Dear Amanda, Throughout these past few years, I had a pleasure of working with you more closely than is “a normal usual” for the Board’s Vice-Chair or Chair, and I am sure your next chapter will be quite interesting and wish you all the best with all of your undertakings!
I would like to thank you for all your hard work at the Wikimedia Foundation on behalf of the Board of Trustees – you had an impressive learning curve, and found yourself playing multiple roles in the organisation during your tenure – ranging from General Counsel, Head of the Legal Department, Board Secretary and staff liaison to board committees, and one of three members of the Transition Team. In all your roles you were supporting the Foundation’s work, and though some phases were more demanding than others – we appreciate you supporting the Foundation with us on this journey. The Legal Department under your leadership was one of the most consistent, reliable and professional departments in the Foundation, and it helped us navigate through difficult times, especially now that Foundation is under increasing pressure from undemocratic governments and disinformation campaigns. One of the traits of a strong and thoughtful leader is building a succession plan from Day One, and I wanted to stress how the Board values your intentionality in this – that you recognised, mentored and elevated Stephen LaPorte (whom a lot of community members know as a member of the Wiki Loves Monuments International Team) as your next in line, and that you will remain available to help ensure a smooth transition. The Board is confident that Stephen will support the Foundation’s work on the mission going forward, and thanks you for setting a good example to follow on how succession and transition plans should be handled. With thanks and best wishes, antanana / Nataliia Tymkiv 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!* On Wed, Jan 11, 2023 at 6:33 PM Amanda Keton <ake...@wikimedia.org> wrote: > Dear fellow Wikimedians, > > I came to Wikimedia 3.5 years ago to build our global advocacy profile, > transform our legal team to further support the Foundation’s global > ambitions, partner with the Board to reform its Governance practices, and > ensure that the Foundation was ready to meet regulatory requirements > arising across the world. I am very proud of how much of this has been > accomplished, even in the midst of significant organizational change and > transition. > > When Maryana joined in January, I began a long-term conversation with her > about how I could set her up for success as our new CEO, while also > identifying a capable successor for the General Counsel role. We have been > working on this plan together for the past year so that I could oversee a > robust succession plan while also planning ahead for more time to begin > exploring my next adventure. As you know, we appointed Stephen LaPorte as > Deputy General Counsel in July. He will succeed me as the Foundation’s > next General Counsel on February 1, 2023. > > I am so excited about the chapter ahead for all of us, and for the role > that Wikimedia has to play in advancing the mission of free knowledge and > open access across the world. When I reflect back on my time at the > Foundation, I am proud of so many things: > > - In late 2020, I was asked by the Board of Trustees to provide > leadership at a critical time for the organization and to help us navigate > our path forward. This period for the transition team was rewarding and > challenging, but it certainly took its toll! > - Growing our global advocacy team from a mention in the medium-term > plan into a small and very mighty team. > - We commissioned the first Human rights impact assessment, developed > a Human Rights policy & responded to several situations with real-world > implications. > - Numerous Litigation fights and victories. > - Supporting the board of trustees in their own journey to optimize > their governance of the Foundation. > > It has been an honor to serve and lead our amazing Legal team. Though my > role will shift, I will continue to be a Wikimedian, cheering the movement > on toward future success because the world needs us now more than ever! > > In solidarity, > Amanda (she/they) > General Counsel, Wikimedia Foundation > -- > > Amanda Keton (she/they) > > General Counsel > > Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/> > *NOTICE: This message may be confidential or legally privileged. If you > have received it by accident, please delete it and let us know about the > mistake. As an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation, for legal and ethical > reasons, I cannot give legal advice to, or serve as a lawyer for, community > members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity. For more > on what this means, please see our legal disclaimer > <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Legal_Disclaimer>.* > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org, guidelines > at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > Public archives at > https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org/message/MGZ54OOEQWTURBGZ7PGR65BQYSQ7DHGL/ > To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-le...@lists.wikimedia.org
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