[Wikimedia-l] Re: [Wikimedia Announcements] Welcoming the new Wikimedia Foundation CEO

[Brad Patrick]

Congratulations and welcome to the best job in the world!

From: Nataliia Tymkiv 
Reply-To: "wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org" 
Date: Tuesday, September 14, 2021 at 11:53 AM
To: "wikimediaannounc...@lists.wikimedia.org" 
, "wikimedi...@wikimedia.org" 

Cc: "miskan...@wikimedia.org" 
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Welcoming the new Wikimedia 
Foundation CEO


Dear all,

I am pleased to announce that the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees has 
appointed Maryana Iskander as the new CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation [1] [2].

Since 2013, Maryana has served as the CEO of Harambee Youth Employment 
Accelerator [3], a South African non-profit social enterprise focused on 
building African solutions for the global challenge of youth unemployment. 
Prior to this, she spent six years as Chief Operating Officer of Planned 
Parenthood Federation of America [4], a volunteer-led social movement focused 
on access to women’s healthcare. Maryana has also worked in academia as the 
Advisor to the President of Rice University [5], an international research 
university based in the United States.

Her professional career has been motivated by breaking down systemic barriers, 
creating opportunities for collaborative solution-building, and community 
empowerment. She has a proven track record for leading complex organisations 
shaped by shared decision-making.

In looking for the next CEO, we on the Board convened a Transition Committee 
[6], primarily to guide us in finding the right person for this critical role 
and secondly to oversee the executive Transition Team. The Transition Committee 
conducted a far-reaching and competitive global search, receiving around 400 
recommendations and speaking to about 50 potential candidates. Throughout this 
selection process, Maryana impressed us as someone who is deeply inspired by 
the Wikimedia vision and who embodies the values of equity and community that 
inform all Wikimedia work. She has extensive leadership experience working with 
volunteer-led initiatives and building partnerships across public, private and 
social sectors. Maryana also brings expertise in technology-led innovation to 
accelerate meaningful social change. She does this with a global perspective: 
Maryana was born in the Middle East, educated in the United States and the 
United Kingdom, and has spent the last decade living and working on the African 
continent.

Maryana joins the Wikimedia Foundation at a crucial time. The movement is 
larger than ever, and it has never been more relevant or more trusted. This is 
an inflection point, as decisions need to be made to execute a shared vision 
for where the Movement wants to be in 2030. We believe that Maryana is the 
right person to help lead the Foundation at this moment.

As Maryana begins, her priorities will include supporting movement efforts to 
implement the Wikimedia 2030 recommendations, such as the development of a 
Movement Charter and the finalization of a Universal Code of Conduct. She will 
continue the Foundation’s focus on knowledge equity and exploring ways to 
address the gaps in content and the diversity of contributors to Wikimedia 
projects. She will be supported by the Board in this journey.

Maryana will officially start at the Wikimedia Foundation on January 5, 2022, 
as she transitions from her current job. Until then, the Foundation will 
continue to be led by the Transition Team, with guidance from the Board. In my 
conversations with her, I have seen that Maryana is a fan of direct 
communication and excited to learn from the movement. In the coming weeks, she 
will share ways to connect. Please join me in welcoming Maryana (CCed) to the 
Foundation!

PS. For translations of this message, or to help translate it into more 
languages, please visit Meta-Wiki [7]

[1] 
https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2021/09/14/wikimedia-foundation-appoints-maryana-iskander-as-chief-executive-officer/

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryana_Iskander

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harambee_Youth_Employment_Accelerator

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_Parenthood

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_University

[6] 
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Creating_a_CEO_Transition_Committee_and_Transition_Team,_2021
[7] 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/14_September_2021_-_Welcoming_the_new_Wikimedia_Foundation_CEO

Best regards,
antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
Acting Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees


NOTICE: You may have received this message outside of your normal working 
hours/days, as I usually can work more as a volunteer during weekend. You 
should not feel obligated to answer it during your days off. Thank you in 
advance!

___
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Thank you + see you around!

[Brad Patrick]

Congratulations on your tenure. I’m excited to see what you do next!

