[Foundation-l] Announcement - Public Policy Initiative Team joins WMF

[James Alexander]

James Alexander
james.alexander at rochester.edu
jamesofur at gmail.com


On Wed, Jun 9, 2010 at 2:09 PM, Daniel Phelps <dphelps at wikimedia.org> wrote:

> The Wikimedia Foundation has hired four new staff members to guide the new
> Public Policy Initiative. Annie Lin, LiAnna Davis, Sage Ross, and Amy Roth
> will work with public policy programs at universities across the United
> States to incorporate improvements to Wikipedia articles into the
> professors' curriculum. The Public Policy Initiative will recruit Wikipedia
> volunteers to work with professors and students to identify topics needing
> attention and give professors the tools they need to incorporate Wikipedia
> editing into their classrooms. This pilot project will continue through the
> 2010-11 academic year and is funded by a grant from the Stanton Foundation.
> As the Campus Team Coordinator, Annie Lin will work closely with university
> professors, students, and Wikipedia Campus Ambassadors to facilitate our
> outreach and in-classroom training efforts. Annie has a degree in Sociology
> from the University of California at Berkeley, and brings her teaching and
> team development experiences to her new Public Policy Initiative role.
> LiAnna Davis steps into the Communications Associate role with a background
> in online writing and editing, including experience in university
> communications and nonprofit issue advocacy. LiAnna will be the voice of the
> Public Policy Initiative, responsible for communication with professors and
> the Wikipedia community. She has an undergraduate degree in Communication
> Studies from the University of Puget Sound and a master's degree in
> Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University.
>
> As the former editor in chief of Signpost and a longstanding contributor to
> Wikipedia, Sage Ross joins the team as the Online Facilitator. He has been
> campaigning for academic experts to get more involved with Wikipedia since
> joining, and he has led several Wikipedia assignments for courses at Yale
> University. He is an avid photographer and Wikimedia Commons contributor as
> well. Sage is bringing his extensive knowledge of the platform and community
> to recruit volunteers and facilitate communication between the existing
> editors and stakeholders in the project. He holds a bachelor's degree in
> Chemistry from the University of Oklahoma and master's degrees in History
> and in the History of Science and Medicine from Yale University.
> As the Research Analyst, Amy Roth will take the lead role in evaluating the
> process and outcomes of the project, suggesting areas for improvement along
> the way. Amy's extensive experience in data analysis will enable her to
> ensure the initiative develops best practices through feedback from
> students, professors, and Wikipedia's volunteer community. She received her
> bachelor's degree in Biology and Animal Science from California Polytechnic
> State University and her master's in Public Policy and Administration from
> California State University at Sacramento.
> We welcome Annie, LiAnna, Sage, and Amy to the Wikimedia Foundation and the
> Public Policy Initiative.
>
> -Daniel Phelps
> Human Resources
> _______________________________________________<https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l>


Congrats everyone and a special welcome to those who haven't been involved
in Wikipedia and WMF projects much in the past. I think the Public Policy
Initiative has huge potential to help the project(s) but that it won't
necessarily be easy to reach that potential. I look forward to seeing how
the process develops and helping in whatever way I can as it progresses.


James Alexander
james.alexander at rochester.edu
jamesofur at gmail.com