Hi Maggie, Maria, while I'm sure everything is above board legally, and it follows all HR policies that the WMF has in place, it does have a weird whiff when I read this. While I think it's great for Maria to be able to put her experience to good use and while the WMF board probably benefits from these experiences being documented, it definitely does give a weird set of perceived conflicts of interest. I'm afraid that there is not really any level of assurances that can take this away.
While I'm sure that you thought this through ethically, and consulted community members how this would be perceived, it leaves an odd stain because it leaves it up to the imagination of the reader whether there might have been a trade of some kind. It may well be that the compensation is 'in line with market rates' (whatever that means) and merely to make sure that Maria has the actual time to write down these things, rather than being absorbed in other jobs. To be honest, I don't really care about the exact amount - it is clear that it is significantly more than a compensation for out-of-pocket expenses. Whether it is technically a contractor or consultant (based on the description, you could have fooled me if you would have said contractor or temporary staff member instead) I agree with the previous speakers that it at the very least acts against the spirit of all policies that limit transition between staff and board roles. It leaves me with this odd feeling: while I'm happy that Maria will transfer some knowledge, I'm rather sad to see that this strategy process is even further complicated beyond its already existing complexity. -- Lodewijk Lodewijk On Wed, Jun 23, 2021 at 3:17 PM Chris Keating <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Maggie, > > Thanks for the clarification, but that doesn't really affect anything. > Staff roles vs contractors/consultants are not that different. And the fact > that you didn't discuss the post with Maria while she was on the Board > doesn't mean it isn't a governance problem. First because decisions can be > made and rules can be bent for people in positions of influence even > without an explicit discussion. Second because, while I don't doubt your > word, the appearance matters as well as the substance. Third because I > really can't believe the WMF would tolerate this from an affiliate who > received grants. > > I'll be quite straightforward, this is a disaster for the credibility of > the WMF's governance and it must be immediately reversed. > > If the WMF Board has no rules to prevent this situation happening, then I > am amazed - and would really be asking for a refund for whatever was paid > in the 2019 board governance review. > > Thanks, > > Chris > > On Wed, Jun 23, 2021 at 11:01 PM Maggie Dennis <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Hello, all. >> >> I’m sorry for my lack of clarity! María is *not* Foundation staff. She >> is an independent consultant. She did not discuss this role with me while >> she was on the Board. She quite rightly would not. We talked about it after >> her departure. >> >> Best regards, >> Maggie >> >> On Wed, Jun 23, 2021 at 5:53 PM টিটো দত্ত Tito Dutta <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> Greetings, >>> This is an unfortunate situation. In general circumstances I would have >>> been happy to see the addition. >>> "to draw clear lines between staff and board members " — I think this >>> has been a practice in different organisation. In a different organisation >>> I have seen a director was disallowed to join as a consultant immediately >>> after his disassociation. >>> But do we have any documented Wikimedia policy that allows or prohibits >>> such an appointment? It would be good to know about such guidelines. >>> >>> ইতি, >>> টিটো দত্ত/User:Titodutta >>> >>> >>> বৃহস্পতি, ২৪ জুন, ২০২১ তারিখে ৩:০৩ AM টায় এ Philip Kopetzky < >>> [email protected]> লিখেছেন: >>> >>>> Hi Maggie, >>>> >>>> to be honest this is really difficult to understand. While the WMF, >>>> through it's various committees, pushed affiliates to clearly draw the >>>> lines between board and staff by introducing stringent governance measures >>>> (and rightly so), which also include paragraphs about introducing a >>>> cooldown period before switching between board and being employed by the >>>> same organisation, the WMF is ignoring all of that governance advice it has >>>> given over the last few years. >>>> >>>> I feel quite silly now having been on the simpleAPG committee for three >>>> years and having advised affiliates who wanted to hire staff for the first >>>> time to draw clear lines between staff and board members, to now have to >>>> see this exact scenario I warned against play out at the WMF. Maria's >>>> departure from the BoT, even before her tenure was over and subsequent >>>> hiring really calls into question what the WMF thinks good governance >>>> should look like, notwithstanding the fact that the BoT now has one >>>> community elected seat less at a critical time in the strategy >>>> implementation process. >>>> >>>> All in all I can only call for a governance overhaul at the WMF so that >>>> murky situations like this don't happen again. >>>> >>>> Quite frustrated regards, >>>> Philip >>>> >>>> >>>> On Wed, 23 Jun 2021 at 21:46, Maggie Dennis <[email protected]> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hello, all. :) >>>>> >>>>> I hope and trust that everyone is keeping well during these times! >>>>> >>>>> I’m Maggie Dennis, Vice President of the Community Resilience & >>>>> Sustainability group of Wikimedia Foundation, within the Legal department. >>>>> I wanted to announce with pleasure that Maria Sefidari has agreed to >>>>> consult with the Foundation on Movement Strategy and the ongoing Board >>>>> evolution for the upcoming year. Many of us know María from her role as >>>>> the >>>>> chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, from which she >>>>> provided invaluable leadership in governance, oversight, and fundraising. >>>>> Others may know her from her volunteer work as User:Raystorm >>>>> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Raystorm>, in which she has a >>>>> broad range of experience. >>>>> >>>>> María, based in Spain, commenced her assignment with the Foundation >>>>> this week. We intend to tap into her expertise and knowledge of the >>>>> Foundation to support a successful implementation of the Movement’s >>>>> Strategy and to tap into new opportunities. (With her Board work, she will >>>>> be supporting Quim Gil’s team with the Board election and helping Margo >>>>> Lee >>>>> in improving onboarding, documentation practices, and training.) María >>>>> will >>>>> report to me as part of our Community Resilience & Sustainability group. >>>>> I’m excited that she accepted our offer for a more hands-on assignment, >>>>> particularly given how important all of the work she’ll be supporting is. >>>>> :) With more than 15 years of Wikimedia experience, her contributions in >>>>> the next phase will be a tremendous benefit to me and my team as we >>>>> continue settling into our own work on Movement Strategy. >>>>> >>>>> Those of you who are involved with Movement Strategy are used to >>>>> seeing her at related meetings and still will. :) I anticipate María will >>>>> be joining one or more of the Movement Strategy global conversations >>>>> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_Strategy/Updates/June_15,_2021> >>>>> this weekend. Advertisement alert: maybe you can, too? Here’s more >>>>> detail >>>>> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_Strategy/Updates/June_15,_2021>! >>>>> I myself will be attending at least one of those sessions and look forward >>>>> to seeing some of you there. >>>>> >>>>> Warm regards, >>>>> >>>>> Maggie >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Maggie Dennis >>>>> She/her/hers >>>>> Vice President, Community Resilience & Sustainability >>>>> Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], >>>>> 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/[email protected]/message/PFOBFWCBFACRGY3OMXAQG54ALPXGT3K3/ >>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], >>>> 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/[email protected]/message/4V5RUB237FID73UVOWLEYDBHY3SOETM3/ >>>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], 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/[email protected]/message/4RSIKRLLUJA5IM6O4EUTIPIDD2CQEHZ4/ >>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> >> >> >> -- >> Maggie Dennis >> She/her/hers >> Vice President, Community Resilience & Sustainability >> Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], 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/[email protected]/message/J64DDVROTHHRDK7HRL4W2D6WZ6WZN3LT/ >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list -- [email protected], 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/[email protected]/message/EUEENALP5LUOEZWLKCIBRZ73ML7HVWMQ/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
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