I want to echo Seddon's comment: you are one of the most capable, incisive and strategic thinkers at the Foundation. Our movement is weaker with the loss of both your insight and your ability to embody the individual voices from throughout the movement channelled through your research. You have created a powerful legacy.
I know you will do amazing things with whatever is next!
Cheers,
Alex
On Fri, May 17, 2019 at 9:49 AM Florence Devouard fdevouard@gmail.com wrote:
Hello Sati
I am sorry to hear about your departure. You were an important asset of the Wikimedia Foundation. Farewell Sati and thank you for your contributions during the journey !
Florence
Le 16/05/2019 à 22:21, Sati Houston a écrit :
Hi All,
After almost 5 years at WMF, I’ve decided to move on from the Foundation. My last day will be June 4th.
These last few years have been an unexpected journey. When Anasuya
Senguta
and Jessie Wild recruited me in 2014, I didn't know what awaited me. I didn't know that I could learn so much about epistemology, power, resilience, and community in such a short period of time. I couldn't know how indelibly I would change - in my perspectives, my approaches, and my beliefs.
But I have learned *so much*. From the countless conversations I've had
and
observed. From working with hundreds of staff and volunteers to
understand
different community needs https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Capacity_Development[1],
build new
tools https://eventmetrics.wmflabs.org/[2], reflect <
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Strategy/Wikimedia_Foundation_grantma...
[3] on current programs, understand the breadth and depth of our gaps https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_equity_report_2018[4],
understand
our longer-term impact <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Impact [5], and find the path forward.
And because we are Wikimedia, it's unsurprising that I leave having
learned
the limits of my own knowledge, the power of collective discourse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensemaking[6], and the weight of my own power and privilege in seeing systemic, cultural change happen.
This journey honestly wasn’t an easy ride. I laughed and cried, triumphed and despaired, argued and made up; I felt supported and isolated,
powerful
and powerless. I saw the tremendous beauty that Wikimedia creates and the long road still to come.
But despite the rough ride, when I think back on my time here I will
always
treasure the kaleidoscope of small moments that brought me joy: grammar advice from Asaf, introducing Felix to Korean food, learning that many of you are artists or musicians or poets, learning wikitext (yes, I actually enjoyed that), dancing until my feet hurt, learning to love karaoke, impromptu lunches and dinners, and many *many* walks and virtual coffee chats.
So thank you all for sharing your wisdom, humor, and time with me. Thank you Wikimedia for being a place that I could grow and learn. I will still be around on the interwebs (and in San Francisco if you ever are in
town),
and look forward to watching how you grow.
For now, I leave you with this quote:
"In a complex, technological world, most of us are experts at something. More importantly, being a true expert means having a healthy dose of humility. If you have really studied something and really gone deep into how it works, then you should come away knowing how much you don't know.
*In
a sense, that is the real definition of an expert — knowing the limits of one's own knowledge.*" - Adam Frank, National Public Radio [7]
With much love, Sati
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_Capacity_Development [2] https://eventmetrics.wmflabs.org/ [3]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Strategy/Wikimedia_Foundation_grantma...
[4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_equity_report_2018 [5] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Impact [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensemaking [7]
https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2017/04/07/522992390/why-expertise-matters
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