[Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Bon voyage, Jay

[Jay Walsh]

Hi folks - I'm happy to report that there's been a beneficial turn of
events from the original announcement a few weeks ago. Apologies for the
delay in getting back you.

After some reflection and conversations I've decided to change course from
my original plans and stay on with the Foundation. I spent a lot of time
reviewing succession plans, looking at future communications projects, and
chatting with me team and realised that some awesome and important work was
still ahead of me.

You really only get one chance to work at an extraordinary place like the
Wikimedia Foundation. We impact millions of lives every day, and the tens
of thousands of people like you - our amazing volunteers - have high
expectations of us. I am energized by the opportunity to protect our
projects and move the platform forward. It's tough work, but it's
incredible to see how it all comes together.

I heard and read some really wonderful comments since Geoff sent out this
notice, and I want to thank everyone for your kind words. It definitely
helped me think about the work we've done together, and the incredible work
that's not yet done.

Looking forward to pressing ahead with you all.

Jay

On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 11:28 AM, Geoff Brigham <gbrigham at wikimedia.org>wrote:

> *Next week, we’re saying goodbye to our long-term Head of Communications,
> Jay Walsh. He will be starting shortly a new adventure working at a San
> Francisco based start-up in corporate communications. His last day at the
> Foundation will be Tuesday, October 23. The Foundation will be kicking off
> a search process for a new head of communications, and in the interim we’ll
> also be receiving communications strategy from our advisers at Minassian
> Media, a consultancy that helped us manage communications around
> Wikipedia’s tenth anniversary.
>
> Since Jay started at the Foundation in January 2008 he’s taken a lead role
> in shaping both the voice and identity of the Wikimedia Foundation, and has
> played a critical function in supporting our projects. He’s been our
> spokesperson on hundreds of media inquiries, helping to shape a positive
> and enlightened perspective on our projects in some of the biggest media
> outlets in the world. Jay has provided communications counsel on major
> initiatives to almost everyone at the Foundation, and I’m sure to many of
> you throughout our community.
>
> Since starting at WMF Jay has grown the communications team, which now
> includes roles supporting movement communications, global media outreach,
> and merchandise. Under his leadership we created and grew a blog which now
> sees up to 40 posts a month, a social media presence with over a million
> followers, and content published in many localized languages. Jay helped us
> bring the Foundation’s first four annual reports to the world, and he gave
> us a voice and open identity for great events like Wikipedia 10.
>
> We’ve been fortunate to have strong communications leadership for a period
> of rapid growth for our projects and our movement. Please join me in
> wishing Jay well on his next steps.  We will miss him.*
>
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-- 
Jay Walsh
Head of Communications
WikimediaFoundation.org
blog.wikimedia.org
+1 (415) 839 6885 x 6609, @jansonw