[Wikimedia-l] Farewell <3

Dear friends, During the past three years, I have been privileged to be a part of this movement and this organization. I have been honored to be your colleague and to work with you in service of the sum of all knowledge. In particular, I wish to note particular projects that have inspired me very much. - Working with Philippe Beautdette, Maggie Dennis, James Alexander, and Jan Eisfeldt to keep our community safe from threats of harm. [1] - Working with Patrick Earley, Nick Wilson, Erica Litrenta, Sherry Snyder, Oliver Keyes, and James Forester on the rollout of VisualEditor. [2] - Working with Yana Welinder and Heather Walls to design a user-friendly trademark policy. [3] [4] - Working with Siko Bouterse to support Individual Engagement Grants and movement diversity. [5] [6] - Working with Jake Orlowitz to promote the Wikipedia Library and the Wikipedia Adventure. [7] [8] - Working with Jaime Anstee, Edward Galvez, Amanda Bittaker to encourage evaluation and learning. [9] - Working with Asaf Bartov to encourage regional cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. [10] - Working with Floor Koudijs. Tighe Flanagan, Kacie Harold, Samir Elsharbaty, Rodney Dunican, Sage Ross, Jami Mathewson, and LiAnna Davis on the Wikipedia Education Program. [11] The Wikipedia Education Program is especially near and dear to my heart. It is a means of educating readers, recruiting contributors, and creating quality content. Since 2014, the number of education initiatives around the world has increased by 36%. [12] [13] And 25% of all education programs are in one of the regions that I directly supported. [14] I am so proud of what they have accomplished. And I am enthusiastic about what great things they have yet to achieve. I want to thank and compliment my current manager, Floor Koudijs. She is a competent, considerate, conscientious leader, and her diplomacy skills are unsurpassed. I am confident that the education team and the education program will continue to excel under her leadership. They are in the best hands. I want to thank and compliment my hiring manager, Maggie Dennis. She had faith that, although I wasn’t an active community member, I could be taught to be a good community advocate. I am so proud that I proved her right. She taught me how to work in accordance with and to have the utmost respect for the wiki way. [15] Wikipedia is a miracle, a monument to altruism. It is vital to the internet ecosystem, and it is vital to the education system. I hope that more young people especially will find their way to it and help out. And when they do, I hope that they are met with wise mentorship from veteran community members, just as I was. I intend to remain a Wikipedian even after I am no longer a WMF staff member. And, with that promise, I’ll see you on the wikis. [16] All the best, Anna Koval, M.Ed. [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Threats_of_harm [2] https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/VisualEditor [3] https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Trademark_policy [4] http://blog.wikimedia.org/2013/10/29/designing-a-user-friendly-trademark-po… [5] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IEG [6] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Diversity_Conference [7] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Wikipedia_Library [8] https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Wikipedia_Adventure [9] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Evaluation [10] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Central_and_Eastern_Europe [11] https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education [12] https://outreach.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Education/Countries&ol… [13] https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Countries [14] https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ACEE_2015_State_of_th… [15] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_wiki_way [16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Msannakoval -- Anna Koval, M.Ed. Manager, Wikipedia Education Program Wikimedia Foundation +1.415.839.6885 x 6729 Skype: annakoval.wiki akoval(a)wikimedia.org education.wikimedia.org