Brilliant news for the foundation! Thank you for resolving this so swiftly. ~SJ On Jun 24, 2016 11:26, "James Heilman" <jmh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Wonderful news. Katherine is an amazing selection. Congrats and thanks to > all those involved. > > James > > On Fri, Jun 24, 2016 at 11:15 AM, Patricio Lorente < > patricio.lore...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Dear all, > > > > It is our great pleasure to share that during the Board meeting at > > Wikimania 2016 in Esino Lario, we unanimously voted to appoint Katherine > > Maher as Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. This is > effective > > as of our resolution dated Thursday, 23 June. > > > > Katherine served as interim Executive Director for the past three months, > > during which time she consistently and repeatedly demonstrated the kind > of > > leadership our organization needs. She is deeply committed to our > > movement’s values, and brings expertise in civic technology and > > international development that will be an asset to the Wikimedia > Foundation > > and the movement. > > > > We came to this conclusion after an intensive discovery process led by > the > > ED search committee. Our decision was also informed by direct feedback > from > > staff and community, and our own experience working closely with > Katherine. > > > > In March, we assembled an Executive Director search committee[1] > > consisting of four Board members¹ who were chosen to represent different > > perspectives and capacities.² Additionally, the Board asked the > > Foundation’s Chief Advancement Officer Lisa Gruwell to represent the > > executive team, and Foundation staff member Katie Horn was selected by > her > > peers as someone who could represent staff perspectives. The committee > was > > charged with keeping the process on track and on time, engaging important > > stakeholders, and facilitating transparency in communications. Their > first > > tasks were to identify a search firm, and define the position > description. > > You can review the committee’s updates on Meta.[2] > > > > The committee recruited Viewcrest Advisors,³ to identify our leadership > > needs and design a hiring process. Kathleen Yazbak of Viewcrest worked > with > > the committee to conduct interviews with every Foundation department, the > > executive, the Board, and nearly 20 additional one-on-one interviews with > > staff. Kathleen attended the Wikimedia Conference in Berlin, collecting > > feedback from community members and affiliates. The committee launched a > > community survey in June, receiving more than 1,600 responses about the > > qualities needed in the next ED; they also asked for feedback on Meta.[3] > > Taking all of this into account, the transition team developed a profile > > and requirements for the next Executive Director that reflect our values > > and our communities. > > > > Throughout this process, the Board and the transition team received very > > clear and often unsolicited feedback from both staff and community > members > > that Katherine embodies the values of our movement and the traits needed > in > > our next ED. This feedback was only reinforced by the latest Foundation > > engagement survey results, which showed a strong shift toward renewed > trust > > in leadership. After taking this all into account, and considering what > the > > organization needs at this moment of transition, we moved to appoint > > Katherine now. > > > > In just three months as interim ED, Katherine worked with the > organization > > and community to make huge strides in management, execution, and > > transparency. She brought much-needed clarity to our strategic direction, > > and mobilized the organization to clearly communicate that direction > > through this year’s annual plan. > > > > After her appointment, she worked with the leadership team to swiftly > > identify the organization’s priorities during the transition period and > > execute against them, setting ambitious but reachable targets. Under > > Katherine’s leadership, the Foundation submitted its annual plan to the > > Funds Dissemination Committee, leaving ample time for community feedback > > and discussion. > > > > Katherine is an excellent fit for our movement. She is longtime advocate > > for global open communities, culture, and technology. She was the > > Foundation’s Chief Communications Officer from April 2014 until she was > > appointed interim ED in March. Throughout her career she has focused on > > freedom of expression, access to information, and digital rights; > > supporting the efforts of people around the world to deepen > participation, > > advance transparency, and strengthen their communities through her work > > with UNICEF, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, and > > the World Bank. If you don’t already know Katherine, you can learn more > > about her on Meta.[4] > > > > With this appointment, we feel strongly that the Foundation has the > > leadership and clarity to move forward. We wish Katherine the very best > in > > this role, and the Board looks forward to continuing to work with her. > > > > We would also like to thank the many community members and Foundation > > staff who actively shared thoughtful, highly valuable feedback. Without > > that, we would not have been able to come to this decision. > > > > Please join us in congratulating Katherine! > > > > Patricio Lorente, outgoing Board Chair > > > > Christophe Henner, incoming Board Chair > > > > > > 1. > > > > Alice Wiegand (Committee Chair), Dariusz Jemielniak, Guy Kawasaki, > > Kelly Battles. > > 2. > > > > For example, community and governance experience, appointed and > > community-selected seats, and US and non-US perspectives. > > 3. > > > > The committee reviewed 7 different firms and unanimously picked > > Viewcrest. > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > > > [1] > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Transition_Team/2016 > > > > [2 ] > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Transition_Team/2016/Updates > > > > [3] > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Executive_Director_Transition_Team/2016/Community_input > > > > [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Katherine_(WMF) > > -- > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Please note: all replies sent to this mailing list will be immediately > > directed to Wikimedia-l, the public mailing list of the Wikimedia > > community. For more information about Wikimedia-l: > > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > > _______________________________________________ > > WikimediaAnnounce-l mailing list > > wikimediaannounc...@lists.wikimedia.org > > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaannounce-l > > > > > > > -- > James Heilman > MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian > > The Wikipedia Open Textbook of Medicine > www.opentextbookofmedicine.com > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > 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> _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines 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>
