Hello everyone,

I am happy to share that as of today, Christophe Henner and Nataliia Tymkiv have formally joined the Board of Trustees as affiliate Board-selected members. They both bring deep expertise in the Wikimedia community, and in their respective fields. I’m confident they will serve as excellent contributors, rooted in the values of our movement. You can learn more about them in an announcement we made in May: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/05/24/affiliate-selected-board-trustees-election/

Today the Board also voted to appoint Christophe Henner as Chair, and María Sefidari as Vice Chair. Both Christophe and María have a long history of involvement in the Wikimedia community, and have held leadership roles at Wikimedia France and Wikimedia Spain, respectively.

More about Christophe, María, and Natallia is below. I hope you will join me in congratulating them on their new positions and wish them success in their terms ahead.

I would like to thank my friend Alice for working with me in her role as Vice Chair, and many thanks to you all for your support during my time as Chair.

Patricio Lorente

About Christophe Henner

Christophe Henner is the former Chair of Wikimedia France and current deputy CEO of Webedia's gaming division, the international digital media group headquartered in France.

He has deep and varied experience across the marketing sector, including leadership roles at at Webedia and L'Odyssée Interactive.

Christophe has been an active member of the Wikimedia community for more than 12 years. In 2007, he joined the Board of Wikimedia France and has remained an active Board member in various positions for the past ten years. He has served as both Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Wikimedia France. During his time on the Board, Christophe helped lead Wikimedia France through a significant period of growth. This included leading the development of the chapter’s brand, and supporting the development of a clear organizational strategy and vision for the chapter.

About Maria Sefidari

Maria is a professor in the Digital Communications, Culture and Citizenship Master's degree program of Rey Juan Carlos University at the MediaLab-Prado. María graduated with a Psychology degree from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and later a Master's degree in Management and Tourism at the Business faculty of the same university.

María started contributing to the Wikimedia projects in 2006, and has since served in many different roles across the Wikimedia movement. She was a founding member of Wikimedia España and Wikimujeres Grupo de Usuarias, and also created Spanish Wikipedia's LGBT Wikiproject. She has served on several Wikimedia governance committees, including the Affiliations and Individual Engagement Grants committees. In her time on the Affiliations committee, María served as the first Treasurer of the committee, effectively overseeing and monitoring disbursement of the committee's budget. Maria served a prior term on the Wikimedia Foundation board from 2013 to 2015.

About Nataliia Tymkiv

Nataliia currently serves as Financial Director of the Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law, a Ukrainian media policy and human rights nonprofit. Nataliia has a Masters degree in Public Administration and a Specialist degree in Records Management and Information Activities.

She has in-depth experience in executive leadership and financial management. Prior to her current role as Financial Director, Nataliia worked at a manufacturing firm and later, in finance at a construction company. Prior to her current role as Financial Director, Nataliia worked at a manufacturing firm and later, in finance at a construction company. On the Wikimedia projects, she’s been an active contributor since 2011, and shortly after became an administrator of Ukrainian Wikipedia. She has also been a member of the Wikimedia Ukraine community for nearly four years, and has served as the chapter’s Board Treasurer, Vice Chair, and volunteer Executive Director.