Brad Patrick

b...@baplegal.com
Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 16, 2021, at 6:51 AM, Olushola Olaniyan  
> wrote:
> 
> 
> Hi Katherine, 
> 
> I am glad you have done so much as an outgoing  Executive Director of the 
> Wikimedia Foundation and no one can question it. 
> 
> Sincerely, you have cast your name in Gold with the way you have responded to 
> critics and reshaped the movement. Now, we could see ourselves not as a tool 
> in the hand of a few but as a platform that stands to sustain the revolution 
> of the universe. 
> 
> It takes only a few to do so and you happen to be one of the very few to have 
> achieved this feat.  
> 
> Though the journey to the destination desired by you for the movement might 
> seem to be far, I am glad that you have laid the track. 
> 
> Continue with your Midas touch and break the glass ceiling.
> 
> I am wishing you the very best in your next endeavour. 
> 
> I celebrate You.  
> 
> Olushola Olaniyan
> 
>  
> 
> 
> ___
> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: 
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and 
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l
> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org
> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, 
> <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>

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Re: [Wikimedia-l] Thanks for all the fish! / Stepping down April 15

[Brad Patrick]

Congratulations on a remarkable run! Good luck with the transition and we’ll be 
watching what happens next!

All the best,

Brad Patrick


From: Wikimedia-l  on behalf of 
Katherine Maher 
Reply-To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Date: Thursday, February 4, 2021 at 12:48 PM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Thanks for all the fish! / Stepping down April 15

Hi everyone,

Earlier today, I announced to my colleagues at the Wikimedia Foundation my 
intention to step down as CEO later this spring. April 15th will be my last 
day, marking my seven-year anniversary with the Foundation and the movement. 
This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one. For now, I want to 
share with you why I’m moving on, and what comes next. I’ll save the customary 
email with deeper reflections, memories, and thanks for later this spring!

In some ways, this was the easiest hard decision I’ve ever made. It’s never 
exactly a good time to step away -- transitions always have some rough edges -- 
but it’s always best to do so when the organization is strong, and before 
you’ve overstayed your welcome. The movement is in a good, strong place. Our 
communities are growing, our readership is too. Our 20th birthday, the launch 
of our Universal Code of Conduct, and the movement strategy recommendations are 
all milestone moments of solidity and strength. I have great hopes and 
confidence in the upcoming plans for strategy implementation, particularly the 
work on the movement charter and interim global council. We are healthy and 
thriving.

While we will always have more work to do to become the Wikimedia that we want 
to be, our movement and our organization is in a phase of renewal and 
regeneration. We have deepened our practices of consultation, collaboration, 
and inclusion that will be the foundation of the next decade of our work. We 
have a deep and stable financial position that will help us grow and protect us 
from any storm, and the trust in our projects has never been higher. Our 
communities are poised to take on deeper responsibilities of governance, 
accountability, and leadership, populating a rich, representative, and 
leaderful movement for free knowledge.
The Foundation is also strong, and filled with passionate, values-aligned 
leaders at every level of the organization, deeply committed to the work of our 
movement and mission. Although we don’t always all perfectly agree on 
absolutely everything, we are working more openly and cooperatively with our 
movement than ever before. Collaborative strategic planning, sustainable 
programs to support technical communities and tooling, co-development and 
consultation on transformative new experiences welcoming newcomers, cooperative 
partnerships on public health data, bibliographic data, and human rights data 
-- all of these are signals of much great work to come. Even difficult topics, 
such as brand and movement governance, continue to bring people together in 
nothing less than feisty commitment.

Together, we have rich resources of brilliant people, deep passion, and 
compassion. We are making progress on some of our greatest challenges, from 
editor and readership growth, technical debt, representation and participation, 
safety and knowledge equity. I am proud of what we’ve done together and 
grateful for all the ways in which this movement has made my life immeasurably 
richer: friendships that will last a lifetime, intellectual curiosity and 
kinship, and so many memories of so much dancing, from Accra to Berlin to 
Chandigarh.
As for me, I’m going to take a break, and a research fellowship, as a place to 
think about what’s next. It’s hard to think about your future when you’re fully 
in your present, and for the past seven years, I’ve been fully present for this 
movement. But as I look around, I see global challenges such as polarization, 
inequality, and climate change, as well as opportunities for generational 
renewal and optimism. As a Wikimedian, I lean toward optimism, and plan to 
apply myself in that direction!
What’s next

