Re: [Wikimedia-l] Announcement *please read*
Planning this graceful exit as Executivenu Director is exactly the professional and nurturing way that Sue has provided leadership for the Wikimedia Foundation. Although I have personal sadness to see Sue move on, I fully understand why and so very much respect the thoughtful way that she is implementing the transition. As a community we have work to do as we look for a Executive Director to replace Sue. It is on us as a movement to rally together to support the transition plan. Sydney On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 6:12 PM, Kat Walsh wrote: > I'm not sure it could be any easier to write this message, but I'm not sure > it could be any harder either. > > It is a great privilege to be able to say, as she is moving on, that this > is not a sign of any trouble or strain between Sue and the board, or any > sign of trouble at Wikimedia. It would be hard to be in a better condition > to have a calm, angst-free transition, which reflects the professionalism, > leadership, and real concern for the organization that Sue has shown all > throughout her time in the position; I was incredibly sorry to hear she > would be moving on from this role even as she goes on to find new ways to > further the values we both believe in. > > When we hired Sue, we knew it was for a tremendous task, one that we could > hardly have asked of anyone, especially at the stage in our history while > we were small and struggling. We had no idea how lucky we were to connect > with her, someone who had the unusual mix of skills needed to take us from > where we were as an organization to where we are now, and who had the > passion for our movement and the values it holds to become its best and > strongest advocate. Now we are lucky to have her as a full part of the > transition team, as the one who best knows the specific demands of the > role, and to continue to lead the organization until her successor is in as > strong as possible a position going forward. > > As Chair, I recognize that she's been a great leader of the organization, > and that we have a challenging task ahead in finding a successor--but that > she will be leaving us in an excellent position for another outstanding > leader to take up where she left off. > > In a personal capacity, I have truly valued being able to work closely for > these past years with someone I consider a mentor and a friend, and with > whom I was able to have a great deal of mutual trust, respect, and candor. > And so even recognizing this as a decision that was bound to come sometime > and makes perfect sense, I am sad to know she will be moving on, and to > have to write this message. Fortunately, this isn't yet goodbye, and given > that she'll be closely tied to our movement in whatever new role she > chooses, even that will only be a "see you later". > > I look forward to working with her, and with all of you, to search for and > prepare the next amazing person to lead the organization into the future. > > -Kat > > On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 3:04 PM, Sue Gardner > wrote: > > > 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 garde
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Announcement *please read*
Hey So I need a little time to set this up properly on meta (I want to get the structure right the first time round, but as we all know… that will probably not happen). But there will certainly be a good "suggestion" spot where people can leave thoughts and ideas (and discuss them!) Should be done by saturday at the latest! Jan-Bart On Mar 27, 2013, at 11:58 PM, Steven Walling wrote: > On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 3:08 PM, Jan-Bart de Vreede > wrote: > >> The Board has appointed a Transition Team which consists of the Chair of >> the Board of Trustees Kat Walsh, and HR Committee member Alice Wiegand, >> Sue, Sue’s deputy and the Wikimedia Foundation’s Vice-President of Product >> and Engineering Erik Moeller, Geoff Brigham our General Counsel, and Gayle >> Karen Young, our Chief Talent and Culture Officer. I am the final member >> and am the Chair of the Transition Team, and Sue will be facilitating its >> work on my behalf. >> >> (In case you don’t know, non-profit organizations often have outgoing EDs >> support the recruitment of their successors. The Board is of course >> ultimately responsible for appointing the Executive Director, but we want >> our search to be supported by our staff members, including Sue. Sue , Erik, >> Geoff and Gayle have done a lot of hiring for the Wikimedia Foundation over >> the past number of years, and we know they will bring experience and wisdom >> to the process.) >> >> I will also be responsible for making this a transparent (where possible) >> and confidential (where needed) process and will set up the corresponding >> pages on Meta in the coming days (please give me some time to do so :). >> First step will be the office hours with Sue and myself this Saturday. >> > > Thanks Jan-Bart. > > I suggested to Gayle earlier this afternoon that it would be ideal for > staff and community members to have some place where we can write out > recommendations to the transition team about what kind of attributes and > experiences we'd like from a new ED. A simple Request for Comment, where > people can post thoughts, is likely to grow very large, but is one idea. In > any case, the huge advantage of having this public announcement far in > advance is clearly the opportunity for this kind of transparent feedback > for the Board on selecting a new ED, and in that light I just want to say > thanks to the Board and to Sue for doing this the right way. > > Steven > ___ > Wikimedia-l mailing list > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Announcement *please read*
