Hi everyone,
Many in the community may not have the chance to have met Victoria, so I
want to start by sharing my thanks for her work. The Technology department
at the Wikimedia Foundation does many things, but most simply understood,
they're the ones who keep our projects running, every day of the year, rain
or shine. Unless you're a technical contributor or lurk on IRC, you may not
interact with them in the same way you do with other parts of the
Foundation. But they're utterly critical to Wikimedia, and for the past two
years, Victoria has led this essential department.
When Victoria joined, the Foundation had not had a dedicated CTO in many
years. She spent the better part of the past two years as a tireless
advocate for the work of the Technology department, transforming disparate
pieces into a coherent and compelling program structure. Victoria has never
stopped marveling at how much the department had accomplished on a
shoestring. Together, we worked to try and extend the length of that
shoestring, building out the structures of a team that is increasingly
diverse and incredibly dedicated to the work. Many teams now are in
positions to be much more forward-looking than in many years, with space to
take on new challenges. There’s certainly more to do, but thanks to these
efforts we have a better sense of the ambitious targets that we still need
to reach in service of our mission.
With so much important work to do, we're already planning for a new CTO.
We'll begin preparations for the search immediately, and should launch
formally in February. In the meantime, I am truly grateful to our current
Director of Search Platform Engineering, Erika Bjune, for stepping up to
take on the role of interim CTO. We know this search will likely be on the
longer side, given our unique mission and structure. As such, please engage
with Erika as a full acting CTO, who will keep critical decisions and
programs moving forward. Fortunately, Victoria has also volunteered to stay
on in a consulting role, in order to provide additional support during the
transition and in annual planning. This puts us in a good place, and from
the community, we anticipate you won't even notice a change.
Of course, even though I'm sad Victoria is leaving, I am thrilled that not
only are her skills and experience being recognized but that she is putting
them to such meaningful use at another mission-oriented organization -- and
please do join me in congratulating Victoria on her new role!
We wish you the very best in this next move, and like everyone, warn you
that you’ll never truly be a former Wikimedian!
Katherine
On Thu, Jan 10, 2019 at 4:29 PM Victoria Coleman <vcoleman(a)wikimedia.org>
wrote:
Dear all,
I have some difficult news to share.
A few months ago and completely out of the blue, an opportunity came up
for me to exercise the full spectrum of my skills as the CEO of an early
stage mission oriented startup. It has been a mighty struggle between my
commitment to my team, the Foundation and the movement and this
opportunity to bring all my skills to bear and build something from the
ground up to do good in the world. I will not lie to you - it has not been
easy. But ultimately I decided that I have to give it a go and I accepted
the offer. I plan on starting there on Feb 4th so my last day at the
Foundation will be Feb 1st.
These past two years have been amongst the most enjoyable in my
professional career. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the movement and what
fuels it and I’ve been incredibly privileged to work with a Tech team like
no other. We have together strengthened the technical infrastructure of the
movement and while much work remains to be done we have a much stronger
team in place to take the mission to the next level. And I have personally
made friendships that will last a lifetime.
The organization I will be moving to is Atlas AI, a public benefit
corporation supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. I will be leading an
exceptional team of AI and earth system science experts striving for
improvements in human well being through data driven insights. Our focus
areas are drawn from the UN’s sustainable development goals of no poverty
and zero hunger with emphasis on Sub Saharan Africa.
I leave behind a Technology department that I am certain is well on the
way to achieving our vision to create the infrastructure for the free
knowledge movement. I am also pleased that during my tenure, we have built
leaders who are equipped to take on this challenge.
Erika Bjune will be serving as interim CTO. Erika joined us a little over
two years ago and she has distinguished herself as one of the finest
people leaders I have ever worked with. Both she and Katherine will have my
ongoing support — I will stay on in a consulting role to Erika on
organizational matters and for the mid term planning work we have ahead of
us in the remainder of the fiscal year. I know that I am leaving the
Tech team in good hands until a permanent CTO is hired.
I want to close this difficult message with my heartfelt thanks to all of
you for letting me be part of this incredible movement. Being a Wikimedian
is a great privilege. I wanted you to know that I’m not walking away from
something; I am walking towards something that is very important to me and
the world. I will miss you all. Deeply. Truly. And a lot!
Victoria
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Katherine Maher (she/her)
Executive Director
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>