[Foundation-l] Neeru Khosla to Become Wikipedia Advisor

[Jay Walsh]

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.
>
>