On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 3:08 PM, Jan-Bart de Vreede wrote: > The Board has appointed a Transition Team which consists of the Chair of > the Board of Trustees Kat Walsh, and HR Committee member Alice Wiegand, > Sue, Sue’s deputy and the Wikimedia Foundation’s Vice-President of Product > and Engineering Erik Moeller, Geoff Brigham our General Counsel, and Gayle > Karen Young, our Chief Talent and Culture Officer. I am the final member > and am the Chair of the Transition Team, and Sue will be facilitating its > work on my behalf. > > (In case you don’t know, non-profit organizations often have outgoing EDs > support the recruitment of their successors. The Board is of course > ultimately responsible for appointing the Executive Director, but we want > our search to be supported by our staff members, including Sue. Sue , Erik, > Geoff and Gayle have done a lot of hiring for the Wikimedia Foundation over > the past number of years, and we know they will bring experience and wisdom > to the process.) > > I will also be responsible for making this a transparent (where possible) > and confidential (where needed) process and will set up the corresponding > pages on Meta in the coming days (please give me some time to do so :). > First step will be the office hours with Sue and myself this Saturday. > Thanks Jan-Bart. I suggested to Gayle earlier this afternoon that it would be ideal for staff and community members to have some place where we can write out recommendations to the transition team about what kind of attributes and experiences we'd like from a new ED. A simple Request for Comment, where people can post thoughts, is likely to grow very large, but is one idea. In any case, the huge advantage of having this public announcement far in advance is clearly the opportunity for this kind of transparent feedback for the Board on selecting a new ED, and in that light I just want to say thanks to the Board and to Sue for doing this the right way. Steven ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Announcement *please read*
As others have already said, it will be difficult to see Sue leave the organization (but not the movement). I thank her for the years of effort that have gone into first stabilizing and then building the Wikimedia Foundation. While I don't predict that this transition will be completely painless (that's okay, it's a good thing), I'm sure that it will be much less painful than it might have been (that's also a good thing). During my time as chair of the Board of Trustees, I had some extended conversations with Sue about succession planning, partly because this is something the board always has to be thinking about, and partly because at that point we would have faced tremendous challenges if Sue were to leave and we were forced to find a successor. The issue has remained in the back of my mind ever since. As I have watched the organization develop, it has been good to observe how she has built the capacities of those around her, bringing us to a point where I feel much more comfortable that all of the good work can continue on without her personal involvement. There's a long list of things Sue has accomplished as Executive Director, but making an organization capable of surviving her departure is a critical one. One of the things I believe we all try to do with the work on our projects is to leave things - a Wikipedia article, MediaWiki code, the culture of our movement, everything - in better shape than we found it. Sue has done that on an organizational scale, and impressively so. For that, Sue, and all of the other things on which we have worked together, thank you. --Michael Snow ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Announcement *please read*
I'm not sure it could be any easier to write this message, but I'm not sure it could be any harder either. It is a great privilege to be able to say, as she is moving on, that this is not a sign of any trouble or strain between Sue and the board, or any sign of trouble at Wikimedia. It would be hard to be in a better condition to have a calm, angst-free transition, which reflects the professionalism, leadership, and real concern for the organization that Sue has shown all throughout her time in the position; I was incredibly sorry to hear she would be moving on from this role even as she goes on to find new ways to further the values we both believe in. When we hired Sue, we knew it was for a tremendous task, one that we could hardly have asked of anyone, especially at the stage in our history while we were small and struggling. We had no idea how lucky we were to connect with her, someone who had the unusual mix of skills needed to take us from where we were as an organization to where we are now, and who had the passion for our movement and the values it holds to become its best and strongest advocate. Now we are lucky to have her as a full part of the transition team, as the one who best knows the specific demands of the role, and to continue to lead the organization until her successor is in as strong as