Thanks Stephen.
A brief question to the Board: the board minutes say, "After discussion, the Board identified three goals. First, the Board is responsible for maintaining the long-term plan for the organization. The long-term plan is designed in partnership with the executive staff, and also needs to be set in coordination with other Wikimedia stakeholders. The Chair of the Board and the Executive Director are responsible for leading this goal within the Board. Second, the Board has a strong interest in improving its internal governance. The Board discussed some potential areas for improvement, including ensuring Board continuity. The Chair of the Board Governance Committee is responsible for improvements to internal governance. Third, the role of the Board is to support and empower the Executive Director. The Chair is responsible for this goal, with the support of the Human Resources Committee."
After the events in the past year, I question whether the statement "...the role of the Board is to support and empower the Executive Director" captures the full scope of the Board's role here. It seems to me that it's the Board's job to supervise the ED, which hopefully includes supporting him/her but also may include providing direction or removing him/her. I personally feel that Katherine is doing well and this is not intended to express skepticism about her, but being the ED of an organization is not a blank check, and I hope that the Board also takes a proactive role in the supervision of the ED. After the events in the past year, I hope that the Board will be diligent on this point from now on.
Thanks,
Pine
On Fri, Jul 22, 2016 at 5:53 PM, Stephen LaPorte slaporte@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hi all,
The Board of Trustees have published minutes from the summer Board meeting on June 22-23 and the Board meeting on June 29 to discuss the endowment. You can find the meeting minutes and accompanying documents on the Foundation Wiki:
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Minutes/2016-06
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Minutes/2016-06-29
Best, Stephen
-- Stephen LaPorte Senior Legal Counsel Wikimedia Foundation
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