  *   We announced this planned transition publicly on our communications 
channels during a Foundation all-staff meeting today.
  *   A Board Transition Committee composed of Dariusz Jemielniak, who is chair 
of HR Committee, Tanya Capuano, who is chair of the Audit Committee, Raju 
Narisetti, and María Sefidari as Board Chair, will launch the search for a new 
CEO. They’ll work closely with the executive Transition Team on organizational 
operations, and with the broader board on an open candidate call. The Board is 
working with the goal of onboarding a new CEO by Q2 of the 2021-2022 fiscal 
year.
  *   We’ve been working on succession planning for the CEO role since 2019 as 
a matter of best practice, and the organization is well-prepared for a 
thoughtful search for the next phase of our mission. The Board has decided to 
work with Kathleen Yazbak of Viewcrest Advisors[1] for the executive search

Re: [Wikimedia-l] #SheSaid

[Brad Patrick]

Merci beaucoup. We need it.

From: Florence Devouard 
Date: Monday, November 2, 2020 at 10:10 PM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List , Brad Patrick 

Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-l] #SheSaid


Lol Brad.

Side note lot's of activity on https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris 
recently...

Bon courage for tomorrow.


Le 03/11/2020 à 02:59, Brad Patrick a écrit :
[Standing ovation!]

Fantastic, Anthere. Thank you. 

From: Wikimedia-l 
<mailto:wikimedia-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org>
 on behalf of Florence Devouard 
<mailto:anth...@anthere.org>
Reply-To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
<mailto:Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org>
Date: Monday, November 2, 2020 at 8:58 PM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
<mailto:Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org>
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] #SheSaid


Did you know that quote

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say 
it."

was authored by a woman ?



Do you know how many entries on Wikiquote are about women versus Men ?
14639 men entries... for 2977 women entries...

Suprised ?



I am happy to announce the new #SheSaid campaign. The #SheSaid drive is aimed 
at improving the visibility of women across Wikimedia projects (and beyond) by 
creating new or improving already existing Wikiquote entries spoken by notable 
women.