possible a position going forward. As Chair, I recognize that she's been a great leader of the organization, and that we have a challenging task ahead in finding a successor--but that she will be leaving us in an excellent position for another outstanding leader to take up where she left off. In a personal capacity, I have truly valued being able to work closely for these past years with someone I consider a mentor and a friend, and with whom I was able to have a great deal of mutual trust, respect, and candor. And so even recognizing this as a decision that was bound to come sometime and makes perfect sense, I am sad to know she will be moving on, and to have to write this message. Fortunately, this isn't yet goodbye, and given that she'll be closely tied to our movement in whatever new role she chooses, even that will only be a "see you later". I look forward to working with her, and with all of you, to search for and prepare the next amazing person to lead the organization into the future. -Kat On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 3:04 PM, Sue Gardner wrote: > 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
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Announcement *please read*
Dear Sue, thanks for the honest and open mail. This is not a farewell mail either, we still have much time to share. But I'd like to reply to this point: Am 27.03.2013 23:04, schrieb Sue Gardner: > 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 [...] In the context of the problems you listed in your mail I can only recommend in trying to get a position at ICANN. By the way Wikimedia CH and Wikimedia Österreich are members of ICANN but due to our nature we are only part of the ALAC, so we don't have a lot of impact. Much in the contrast of having you in a management position there. That would be really interesting! /Manuel -- Wikimedia CH - Verein zur Förderung Freien Wissens Lausanne, +41 (21) 34066-22 - www.wikimedia.ch ___ Wikimedia-l mailing list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
Re: [Wikimedia-l] Announcement *please read*
Dear members of the community. As they say… all good things must come to an end… It’s hard for me and the rest of the Board to imagine the Wikimedia Foundation without Sue at the helm, but we’re confident, as is she, that we can make this transition positive for everyone. Sue is going to continue to work in what we broadly think of as “our space”, and we know she’s going to continue to be our friend and supporter. So, this isn’t goodbye. I understand and respect Sue’s reasoning here, and know she’s going to continue to do important work. Although I’m tempted to write a big note of praise and love, I want to respect her request that we not move into thanking mode just yet. She’s right, we have lots of work to do, and she’s not going anywhere right away. There will be lots of time for thanking later. But I do wish to make the general statement that her contribution to the movement through the position of Executive director (and very active editor) has been and will continue to be incredible. As a board member I will forever be grateful that she was willing to bet on a small organization with a lot of potential… and then continued on to build on that potential to make it one of the most powerful examples in the space of open knowledge and learning. Here’s what will happen next. The Board has appointed a Transition Team which consists of the Chair of the Board of Trustees Kat Walsh, and HR Committee member Alice Wiegand, Sue, Sue’s deputy and the Wikimedia Foundation’s Vice-President of Product and Engineering Erik Moeller, Geoff Brigham our General Counsel, and Gayle Karen Young, our Chief Talent and Culture Officer. I am the final member and am the Chair of the Transition Team, and Sue will be facilitating its work on my behalf. (In case you don’t know, non-profit organizations often have outgoing EDs support the recruitment of their successors. The Board is of course ultimately responsible for appointing the Executive Director, but we want our search to be supported by our staff members, including Sue. Sue , Erik, Geoff and Gayle have done a lot of hiring for the Wikimedia Foundation over the past number of years, and we know they will bring experience and wisdom to the process.) I will also be responsible for making this a transparent (where possible) and confidential (where needed) process and will set up the corresponding pages on Meta in the coming days (please give me some time to do so :). First step will be the office hours with Sue and myself this Saturday. We haven’t yet defined exactly what the process will look like, although we do know that we will be engaging a search firm to help us. The Transition Team will be meeting informally over the next several weeks, and will have our first face-to-face meeting together in mid-April in Milan, as part of the Wikimedia Conference. I will give a status report shortly after that. I’d be very happy to answer any questions you’ve got. To that end, Sue and I will be having office hours this Saturday, 30 of March, at 11AM PST [6PM UTC]. Or, we can talk on this list. Jan-Bart de Vreede Vice Chair Wikimedia Board of Trustees On Mar 27, 2013, at 11:04 PM, Sue Gardner wrote: > 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-- s
[Wikimedia-l] Announcement *please read*
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 list Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
