience, appointed and community-selected seats, and US and non-US perspectives.
> The committee reviewed 7 different firms and unanimously picked Viewcrest.
>
>
>
> [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra… <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…>
> [2 ]https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Transition_Team/2016/Updates <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…>
> [3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra… <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Tra…>
> [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katherine_(WMF) <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katherine_(WMF)>
> --
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia community. For more information about Wikimedia-l:
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
> _______________________________________________
> WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list
> WikimediaAnnounce-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l