[Wikimedia-l] CSBS 2012 - Results

[Michael Snow]

On 5/18/2012 8:16 AM, Béria Lima wrote:
>> Hello!
>>
>> We have a result! The polls closed a few hours ago and I've already
>> counted the votes. The chapters have, by voting, selected the following
>> candidates to serve on the WMF board:
>>
>> * Patricio Lorente
>> * Alice Wiegand
>>
>> *Patricio Lorente* (User:Patricio.lorente) is the current President of
>> Wikimedia Argentina. He had worked as Project Manager of the Association
>> for Social Development in Argentina. At present, he serves as General
>> ProSecretary of the National University of La Plata.
>>
>> *Alice Wiegand* (User:Lyzzy) is an IT specialist for system
>> administration in the public sector. She currently run the IT department of
>> a German municipality with 450 PC workstations. In April she will start her
>> Master’s studies in Public Policy and Governance.
>>
>> I also would like to thanks Arne and Phoebe for the job they did over the
>> last two and half years, all the candidates for all the work they put into
>> the elections and everyone who participated in the process by nominating
>> a candidate, asking questions of candidates or taking part in your
>> chapter's decision on who to vote for.
Thanks and congratulations to all concerned!

In the case of Patricio and Alice, that means thank you for being 
willing to serve, and congratulations on being selected. They are both 
wonderful people who I believe can do a great job on the board. I am 
pleased that the chapters' process for nominating board members brought 
out a number of fine candidates this year. I could have been similarly 
happy to see one of several other candidates chosen as well, which is 
good. But I couldn't have been *more* happy, because Patricio and Alice 
are such excellent choices.

In the case of Phoebe and Arne, that means thank you for the great work 
you have done and the often unacknowledged effort that required, and 
congratulations on the newfound freedom you will soon have. (Though I 
can assure you that this freedom will disappear so fast you won't even 
realize it was there, as it fills up with new tasks and 
responsibilities.) I don't think the chapters could have selected anyone 
better than Phoebe to replace me, just as they couldn't have chosen 
anyone better than Alice and Patricio to replace Arne and Phoebe. That's 
important because the new board members will have big shoes to fill. At 
least their names have already filled the same initials, A and P - that 
seems like a happy omen to me.

In the case of the chapters and those who moderated the process, that 
means thank you for your thoughtful deliberations, and congratulations 
on completing this in a timely manner. I think the way they have handled 
this is a reflection of the increasing maturity of the chapters 
collectively. That is one of many positive developments in this area, 
which is much-needed and has been an important area of emphasis for the 
movement lately. It has not always been easy, but we are making 
progress. I feel that successes like this validate my desire initially 
to have the chapters participate directly in the selection of board members.

--Michael Snow