Here are a few statistics:
1.   On the English Wikiquote main page on 6th of Oct 2020, in the Selected 
people section... 29 men are featured and only 4 women (check out the 
screenshot on the right...)
2.   There are 233 women who have a featured article on either French or 
English Wikipedias... with no entry on the French Wikiquote check it 
out<https://query.wikidata.org/#SELECT%20DISTINCT%20%3Fitem%20%3FitemLabel%20%3FFAsitelink%20%3FWQsitelink%0AWHERE%0A%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%3Fitem%20wdt%3AP31%20wd%3AQ5.%0A%20%20%20%3Fitem%20wdt%3AP21%20wd%3AQ6581072%20.%0A%20%20%20%20%20%3FFAsitelink%20%23%20There%20is%20a%20Wikipedia%20Featured%20article%0A%20%20%20%20%20schema%3Aabout%20%3Fitem%3B%0A%20%20%20%20%20wikibase%3Abadge%20wd%3AQ17437796%20.%20%23%20Sitelink%20is%20badged%20as%20a%20Featured%20Article%0A%20%20%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%20%20%3FFAsitelink%20schema%3AisPartOf%20%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Ffr.wikipedia.org%2F%3E%20.%0A%20%20%20%20%20%7D%0AUNION%0A%20%20%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%20%3FFAsitelink%20schema%3AisPartOf%20%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2F%3E%20.%0A%20%20%20%20%20%7D%0A%0A%20%20%20MINUS%0A%20%20%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%3FWQsitelink%20%23%20And%20a%20sitelink%20to%20a%20frwq%20page%0A%20%20%20%20%20schema%3Aabout%20%3Fitem%20%3B%0A%20%20%20%20%20schema%3AisPartOf%20%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Ffr.wikiquote.org%2F%3E.%20%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%7D%0A%20%09SERVICE%20wikibase%3Alabel%20%7B%20bd%3AserviceParam%20wikibase%3Alanguage%20%22%5BAUTO_LANGUAGE%5D%2Cen%22%20%7D%0A%20%7D>
3.   There are 141 women featured article on the English Wikipedia with no 
wikiquote entry check 
it<https://query.wikidata.org/#SELECT%20DISTINCT%20%3Fitem%20%3FitemLabel%20%3FFAsitelink%20%3FWQsitelink%0AWHERE%0A%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%3Fitem%20wdt%3AP31%20wd%3AQ5.%0A%20%20%20%3Fitem%20wdt%3AP21%20wd%3AQ6581072%20.%0A%20%20%20%20%20%3FFAsitelink%20%23%20There%20is%20a%20Wikipedia%20Featured%20article%0A%20%20%20%20%20schema%3Aabout%20%3Fitem%3B%0A%20%20%20%20%20wikibase%3Abadge%20wd%3AQ17437796%20.%20%23%20Sitelink%20is%20badged%20as%20a%20Featured%20Article%0A%3FFAsitelink%20schema%3AisPartOf%20%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2F%3E%20.%0A%0A%0A%20%20%20MINUS%0A%20%20%20%7B%0A%20%20%20%3FWQsitelink%20%23%20And%20a%20sitelink%20to%20a%20enwq%20page%0A%20%20%20%20%20schema%3Aabout%20%3Fitem%20%3B%0A%20%20%20%20%20schema%3AisPartOf%20%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Fen.wikiquote.org%2F%3E.%20%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%7D%0A%20%09SERVICE%20wikibase%3Alabel%20%7B%20bd%3AserviceParam%20wikibase%3Alanguage%20%22%5BAUTO_LANGUAGE%5D%2Cen%22%20%7D%0A%20%7D>
4.   There are 519 women listed on the French wikiquote check 
it<https://query.wikidata.org/#SELECT%20DISTINCT%20%3Fitem%20%3FitemLabel%20%3FWQsitelink%20%28GROUP_CONCAT%28%3FFAlang%3Bseparator%3D%22%2C%20%22%29%20AS%20%3FFAlanguages%29%20%3Fsitelinks%20WHERE%20%7B%0A%20%20%3Fitem%20wdt%3AP31%20wd%3AQ5%20%3B%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20wdt%3AP21%20wd%3AQ6581072%20%3B%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20wikibase%3Asitelinks%20%3Fsitelinks%20.%0A%20%20%0A%20%20%3FWQsitelink%20%23%20And%20a%20sitelink%20to%20a%20frwq%20page%0A%20%20%20%20%20schema%3Aabout%20%3Fitem%20%3B%0A%20%20%20%20%20schema%3AisPartOf%20%3Chttps%3A%2F%2Ffr.wikiquote.org%2F%3E.%20%20%0A%0A%20%20SERVICE%20wikibase%3Alabel%20%7B%20bd%3AserviceParam%20wikibase%3Alanguage%20%22fr%2Cen%22%20%7D%20.%0A%7D%20GROUP%20BY%20%3Fitem%20%3FitemLabel%20%3FWQsitelink%20%3Fsitelinks%0AORDER%20BY%20DESC%28%3Fsitelinks%29>
 and 3117 men listed check it 
out<https://query.wikidata.org/#SELECT%20DISTINCT%20%3Fitem%20%3FitemLabel%20%3FWQsitelink%20%28GROUP_CONCAT%28%3FFAlang%3B%20SEPARATOR%20%3D%20%22%2C%20%22%29%20AS%20%3FFAlanguages%29%20%3Fsitelinks%20WHERE%20%7B%0A%

Re: [Wikimedia-l] #SheSaid

[Brad Patrick]

[Standing ovation!]

Fantastic, Anthere. Thank you. 

From: Wikimedia-l  on behalf of 
Florence Devouard 
Reply-To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Date: Monday, November 2, 2020 at 8:58 PM
To: Wikimedia Mailing List 
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] #SheSaid


Did you know that quote

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say 
it."

was authored by a woman ?



Do you know how many entries on Wikiquote are about women versus Men ?
14639 men entries... for 2977 women entries...

Suprised ?



I am happy to announce the new #SheSaid campaign. The #SheSaid drive is aimed 
at improving the visibility of women across Wikimedia projects (and beyond) by 
creating new or improving already existing Wikiquote entries spoken by notable 
women.

