Please read: an announcement from Wikimedia Foundation ED Sue Gardner

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Earlier today I sent an e-mail to the Wikimedia Foundation’s mailing lists, letting people there know that I’m planning to leave my position as Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. The purpose of this post is to get the news out to a somewhat larger group.

Sue_Gardner_Feb_2013_portrait_crop_2
Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director Sue Gardner

I will not be leaving right away. 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. And so, this note is not goodbye — not yet.

I want to say that making the decision to leave hasn’t been easy. 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 we’re 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, and in that sense, my leaving is very much 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.

I feel that although we’re in good shape, with a promising future, the same is not 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 are –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 strongly believe this is what I need to do.

I feel an increasing sense of urgency about 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.

To that end, the Board has appointed a Transition Team that consists of Wikimedia Foundation Chair of the Board of Trustees Kat Walsh, Vice-Chair Jan-Bart de Vreede, Chair of the Board’s governance committee Alice Wiegand, me, my 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. The Transition Team will be chaired by Jan-Bart, and I will facilitate its work on his behalf.

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 in mid-April. People who are potentially interested in the Executive Director role should keep an eye on the Foundation’s jobs page, where the position description and contact information for the recruiter will be posted.

Being the Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation has been enormously rewarding for me, and I have loved my time with you all. There are many people I am going to want to thank, when we are closer to the date when I’ll be stepping down. For now though, I’ll just say that I love working with you all, I’m enormously proud of everything the Wikimedia movement is accomplishing, and I’m looking forward to our next six months together. I will, of course, always be your friend and advocate.

Thanks,

Sue Gardner, Executive Director, Wikimedia Foundation

Archive notice: This is an archived post from blog.wikimedia.org, which operated under different editorial and content guidelines than Diff.

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[…] Sue Gardner, the executive director of the foundation that runs Wikipedia will step down when a successor is found, according to a statement. […]

Hey Sue.
“I think– seeing important decisions made by unaccountable, non-transparent corporate players, a shift from the open web to
mobile walled gardens”
I couldn’t agree more. We’re actually in the process of launching the Open Access Coalition specifically to combat the rapid adoption of the closed web including walled gardens.
http://openaccesscoalition.org
We’re literally launching this week and should have about six founding members online by Friday.
Would love your feedback here.

[…] Sue Gardner, the executive director of the foundation that runs Wikipedia will step down when a successor is found, according to a statement. […]

Whatever you are doing is for providence. And providence don’t think that there will be something better than this as you are young. So Grady Booch says Just Do it.

[…] Gardner announced that she is moving on as Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation today. She highlighted where she wants to direct her energy […]

[…] (Sue Gardner),宣佈將辭去執行理事職位。蘇從 2007 […]

[…] Sue Gardner, the executive director of the foundation that runs Wikipedia will step down when a successor is found, according to a statement. […]

What you apprehend about the forces on the internet presents a tremendous challenge. So many who appreciate the medium, and want it to represent the popular will, too easily underestimate the inexorability of the corporate forces.

[…] Gardner, the executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind Wikipedia, announced today she planned to […]

[…] Gardner, the executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind Wikipedia, announced today she planned to […]

[…] Gardner, the executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind Wikipedia, announced today she planned to […]

Thank you very much for your work

[…] Gardner, the executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind Wikipedia, announced today she planned to […]

You have to fight and you have to win.

[…] the movement and the Wikimedia Foundation are in a strong place now,” she says in her announcement. “When I joined, the Foundation was tiny and not yet able to reliably support the projects. […]

[…] Gardner elaborated in a blog post over on the Wikimedia Foundation. […]

[…] Gardner elaborated in a blog post over on the Wikimedia Foundation. […]

[…] Gardner elaborated in a blog post over on the Wikimedia Foundation. […]

[…] Gardner elaborated in a blog post over on the Wikimedia Foundation. […]

[…] Big news in the world of Wikipedia, yesterday: Sue Gardner, the executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation (the non-profit behind Wikipedia and other wiki-based projects) announced she will be stepping down from the role, which she has held since June 2007. Gardner, in a post on the Wikimedia blog: […]

Congratulations, and many thanks, Sue. You have shown incredible leadership in 6 years of truly building Wikimedia and Wikipedia from an amazing experiment into an iconic institution and global cultural asset. If there was a UNESCO list of “7 Wonders of the Internet World”, Wikipedia would surely be on it, in large measure thanks to the leadership of you and your team (every collaboration needs steering!). Looking forward to hearing of your next steps and continuing contributions to the open internet.
David Rogers
Columbia Business School

[…] Gardner elaborated in a blog post over on the Wikimedia Foundation. […]

We will miss you!

[…] Foundation executive director Sue Gardner will step down in six months, she announced in a blog post […]

[…] Foundation executive director Sue Gardner will step down in six months, she announced in a blog post […]

[…] Foundation dyrektor Sue Gardner zrezygnuje w ciągu sześciu miesięcy, ogłosił blogu w środę. Gardner miała non-profit Wikimedia Foundation (która nadzoruje Wikipedia) w 2007 i […]

[…] Foundation executive director Sue Gardner will step down in six months, she announced in a blog post […]

Thank you for all your work. You have done a tremendous job in getting us where we are today. I remember long ago when it was first announced that you were joining wikimedia – since then wikimedia has matured to an amazing extent.

The Internet can certainly use your help, Ms. Gardner.

[…] Gardner elaborated in a blog post over on the Wikimedia Foundation. […]

Good luck with your future plans! Hopefully we will be able defend the freedom of Internet. Thank you for your time which you spend with WM movement.

[…] Gardner elaborated in a blog post over on the Wikimedia Foundation. […]

[…] nadace Wikimedia Foundation včera zveřejnil prohlášení výkonné ředitelky nadace Sue Gardnerové, že hodlá opustit svou funkci a začít se věnovat […]

[…] 2Next » […]

[…] Please read: an announcement from Wikimedia Foundation ED Sue Gardner […]

[…] Gardner, executive director of Wikipedia’s parent foundation, Wikimedia, reported in a blog post today that she’s leaving the non-profit to work to amplify “the voices […]

“I might write a book, or start a non-profit”
A non-profit what ? Let’s not forget the essential stuff.
“Wikipedia has experienced censorship at the hands of industry groups and governments”
Yes. And Wikipedia has done censorship. A lot.
Cheers, Sue

“Your comment is awaiting moderation.”
Oh yes, some moderation ! Above all, no strong ideas !
You see, when we speak of censorship…

[…] who’s influencing its development, and who is not.” Sue Gardner am 27. März 2013 in einem Blogbeitrag zu ihrem geplanten Rücktritt bei […]

[…] – Una lettera d’addio a tutti i wikipediani, pubblicata dal direttore esecutivo della Wikimedia Foundation Sue Gardner. […]

Thank you for your work!

[…] Please read: an announcement from Wikimedia Foundation ED Sue … […]