Wikimedia-l June 2016

wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org

146 participants
76 discussions

Why are articles being deleted?
by Mitar 28 Jun '16

28 Jun '16

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

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Board Governance Committee update
by Dariusz Jemielniak 27 Jun '16

27 Jun '16

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…

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Board appointment of Executive Director
by Jan-Bart de Vreede 27 Jun '16

27 Jun '16

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

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Wikipedians of the year Emily Temple-Wood and Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight
by Ed Erhart 26 Jun '16

26 Jun '16

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

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Wikidojo at Wikimania tonight at 17:30
by Nikola Kalchev 25 Jun '16

25 Jun '16

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

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Board appointment of Executive Director
by Andrew Gray 25 Jun '16

25 Jun '16

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

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Board appointment of Executive Director
by Damon Sicore 24 Jun '16

24 Jun '16

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 > >

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Board appointment of Executive Director
by Peter Southwood 24 Jun '16

24 Jun '16

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) --

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Board appointment of Executive Director
by Michael Maggs 24 Jun '16

24 Jun '16

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

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Board appointment of Executive Director
by Greg Varnum 24 Jun '16

24 Jun '16

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

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