Here are a few statistics:
· On the English Wikiquote main page on 6th of Oct 2020, in the 
Selected people section... 29 men are featured and only 4 women (check out the 
screenshot on the right...)
· There are 233 women who have a featured article on either French or 
English Wikipedias... with no entry on the French Wikiquote check it 
out
· There are 141 women featured article on the English Wikipedia with no 
wikiquote entry check 
it
· There are 519 women listed on the French wikiquote check 
it
 and 3117 men listed check it 
out

Obviously, not all women say good quotes that would make a wikiquote entry 
worth it. 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Board of Trustees elections, membership, quorum, and

[Brad Patrick]

This is a very, very old and tired argument. If you do not understand United 
States non-profit corporations, go educate yourself about those first. If your 
perspective is non-US based, you may have a different frame of mind which is 
irreconcilable with the way WMF is. Take all the time you need to see the 
differences before attacking WMF for (a) what it is and (b) why it isn't what 
you want it to be.

WMF exists legally, and has as its foundation organizational principle, 
authority vested in a Board. WMF is not a membership organization. You would 
not want it to be a membership organization (as a matter of law).

Please temper your criticism accordingly.

Brad Patrick
Former WMF General Counsel

On 10/7/20, 12:47 PM, "Wikimedia-l on behalf of Paulo Santos Perneta" 
 
wrote:

I knew they are theoretically self-appointed, but was under the impression
that at least until now an appearance of democracy and legitimacy towards
the community has been respected, which no longer seems to be the case.
I wonder what would be the legitimacy of a self-appointing body in the eyes
of the Wikimedia Movement, and all the communities which are part of it?

Regards,
Paulo

Adam Wight  escreveu no dia quarta, 7/10/2020 à(s)
17:20:

> Greetings, this is a semiautomated response pointing out that the
> Wikimedia Foundation Board is not elected, it's self-appointing. The
> so-called "elections" are in fact nominations to be considered by the
> Board.  Therefore, the Bylaws have not been broken.
>
> This is an unfortunate arrangement, please see [1] for some background
> about the conversion from a membership organization to a non-membership
> organization which is no longer legally required to hold elections.
>
> Regards,
>
> Adam W.
> [[mw:User:Adamw]]
>
> [1]
> 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_membership_controversy
>
> On 10/7/20 5:55 PM, Paulo Santos Perneta wrote:
> > The terms of 3 BoT members expired last month, and the BoT itself 
decided
> > to extend them? What is the legitimacy of that? And why is a BoT which 
is
> > expected to be in a mere interim management waiting for elections,
> > presenting profound changes to its Bylaws [1]?
> >
> > [1] -
> >
> 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/October_2020_-_Proposed_Bylaws_changes
> >
> > Best,
> > Paulo
> >
> > Nataliia Tymkiv  escreveu no dia quarta,
> 7/10/2020
> > à(s) 16:49:
> >
> >> Hello,
> >>
> >> I can answer a few of the questions raised in this thread.
> >>
> >> When the Board postponed the community selection of trustees, we also
> >> extended the terms of the trustees in the affected seats (María
> Sefidari,
> >> Dariusz Jemielniak, and James Heilman)[1]. Their terms were originally
> set
> >> to expire last month, but because of that term extension they are still
> >> serving as trustees, and as such María remains the Board Chair and
> Dariusz
> >> and James continue on as Committee Chairs[2].
> >>
> >> Raju Narisetti and Esra'a Al Shafei have been reappointed to the Board
> for
> >> an additional three-year term[3][4].
> >>
> >> The current members of the Board of Trustees are listed on the 
Wikimedia
> >> Foundation website[5].
> >>
> >> We do not currently have a shortage of trustees on the Board, and we
> have
> >> had a quorum for every decision we have made this year. We have
> published
> >> some outstanding Board records, many of which were just approved at our
> >> recent meeting in September[6][7].
> >>
> >> I have just sent an email to this list, as well as posted an update to
> >> Meta-Wiki, with a request for feedback on matters related to the
> >> Foundation’s Bylaws and trustee selection[8]. That announcement 
contains
> >> more information about the postponed community selection of trustees.
> >>
> >> Best regards,
> >>
> >> antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv
> >>
> >> Vice Chair, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
> >>
> >> [1]
> >>
> >>
> 
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Postponement_of_Community_Selection_of_Trustees_and_Extension_of_Community_Selected_Trustee_Terms_until_next_selection_process
> >>
> 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Board Update on Branding

[Brad Patrick]

From the beginning, WMF vs. Wikipedia has been the dynamic tension between
structure and the community. I was one of the strongest advocates of
structure. Fundraising and the US-centric approach were the core beliefs
for WMF, as a means of guaranteeing survival when survival was a couple of
hundred servers in one place and a huge bandwidth bill. Today, the
community is everywhere around the globe, and the structural dichotomy
remains the same, but at scale. It is hard to hear the words "several
billions of dollars" and know the Foundation is in real estate in San
Francisco, with staff being paid princely sums, in the rich country where
the streets are paved with gold. It is a world away, and more importantly,
a mental frame away.

