I've been warned that joining the Wikimedia movement is a bit like drinking from a firehose, and so I'd consider myself, right now, to be excited, curious, optimistic, and just a tiny little bit daunted.

Hi everyone, I want to thank you all for the best wishes you've expressed since the announcement. I am very excited to be joining you as the new Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. Let me tell you why I'm joining. Like everyone, I've been a Wikipedia reader for years. I use it to get background on events in the news, to look up quick facts and satisfy my curiosity, and to better understand the world around me, every day. My nine year old son, like many children around him, has grown up with Wikipedia as his native resource for knowledge. It is incredible. But I also realize that as an educated person living in a rich part of the world, I have access to a wide range of information resources. That's not true for everyone. For people who are less economically fortunate, or who live in parts of the world where access to information is heavily constrained, Wikipedia is even more critical. It is an utterly unique resource that opens possibilities for more equitable and open world. That's why I want to work for the Wikimedia Foundation: to help grow the availability of free, unbiased information for everyone around the world, in their own language, unimpeded by censorship or other forms of interference. It's a colossal mission and I am glad and humbled to be playing a leadership role in helping to achieve it. I’m excited to bring my passion for building products that people love and growing innovative, high-performing organizations to the Foundation. In getting oriented I’ve done lots and lots of reading, and had some wonderful conversations with Board members, Sue, and the C-level team. I met a lot of staff today at the Metrics Meeting, and I'm hoping to meet them all before the end of this month. I've been warned that joining the Wikimedia movement is a bit like drinking from a firehose, and so I'd consider myself, right now, to be excited, curious, optimistic, and just a tiny little bit daunted. Thank you again for personally welcoming me to your incredible world. I have been lucky to have had great opportunities to join with amazing people on big quests. This is the largest quest and I am thrilled to be on it with all of you. I want to extend my gratitude to Sue for the incredible work she has done and all the time she has committed to help bring me on-board. To all of you for your warm welcome. And my deepest thanks to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees for giving me this extraordinary opportunity.