Dear all,

The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees [1] has concluded its meetings for this quarter and I would like to provide you with an overview of the outcomes of its September/October one [2]. All resolutions and other resources are linked at the end of this message. Other relevant pages on Meta are being updated.

As previously posted here on this list, the Board appointed the new Trustees (Victoria Doronina, Lorenzo Losa, and Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight), renewed Dariusz Jemielniak’s term [3] [4] [5] [6] [7], and approved the Brand Resolution [8]. Many thanks to all of those involved. 

The Board also approved committee assignments [9]. Much of the Board’s business is completed through the Board Committees, which are now tasked with creating their priorities for the coming year. The Board will review these priorities in December and vote to approve them as the 2022 Board priorities, and will then publish them on Meta. The Board has approved its Officer appointments for the next term. I shall continue as Board Chair with Shani Evenstein-Sigalov and Esra’a Al Shafei continuing as Vice Chairs. 

The Board recently completed a committee evolution plan [10] that we are now implementing. Part of this plan included creating an Executive Committee [11], which will be composed of the Board Chair, Board Vice-Chairs, and the Chairs of the Board committees. The Board approved this as well as updating the Product Committee to the Product and Technology Committee.

Each Committee also provided an update on their activities for the last quarter. Highlights include:

• The Audit Committee reviewed and approved the 2019 Form 990 [12], the annual informational document required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for non-profit organizations in the United States.

• The Board Governance Committee drafted a Trustee Code of Conduct [13], which was unanimously approved by the Board.

• The Human Resources Committee completed its work around recruitment of a new CEO [14]. Maryana Iskander will officially begin as CEO on January 5, 2022.

• The Community Affairs Committee has been involved in community facing communication related to the Board selection process, Strategy implementation, Grants etc, hosted several public facing events, including an interactive session at Wikimania. The CAC also facilitated sessions with the candidates running for election.

• The Product Committee continued its work, in partnership with Wikimedia Foundation staff, on a multi-year product-platform strategy.

• The Special Projects Committee worked with staff to create a new onboarding process for incoming trustees. This work will continue over the next several months.

The Board also heard many updates from staff regarding the ongoing work of the Foundation, including Wikimedia Enterprise. Please read the Board statement for more information [15].

Also, the Board approved the minutes from the last meeting in August [16].

The Community Affairs Committee will be providing additional information on the work of the Board at the October 20 Conversation with the Board [17]. You can submit questions via askcac@wikimedia.org in advance. I hope you are able to join this session.

[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_of_Trustees 

[2] The meeting was online, over the course of a few days -- September (8, 15, 29), October (4, 13)

[3] https://diff.wikimedia.org/2021/10/13/wikimedia-foundation-welcomes-new-trustees-rosie-stephenson-goodknight-victoria-doronina-dariusz-jemielniak-and-lorenzo-losa/ 

[4] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Appointing_Victoria_Doronina_to_the_Board_of_Trustees

[5] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Appointing_Lorenzo_Losa_to_the_Board_of_Trustees

[6] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Appointing_Rosie_Stephenson-Goodknight_to_the_Board_of_Trustees

[7] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Renewing_Dariusz_Jemielniak%E2%80%99s_Appointment_to_the_Board_of_Trustees,_2021

[8] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Next_Steps_for_Brand_Work,_2021 

[9] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Board_Officers_and_Committee_Membership,_2021 

[10] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:2021_Committee_Evolution_Plan 

[11] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Creating_an_Executive_Committee_and_Updating_Committee_Charters 

[12] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IRS_tax_related_information/2019_Wikimedia_Foundation_Form_990_Frequently_Asked_Questions 

[13] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Adopting_a_Board_of_Trustees_Code_of_Conduct 

[14] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/14_September_2021_-_Welcoming_the_new_Wikimedia_Foundation_CEO 

[15] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_Statement_on_Wikimedia_Enterprise_revenue_principles 

[16] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Minutes/2021-08  

[17] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Committee/2021-10-20_Conversation_with_Trustees