Like it or not, commercialism, "branding" and so forth require
significantly more communication than board room conversation and a survey.
I get it. I really do. One of my many mistakes during my tenure with WMF
was authorizing Wikipedia headers during fundraising (the first million
dollar fundraiser). The miscalculation was extraordinary, and opened one of
many such conversations in the ebb and flow of the organization. People of
good faith in the community the world over have diametrically opposed
viewpoints about what should be done when it comes to commercialism.

I'm also an intellectual property lawyer who put his name on the puzzle
logo trademark application. Protection of the "brand" (I hate that - I
prefer marks) is an incredibly important function that cannot be carried
out by the community, legally. The Foundation's job is to hold these marks
and the identity of the community sacred. If I may be direct, that's where
you screwed up. The Board has a lot of work to do now to return to the idea
that you need to be a fiduciary for the community. You need to hold the
community's interest and identity sacred. Now is the time to pause before
even more tremendous damage is done.

If the Foundation is leaving money on the table by not exploiting its
Brand, so be it. "The Foundation" as a commercial organization has utterly
lost sight of who it works for if "the Brand" is the subject of the
conversation. YOU ARE TRUSTEES OF A COMMUNITY OF INTERESTS, AND THAT MEANS
PEOPLE - THE COMMUNITY - FIRST. Stop acting like a hedge fund. Stop
listening to whoever is bringing you statistics like you are any other
commercial organization. Be better. Any other 501(c) organization talks
about how it responds to its "members". Except WMF has the community, not
"members". And it's much more powerful because it is organized in that
fashion.

You have lost your way. Press pause, now. You have no deadline for 2021 -
that's arbitrary. Rethink the sacred obligation you have to the people
around the world who pour their souls and blood into free culture and the
aspiration of free knowledge. That's who you work for. The Foundation
doesn't protect "its" brands. It works for the community, as trustees of
their cultural contributions. Go back to the drawing board and get straight
with that first.

On Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 8:44 PM Nataliia Tymkiv 
wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> As Acting Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees since March
> [1] I take full responsibility for this situation. I am truly sorry for all
> the frustration this whole situation has caused to volunteers, who have
> engaged in discussions expressing their concerns, and to the staff, who
> have been working and not really sure if that is really the direction the
> Board is prepared to seriously consider, or if it is just an exercise on
> our part. As Chair of the Board, I recognize the Board owes clear
> information to the communities and guidance to the staff.
>
> In 2017, the Board approved the 2030 Movement Strategic Direction,
> recognizing the strategic importance of growing the reach of the Wikimedia
> projects to new languages, communities, and geographies, as part of our
> global mission. In June 2018, the Board approved a Foundation Annual Plan
> that included research into the Wikimedia and Wikipedia brands to
> understand how they could be tools in helping us reach these goals.
>
> In November 2018 [2], the staff presented research to the Board about the
> Wikipedia and Wikimedia brands. I personally, even though a relatively long
> term Wikipedian (and a bit less long term Wikimedian), was basically
> convinced by the findings that a rebranding is needed and beneficial for
> our mission and global vision, and furthermore that it should be based on
> the Wikipedia brand. The information presented there also convinced the
> Board that the team should continue their work, but as you can see from the
> minutes the Board believed that communication is crucial, but already a
> possibility for a new name for the Wikimedia Foundation was seriously
> considered [3].
>
> And I am going to be frank here - intuitively taking the name of something
> like “Wikipedia Foundation” makes a lot of sense, whether or not it makes
> sense 

Re: [Wikimedia-l] Leaving the Wikimedia Foundation, staying on the wikis

[Brad Patrick]

Thanks for all your work, and best of luck!

