As a community member I found Katherine to be open, approachable and that
she saw me, a volunteer, as an equal partner in the movement.
As a staff member she has shown an exemplary level of professionalism, to
have a real passion for Wikimedia, and solid understanding of the
importance of trust, honesty and transparency in our movement.
I have a lot of faith in Katherine to be able to lead the Foundation
through the rough seas. And not by attempting to do so single-handedly, but
by mobalising the team of brilliant people that are behind her.
You have my full support.
On Fri, Mar 11, 2016 at 3:28 AM, Pine W <wiki.pine(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I think it's a possibility that's worth
considering seriously. (: We'll see
how things go.
Pine
On Thu, Mar 10, 2016 at 7:26 PM, Oliver Keyes <ironholds(a)gmail.com> wrote:
On Thu, Mar 10, 2016 at 10:17 PM, Pine W
<wiki.pine(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> 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.
Pine,
It was a joke.
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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>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > James Heilman
>> > MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian
>> >
>> > The Wikipedia Open Textbook of Medicine
>> >
www.opentextbookofmedicine.com
>> > _______________________________________________
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