Thank you, Katherine.
That's a good question, Oliver. I think that a lot will depend on whether
WMF can fill the other C-level vacancies, particularly the CTO vacancy,
with people who are mission-aligned and can are SMEs in areas where
Katherine isn't. Also, a lot will depend on whether Katherine wants to stay
in the job. Being the WMF ED is a very different beast from being the
leader of a department; it remains to be seen if Katherine will like it and
how other people are feeling as the ED search moves forward.
Regarding these goals from Meta "Avoid lengthy process for identifying a
new ED" and "Minimize uncertainty", I would encourage WMF not to rush the
selection of a new ED; I believe that Katherine will do well in the
interim, and this choice buys WMF some time to do a good job with the ED
search. Regarding uncertainty, that's one of the few certain things around
here, but of course steps can be taken to make people feel comfortable with
the uncertainty.
Good luck, Katherine. Many of us are relying on you and have faith in you.
Pine
On Thu, Mar 10, 2016 at 7:10 PM, Oliver Keyes <ironholds(a)gmail.com> wrote:
\o/\o/\o/\o/
So glad to see this wonderful choice!
...if we're gonna have Katherine as the interim...do we really need to
find someone permanent? ;)
On Thu, Mar 10, 2016 at 10:05 PM, James Heilman <jmh649(a)gmail.com> wrote:
A very positive move. Thank you Katherine for
agreeing to step up and
take
on this role. You have my full confidence :-)
James
On Thu, Mar 10, 2016 at 8:01 PM, Pharos <pharosofalexandria(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
> Congratulations, Katherine!
>
> She is an excellent choice to navigate us through for this difficult
time.
>
> Thanks,
> Pharos
>
> On Thu, Mar 10, 2016 at 9:55 PM, Patricio Lorente <
> patricio.lorente(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hello all,
> >
> > I’m happy to announce that the Wikimedia Foundation leadership team
has
> > proposed an interim Executive Director,
and the Board has given our
full
> > support. Starting on March 14th, current
Chief Communications Officer
> > Katherine Maher (
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katherine_(WMF) )
> > will
> > step into the role of interim Executive Director. We thank the
C-levels
> for
> > their careful consideration in this process, and Katherine for
stepping
> up
> > during this period of transition.
> >
> > In choosing an interim ED, the C-levels started by identifying
immediate
> > priorities for the coming months,
including building trust, improving
> > communications, and filling key leadership positions. They felt, and
we
> > agree, that Katherine is the right
person to lead the organization
while
> it
> > addresses these and other important issues. Additionally, this will
allow
> > the rest of the executive team to focus
on critical organizational
> > functions, including community and engineering management,
fundraising,
> and
> > strengthening our human resources function. You can read more about
our
> > process and thinking here:
> >
> >
>
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/Marc…
> >
> >
> > Katherine has been with the Foundation as Chief Communications Officer
> for
> > about two years now. During that time, she has developed a versatile
and
> > effective team that serves the needs of
the organization and movement,
> > collaborating closely with other departments and the community. She
has
> > thoughtfully introduced new capacities
and led her team through
> > transitions, and played a critical role in shepherding the strategy
> process
> > and the annual plan, in collaboration with other C-levels. She is
known
> for
> > listening to and empowering the people that she works with.
> >
> > For those who don’t know Katherine, she’s been a longtime advocate for
> > global open communities, culture, and technology. She previously led
> > advocacy for the international digital rights organization Access Now,
> > where she worked on freedom of expression, access to information, and
> > privacy. She has supported the efforts of citizens and governments
around
> > the world to deepen transparency and
participation in her roles at the
> > World Bank, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs,
and
> > UNICEF (where her team built wikis for
youth participation in major
> global
> > issues). She is a member of the advisory board of the Open Technology
> Fund.
> >
> > With interim leadership in place, our next step as the Board is to
move
> > quickly to plan and implement the search
for a permanent Executive
> > Director. We will be working together over the coming weeks to clarify
> > roles and responsibilities in this search, and identify the best way
for
> > community and staff to participate. We
want this process to be
inclusive
> > and incorporate many voices. We look
forward to sharing an update on
our
> > progress toward the end of next week.
> >
> > As interim Executive Director, Katherine will report to the Board.
Geoff
> > Brigham will continue serving as Board
Secretary, and Jaime
Villagomez as
> > Board Treasurer, reporting to the Board
in those capacities. As of
March
> > 14, Katherine's reports include the
C-team: Geoff Brigham, Jaime
> > Villagomez, Maggie Dennis, Lisa Gruwell, Joady Lohr, and Wes Moran.
The
> > Communications team will continue to
report to Katherine for the time
> > being, with support from the leadership of Juliet Barbara and Heather
> > Walls.
> >
> > Thank you,
> >
> > Patricio
> >
> > Translation notice - This message is available for translation on
> > Meta-Wiki:
> >
> >
>
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/10_M…
> > --
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