b...@baplegal.com
Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 13, 2019, at 4:56 PM, Dario Taraborelli  
> wrote:
> 
> Hey all,
> 
> I've got some personal news to share.
> 
> After 8 years with Wikimedia, I have decided to leave the Foundation to
> take up a new role focused on open science. This has been a difficult
> decision but an opportunity arose and I am excited to be moving on to an
> area that’s been so close to my heart for years.
> 
> Serving the movement as part of the Research team at WMF has been, and will
> definitely be, the most important gig in my life. I leave a team of
> ridiculously talented and fun people that I can’t possibly imagine not
> spending all of my days with, as well many collaborators and friends in the
> community who have I worked alongside. I am proud and thankful to have been
> part of this journey with you all. With my departure, Leila Zia is taking
> the lead of Research at WMF, and you all couldn't be in better hands.
> 
> In March, I’ll be joining CZI Science—a philanthropy based in the Bay
> Area—to help build their portfolio of open science programs and technology.
> I'll continue to be an ally on the same fights in my new role.
> 
> Other than that, I look forward to returning to full volunteer mode. I
> started editing English Wikipedia in 2004, working on bloody chapters in
> the history of London
> ; hypothetical
> astronomy ; unsung heroes among
> women in science ; and of
> course natural ,
> technical 
> and political
> disasters
> .
> I’ve also developed an embarrassing addiction to Wikidata, and you’ll
> continue seeing me around hacking those instances of Q16521
>  for a little while.
> 
> I hope our paths cross once again in the future.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Dario
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> *Dario Taraborelli  *Director, Head of Research, Wikimedia Foundation
> research.wikimedia.org • nitens.org • @readermeter
> 
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Analytics] Farewell, Erik!

[Brad Patrick]

Erik:

From the early days until now, your quiet leadership and excellence have been a 
great credit to the organization and most importantly, your leadership by 
example has been an inspiration to untold numbers of people. But, actually, 
it’s not untold numbers because of your work! You tell it with numbers. 

All the best in your next chapter. Thank you so much for your work!

BradPatrick

b...@baplegal.com
Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 6, 2019, at 5:21 PM, effe iets anders  wrote:
> 
> I have always enjoyed Erik's insightful input - especially the insights
> that people don't like to hear at first. I trust that much more of that is
> to come in the future, so I'm not ready to say farewells :). I wouldn't be
> able to accurately summarize it anyway.
> 
> Erik, I hope that you'll find a lot of joy in the beautiful tree project
> that you're working on these days (folks, definitely check it out if you're
> interested in Leiden's horticulture). It is another beautiful example of
> how you manage to visualize the things that sound dull without you
> explaining them. Your presentations at Wikimania were for that reason
> usually the ones I most looked forward to.
> 
> What maybe not everyone realizes, is that Erik is one of the people that
> the French Wikipedia would categorize as 'Grand Ancients
> ',
> having been active since 2001. A unique understanding of the history of
> Wikipedia combined with dedication and understanding data has clearly
> resulted in good work. Thanks for summarizing this so elaborately, Dario :)
> 
> Until soon,
> 
> Lodewijk
> 
>> On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 1:54 PM Pine W  wrote:
>> 
>> Thanks for your work, Erik. I hope that we will see you in the future.
>> 
>> This is the first time that I can recall hearing about a person retiring
>> from WMF. Volunteer retirements and semi-retirements happen regularly, and
>> the reasons that I hear for those retirements are often sad. It's nice to
>> hear of someone who is retiring after years of success and is moving in a
>> positive direction.
>> 
>> I think that you leave a good legacy in the Wikiverse, and as you might
>> guess from my username, I like what you chose for your next project.
>> 
>> Best wishes,
>> 
>> Pine
>> ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )
>> 
>> 
>> ___
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>> analyt...@lists.wikimedia.org
>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/analytics
>> 
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Executive transition planning

[Brad Patrick]

Best of luck to the Board moving forward with this process. You have a lot
of work ahead.

