Let me add my voice to the thanks and congratulations! I am deeply
appreciative of this choice, both by the Board and by WMF's C-team.
Katherine is an excellent choice. Many of us in the movement who have
worked with her for the past few years have been impressed by her massive
talents and her commitment to our values.
I am hopeful to see what's next for us. I hope to help rebuild trust on
many levels.
Katy
On Thu, Mar 10, 2016 at 8:35 PM, Risker <risker.wp(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Thank you, Patricio and the rest of the board, for
this first step in
rebuilding.
I have had the pleasure of working with Katherine in my capacity as a
"regular" volunteer and as a member of the FDC, and have found her to be
highly professional and very focused on the mission of the WMF. She has
demonstrated her ability to attract and lead an excellent team in her role
as Chief Communications Officer, and has the support of staff and her
(former) C-level organizational leaders as the WMF takes its next steps to
recovery. In my opinion, this is what is needed at this time.
Katherine, thank you for agreeing to take on this responsibility. I look
forward to working with you and the rest of the team in the months to come.
Risker/Anne
On 10 March 2016 at 22:52, Todd Allen <toddmallen(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Katherine,
Welcome, and best of luck in your new role. I'm very pleased indeed to
hear
that it will be you to fill it.
Todd
On Thu, Mar 10, 2016 at 7:59 PM, Katherine Maher <kmaher(a)wikimedia.org>
wrote:
> Thank you, Patricio.
>
> I want to thank the Board for this opportunity, and for their
confidence
in
> the Foundation. I also want to thank community members and staff for
> continuing to be such committed advocates for our future -- your
passion
and
belief in our movement and purpose have been tremendous things to
behold.
As a movement, we’ve had some challenges lately. We’ve started on a
process
> of change, but as Lydia Pintscher (User:Lydia Pintscher (WMDE))
recently
> reminded us,[1] “Change happens at the speed
of trust.” We will need to
> work together over these coming months to build that trust, and open
> critical lines of communication and accountability. I get the sense
from
many
people that that’s exactly what they’d like to do: absorb the
lessons
we’ve learned, re-engage with each other, and get
back to advancing our
global movement.
At the Foundation, we have an opportunity to center around our values,
and
practice open and collaborative communication.
During the interim
period, I
want to get things working well and improve
transparency and
communication,
both internally and with the communities. We will
work to create a
supportive, fair environment where people can get things done, engage
with
> their colleagues and community members, and understand how their work
has
> an impact on our mission. This includes
delivering on important
deadlines
for the
Annual Plan and strategy,[2] filling key roles, and making
progress
> on issues raised in our recent engagement survey.
>
> We are committed to delivering the first version of the 2016-2017
Annual
Plan no
later than April 1st for community and FDC review, and are on
track
> to meet this deadline. The WMF 2016-2018 strategy development is also
> underway, with a draft version open for comments until March 18.[3]
Over
the
coming weeks, we’ll be moving forward with our Chief Technology
Officer
> (CTO) search, and working with the Talent and Culture team to reinvest
in
> our culture. As new other emerge, we’ll work
together to prioritize
them.
>
> To accomplish all of this, we are going to need your help. I want to
hear
from you
about what you would like to achieve in this interim period.
This
> includes how we can collaborate together to prepare the organization
and
movement
to welcome our next Executive Director. The Foundation is
prepared
to actively support the Board in the search, and
we will work closely
with
them to share important information and create
opportunities to give
feedback throughout the process.
Just a few weeks ago, we marked the 15th birthday of the movement.[4]
Millions of people around the world shared their love for Wikimedia. It
was
a celebration of why we do what we do, and how
much joy the movement
brings
people everywhere. That’s something I try to keep
in mind every day.
Yours sincerely,
Katherine
[1]
https://twitter.com/nightrose/status/660043284841107457
[2]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/2016_Strategy/Combined_strategy_and_annual_…
> [3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/2016_Strategy/Draft_WMF_Strategy
> [4]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_15
>
> On Thu, Mar 10, 2016 at 6:55 PM, Patricio Lorente <
> patricio.lorente(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hello all,
> >
> > I’m happy to announce that the Wikimedia Foundation leadership team
has
>
proposed an interim Executive Director, and the Board has given our
full
> > support. Starting on March 14th, current Chief Communications Officer
> > Katherine Maher (
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katherine_(WMF))
> > will step into the role of interim
Executive Director. We thank the
> > C-levels for their careful consideration in this process, and
Katherine
for
> stepping up during this period of transition.
>
> In choosing an interim ED, the C-levels started by identifying
immediate
> > priorities for the coming months, including building trust, improving
> > communications, and filling key leadership positions. They felt, and
we
>
agree, that Katherine is the right person to lead the organization
while
it
> addresses these and other important issues. Additionally, this will
allow
> > the rest of the executive team to focus on critical organizational
> > functions, including community and engineering management,
fundraising,
> and
> > strengthening our human resources function. You can read more about
our
process and thinking here:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/Marc…
> >
> >
> > Katherine has been with the Foundation as Chief Communications
Officer
for
> about two years now. During that time, she has developed a versatile
and
> > effective team that serves the needs of the organization and
movement,
> > collaborating closely with other
departments and the community. She
has
> > thoughtfully introduced new capacities
and led her team through
> > transitions, and played a critical role in shepherding the strategy
> process
> > and the annual plan, in collaboration with other C-levels. She is
known
> for
> > listening to and empowering the people that she works with.
> >
> > For those who don’t know Katherine, she’s been a longtime advocate
for
> > global open communities, culture, and
technology. She previously led
> > advocacy for the international digital rights organization Access
Now,
>
where she worked on freedom of expression, access to information, and
> privacy. She has supported the efforts of citizens and governments
around
> > the world to deepen transparency and participation in her roles at
the
>
World Bank, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs,
and
> > UNICEF (where her team built wikis for youth participation in major
> global
> > issues). She is a member of the advisory board of the Open Technology
> Fund.
> >
> > With interim leadership in place, our next step as the Board is to
move
> > quickly to plan and implement the
search for a permanent Executive
> > Director. We will be working together over the coming weeks to
clarify
>
roles and responsibilities in this search, and identify the best way
for
> community and staff to participate. We want
this process to be
inclusive
> and incorporate many voices. We look forward
to sharing an update on
our
> progress toward the end of next week.
>
> As interim Executive Director, Katherine will report to the Board.
Geoff
> > Brigham will continue serving as Board Secretary, and Jaime
Villagomez
as
> Board Treasurer, reporting to the Board in
those capacities. As of
March
> > 14, Katherine's reports include the C-team: Geoff Brigham, Jaime
> > Villagomez, Maggie Dennis, Lisa Gruwell, Joady Lohr, and Wes Moran.
The
Communications team will continue to report to
Katherine for the time
being, with support from the leadership of Juliet Barbara and Heather
Walls.
Thank you,
Patricio
Translation notice - This message is available for translation on
Meta-Wiki:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/10_M…
--
_______________________________________________
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--
Katherine Maher
Chief Communications Officer
Wikimedia Foundation
149 New Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
+1 (415) 839-6885 ext. 6635
+1 (415) 712 4873
kmaher(a)wikimedia.org
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