Hi all - passing this on. We sent out this press release earlier today. Thanks!
Jay, Communications > > ''Neeru Khosla to Become Wikipedia Advisor'' > > Philanthropist and education pioneer joins non-profit's Advisory Board > > San Francisco CA December 15, 2008 -- The Wikimedia Foundation, the > non-profit organization behind the web encyclopedia Wikipedia, today > announced the appointment of Neeru Khosla to its Advisory Board. > Khosla is co-founder and chair of CK-12, a non-profit based in Palo > Alto, California which is pioneering the concept of "open source > textbooks." In September, the U.S. state of Virginia announced a > collaboration with CK-12 to produce an open source physics textbook, > a major coup for the young non-profit organization. > > "I am delighted that Neeru is joining us," said Michael Snow, > Chairman of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. "In addition > to her understanding of the educational arena both in the United > States and elsewhere, Neeru is experienced with the challenges of > building and leading non-profit organizations. As we grow and > evolve, her expertise will be enormously valuable and welcomed." > > The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates the volunteer-written > encyclopedia with a staff of just under 25 people, created its > Advisory Board in January 2007 as a mechanism for input from leaders > and thinkers in fields like education, technology, and free culture. > Advisory Board members convene with Wikimedia's leadership once a > year and also support the organization in their specific areas of > expertise. > > "When people want to learn things online, they go to Wikipedia > first," said Neeru Khosla. "It's absolutely clear to me that anyone > who cares about education online should seriously consider how they > can help Wikipedia do an even better job. It's an important cause, > and I'm more than happy to volunteer." > > In March 2008, the Wikimedia Foundation received a $500,000 donation > from Vinod and Neeru Khosla. > > The current Advisory Board membership includes: > > * Angela Beesley (Chair, Wikimedia Advisory Board; co-founder, > Wikia) > * Ward Cunningham (Developer of the first wiki) > * Heather Ford (Executive director, iCommons) > * Debbie Garside (Multi-lingual web pioneer) > * Melissa Hagemann (Open Access advocate) > * Danny Hillis (Engineer, author, inventor) > * Mitch Kapor (Founder/Co-founder Lotus Developments, EFF, > Mozilla Foundation) > * Neeru Khosla (Co-founder, CK-12) > * Teemu Leinonen (Head, Learning Environments research group of > the Media Lab, University of Art and Design Helsinki) > * Rebecca MacKinnon (Journalist; founder, Global Voices Online) > * Wayne Mackintosh (Education specialist, Commonwealth of Learning) > * Benjamin Mako Hill (Author, free software advocate) > * Erin McKean (Chief consulting editor, American Dictionaries at > Oxford University Press) > * Trevor Neilson (Partner, Global Philanthropy Group) > * Florence Nibart-Devouard (Former Chair, Wikimedia Foundation > Board of Trustees; Scientist) > * Achal Prabhala (Journalist and researcher) > * Jay Rosen (Journalist, author, educator) > * Clay Shirky (Author, consultant, educator) > * Peter Suber (Open Access advocate) > * Raoul Weiler (ICT advocate) > * Ethan Zuckerman (Research Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet > and Society at Harvard Law School) > > For more information, visit: > http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Advisory_Board > > ''About the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikipedia'' > wikimediafoundation.org > wikipedia.org > > The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization which > operates Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to comScore, > Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia > Foundation receive more than 270 million unique visitors per month, > making them the 4th most popular web property world-wide. Available > in more than 265 languages, Wikipedia provides more than 11 million > articles contributed by a global volunteer community of more than > 100,000 people. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia > Foundation is an audited, 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily > through donations and grants. > > _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
