On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 11:10 PM, Sarah Stierch <[email protected]>wrote:
> Please see below. I really don't know what to say right now except <3 you > Sue. (And let's hope another woman leads WMF ;) ) > > +1 :) Can't thank you enough for all you've done to help WMF and the community. Cheers, Katie > -Sarah > > > -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Announcement > *please read* Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:04:49 -0700 From: Sue Gardner > <[email protected]> <[email protected]> Reply-To: Wikimedia > Mailing List > <[email protected]><[email protected]> To: > Wikimedia Mailing List > <[email protected]><[email protected]> > > > Hello Wikimedia community members, > > This is not an easy e-mail to write, and it’s been a very hard > decision to make. But I’m writing to tell you that I’m planning to > leave my position as the Executive Director of the Wikimedia > Foundation. > > My departure isn’t imminent -- the Board and I anticipate it’ll take > at least six months to recruit my successor, and I’ll be fully engaged > as Executive Director all through the recruitment process and until we > have a new person in place. We’re expecting that’ll take about six > months or so, and so this note is not goodbye -- not yet. > > Making the decision to leave hasn’t been easy, but it comes down to two > things. > > First, the movement and the Wikimedia Foundation are in a strong place > now. When I joined, the Foundation was tiny and not yet able to > reliably support the projects. Today it's healthy, thriving, and a > competent partner to the global network of Wikimedia volunteers. If > that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t feel okay to leave. In that sense, my > leaving is a vote of confidence in our Board and executive team and > staff --- I know they will ably steer the Foundation through the years > ahead, and I’m confident the Board will appoint a strong successor to > me. > > And I feel that although we’re in good shape, with a promising future, > the same isn’t true for the internet itself. (This is thing number > two.) Increasingly, I’m finding myself uncomfortable about how the > internet’s developing, who’s influencing its development, and who is > not. Last year we at Wikimedia raised an alarm about SOPA/PIPA, and > now CISPA is back. Wikipedia has experienced censorship at the hands > of industry groups and governments, and we’re --increasingly, I > think-- seeing important decisions made by unaccountable > non-transparent corporate players, a shift from the open web to mobile > walled gardens, and a shift from the production-based internet to one > that’s consumption-based. There are many organizations and individuals > advocating for the public interest online -- what’s good for ordinary > people -- but other interests are more numerous and powerful than they > are. I want that to change. And that’s what I want to do next. > > I’ve always aimed to make the biggest contribution I can to the > general public good. Today, this is pulling me towards a new and > different role, one very much aligned with Wikimedia values and > informed by my experiences here, and with the purpose of amplifying > the voices of people advocating for the free and open internet. I > don’t know exactly what this will look like -- I might write a book, > or start a non-profit, or work in partnership with something that > already exists. Either way, I feel strongly that this is what I need > to do. > > I feel an increasing sense of urgency around this. That said, I also > feel a strong sense of responsibility (and love!) for the Wikimedia > movement, and so I’ve agreed with the Board that I’ll stay on as > Executive Director until we have my successor in place. That’ll take > some time -- likely, at least six months. > > Until then, nothing changes. The Wikimedia Foundation has lots of work > to do, and you can expect me to focus fully on it until we have a new > Executive Director in place. > > I have many people to thank, but I’m not going to do it now -- > there’ll be time for that later. For now, I’ll just say I love working > with you all, I’m proud of everything the Wikimedia movement is > accomplishing, and I’m looking forward to our next six months > together. > > Jan-Bart’s going to write a note in a couple of minutes with > information about the transition process. We’ll be hosting office > hours this weekend as well, so anybody with questions can ask them > here or turn up to talk with us on IRC. > > Thanks, > Sue > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing [email protected] > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Gendergap mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap > > -- @wikimediadc / @wikidata
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