Brad

On Thursday, February 25, 2016, Patricio Lorente 
wrote:

> Dear friends,
>
> This week, the Board of Trustees accepted Lila’s resignation. Her last day
> will be  March 31, 2016.
>
> I would like to thank Lila for her efforts over these past two years, and
> her passion for our shared mission. Together, we wish her the best in her
> future endeavors and accomplishments.
>
> The Board of Trustees is meeting regularly to determine next steps. Our
> top priority is to develop a clear transition plan that seeks to build
> confidence with community and staff, appoint interim leadership, and begin
> the search for a new Executive Director. We will continue working closely
> together over the coming days, and will share an update next week.
>
> This work will require extensive collaboration by the Board over the next
> few weeks. Although we know you’ll have questions, it is likely we’ll be
> very focused on planning the next steps. We appreciate your patience and
> understanding during this time.
>
> Patricio
>
> TRANSLATION NOTE: This message is also posted on Meta at the Board
> Noticeboard for for translation. You can find it here:
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/25_February_2016_-_Executive_transition_planning
> --
>
>
>

-- 

Bradford A. Patrick, Esq.
3001 North Rocky Point Drive East
Suite 200
Tampa, Florida 33607
b...@baplegal.com
www.baplegal.com
813-384-8548 vox
813-333-7321 fax
BradPatrick Skype
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] [Wikimedia Announcements] Executive transition planning

[Brad Patrick]

Best of luck to the Board moving forward with this process. You have a lot of 
work ahead.

Brad


> On Feb 25, 2016, at 1:50 PM, Patricio Lorente  
> wrote:
> 
> Dear friends,
> 
> This week, the Board of Trustees accepted Lila’s resignation. Her last day 
> will be  March 31, 2016.
> 
> I would like to thank Lila for her efforts over these past two years, and her 
> passion for our shared mission. Together, we wish her the best in her future 
> endeavors and accomplishments.
> 
> The Board of Trustees is meeting regularly to determine next steps. Our top 
> priority is to develop a clear transition plan that seeks to build confidence 
> with community and staff, appoint interim leadership, and begin the search 
> for a new Executive Director. We will continue working closely together over 
> the coming days, and will share an update next week.
> 
> This work will require extensive collaboration by the Board over the next few 
> weeks. Although we know you’ll have questions, it is likely we’ll be very 
> focused on planning the next steps. We appreciate your patience and 
> understanding during this time.
> 
> Patricio
> 
> TRANSLATION NOTE: This message is also posted on Meta at the Board 
> Noticeboard for for translation. You can find it here: 
> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/25_February_2016_-_Executive_transition_planning
> -- 
> 
> 
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Re: [Wikimedia-l] A transition and a new chapter.

[Brad Patrick]

Erik, I want to publicly offer you the heartiest congratulations for your 
tremendous years of service to the cause and for being a rock of principle in 
the movement all these years. Those who have worked with you and know you 
understand the significance of this shift. I choose to view the change not as a 
loss but a greater gain to the next project you will take on, for which we will 
all be the better.
Best of luck, eloquence!

Brad PatrickFormer WMF GC



On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 11:07 AM -0700, Lila Tretikov l...@wikimedia.org 
wrote:










Dear Wikimedians,

I have some important news to share with you. Erik Moeller will be leaving
the Wikimedia Foundation on April 30th. Last week he let me know that he
decided it is time for him to explore his passions beyond our walls.

I want to thank Erik. For more than a decade, he gave his all to Wikimedia
-- first as a volunteer, then as a board member, and finally as a leader at
the WMF. For the past year, has been my personal guide, particularly in my
critical few months as the ED.

Earlier this year, I announced a Call to Action

designed to organize the WMF around focus on product and communities. We
have already started putting some of these key initiatives into place.

In February, we brought the key community-facing functions into one team,
Community Engagement under Luis Villa, to improve support for community
needs and priorities. In March, we brought on Terry Gilbey as our new Chief
Operating Officer, to improve our organizational effectiveness, and
introduce rigor and discipline into our operational processes, metrics, and
reporting. And just two weeks ago, we introduced Kourosh Karimkhany as our
new Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, to build meaningful
partnerships, projects, and relationships that advance our mission.

Improving technology and execution are a major part of our Call to Action,
and I have been working with Erik, Damon, and others to determine our path
forward. Erik has been a key thought partner and thought leader in this
effort. We are near completion in this planning, and I look forward to
sharing more information with you all next Tuesday.

I am excited to see Erik’s next incredible adventure. Please join me in
supporting him on his path.

Lila
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