Hi all - passing this on. We sent out this press release earlier today.
Thanks!
Jay, Communications
''Neeru Khosla to Become Wikipedia Advisor''
Philanthropist and education pioneer joins non-profit's Advisory Board
San Francisco CA December 15, 2008 -- The Wikimedia Foundation, the
non-profit organization behind the web encyclopedia Wikipedia, today
announced the appointment of Neeru Khosla to its Advisory Board.
Khosla is co-founder and chair of CK-12, a non-profit based in Palo
Alto, California which is pioneering the concept of "open source
textbooks." In September, the U.S. state of Virginia announced a
collaboration with CK-12 to produce an open source physics textbook,
a major coup for the young non-profit organization.
"I am delighted that Neeru is joining us," said Michael Snow,
Chairman of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. "In addition
to her understanding of the educational arena both in the United
States and elsewhere, Neeru is experienced with the challenges of
building and leading non-profit organizations. As we grow and
evolve, her expertise will be enormously valuable and welcomed."
The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates the volunteer-written
encyclopedia with a staff of just under 25 people, created its
Advisory Board in January 2007 as a mechanism for input from leaders
and thinkers in fields like education, technology, and free culture.
Advisory Board members convene with Wikimedia's leadership once a
year and also support the organization in their specific areas of
expertise.
"When people want to learn things online, they go to Wikipedia
first," said Neeru Khosla. "It's absolutely clear to me that anyone
who cares about education online should seriously consider how they
can help Wikipedia do an even better job. It's an important cause,
and I'm more than happy to volunteer."
In March 2008, the Wikimedia Foundation received a $500,000 donation
from Vinod and Neeru Khosla.
The current Advisory Board membership includes:
* Angela Beesley (Chair, Wikimedia Advisory Board; co-founder,
Wikia)
* Ward Cunningham (Developer of the first wiki)
* Heather Ford (Executive director, iCommons)
* Debbie Garside (Multi-lingual web pioneer)
* Melissa Hagemann (Open Access advocate)
* Danny Hillis (Engineer, author, inventor)
* Mitch Kapor (Founder/Co-founder Lotus Developments, EFF,
Mozilla Foundation)
* Neeru Khosla (Co-founder, CK-12)
* Teemu Leinonen (Head, Learning Environments research group of
the Media Lab, University of Art and Design Helsinki)
* Rebecca MacKinnon (Journalist; founder, Global Voices Online)
* Wayne Mackintosh (Education specialist, Commonwealth of Learning)
* Benjamin Mako Hill (Author, free software advocate)
* Erin McKean (Chief consulting editor, American Dictionaries at
Oxford University Press)
* Trevor Neilson (Partner, Global Philanthropy Group)
* Florence Nibart-Devouard (Former Chair, Wikimedia Foundation
Board of Trustees; Scientist)
* Achal Prabhala (Journalist and researcher)
* Jay Rosen (Journalist, author, educator)
* Clay Shirky (Author, consultant, educator)
* Peter Suber (Open Access advocate)
* Raoul Weiler (ICT advocate)
* Ethan Zuckerman (Research Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet
and Society at Harvard Law School)
For more information, visit:
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Advisory_Board
''About the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikipedia''
wikimediafoundation.org
wikipedia.org
The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization which
operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to comScore,
Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia
Foundation receive more than 270 million unique visitors per month,
making them the 4th most popular web property world-wide. Available
in more than 265 languages, Wikipedia provides more than 11 million
articles contributed by a global volunteer community of more than
100,000 people. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia
Foundation is an audited, 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily
through donations and grants.