Wonderful news, congrats on the successful search. And welcome, Kathy! Sam.
(Nat: also a fan of the new Talking initiative. :) On Wed, Nov 1, 2023 at 5:29 PM Kathy Collins <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hi all, > > Thank you, Nat, and to all the staff and volunteers who have shared such a > warm welcome as I prepare to join the Wikimedia Foundation Board of > Trustees, and to those who have given their time to sharing information and > answering my questions. > > > > I have dedicated much of my career and my personal volunteer time to > public, non-profit, and higher education institutions that have the mission > of advancing knowledge and access to knowledge. As will be familiar to > you, I have often turned to Wikipedia to read biographies, to learn about > historical context or to get information for my travel plans, to name just > a few of the dozen ways in which I’ve used this resource over the years. I > understand and deeply appreciate its value in the world. > > > > As I join, my first priority will be to learn about the needs of the > Wikimedia movement now, and the work of the Wikimedia Foundation so that I > can positively contribute my experiences and expertise in my role as a > Trustee and chair of the Audit Committee. The work of the Audit Committee > helps the Board carry out its fiduciary responsibilities to advise > leadership at the Foundation on financial plans, policies and practices and > risk assessment. Through this work, the Board helps the Foundation to > advance our strategic goals, and also ensures sound financial management, > long-term planning, and clear communications surrounding the Foundation’s > budget and financial reports. > > > > I am impressed by the scope, resilience and diligence of the Wikimedia > movement, and the central importance of volunteers to its success. I look > forward to attending Wikiconference North America in Toronto, and having > this first opportunity to meet some volunteers and hear what is top of > mind. I hope to find ways to meet more of you as I formally join the Board > in December. > > > > I look forward to working with you, > > Kathy > > On Wed, Nov 1, 2023 at 4:20 PM Nataliia Tymkiv <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Dear all, >> >> I am writing with an update on the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees >> Audit Committee Chair search process. >> >> You may recall that in July 2023, I wrote about the Board’s need to >> identify a replacement for trustee and Audit Committee chair Tanya Capuano >> [1] and the requirements that the Board had identified for the position >> [2]. The Governance Committee conducted a search over a months-long >> process, which included a search firm as well as a call for candidates >> through the communities; the main components of the recruitment process are >> described here [3]. In August at Wikimania, the Governance Committee made a >> recommendation to the Board to move forward with the top finalist, and the >> Board accepted it [4]. I am pleased to announce that Kathy Collins [5] will >> be joining officially at our next Board meeting on December 6, 2023. >> >> Kathy has extensive financial and nonprofit governance experience that >> she brings to this role. She has worked as a financial expert for her >> entire career, across both higher education institutions and state and >> federal governments in the United States. She was Vice President of Finance >> at Rice University in Houston, Texas for nearly 20 years, a position she >> held until last year when she retired. She has also been a trustee at Mount >> Holyoke College in Massachusetts, where she served in multiple Board >> leadership roles including Vice Chair of the Board, Chair of the Finance >> Committee and member of the Audit, Governance and Development Committees >> and the DEI (Diversity, equity, and inclusion) Task Force. Her >> experience and expertise are very relevant to the challenges we as the >> Board are seeing for this role. Please join me in welcoming her! >> >> This is a planned role succession, with a very clear profile needed, and >> as I mentioned before [4], over the past year, there have been quite a lot >> of intentional improvements to all of our processes (e.g., recruitment, >> appointments, onboarding, succession planning), so that Trustees with no or >> limited Wikimedia experience can start engaging in community conferences, >> events, and on-wiki discussions as soon as possible, and as the role of a >> Trustee is complex, it is better if the process can start before the >> official appointment, when already a certain level of knowledge is expected >> to start making informed decisions. And Kathy has wasted no time in >> pre-onboarding to the Wikimedia Foundation and learning about the Movement >> and Board. She has been joining the Audit and Governance Committee meetings >> for the past few months. Kathy also will also be joining other Trustees in >> person at the WikiConference North America event in Toronto, which will be >> her first community event, and also an opportunity to get to know some of >> her future colleagues on the Board better. >> >> I would like to thank Tanya Capuano for continuing to support the >> Foundation while Kathy is pre-onboarded to the Audit Committee and the >> Board. Tanya has also graciously agreed to remain an Advisor to the Audit >> Committee after her term officially ends in December. >> >> Recently, Maryana Iskander announced Talking: 2024 [6], conversations to >> share, listen, and learn with intention as we all continue to plan our >> future as a movement. If you would like to talk to me about this or any >> other Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees topics, you can use the Let’s >> Talk feature to sign up for a time to speak with me [7]. >> >> [1] >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/message/OG3NQUL4HKUYPRSLUKM2RI2LRXGJRG5I/ >> >> [2] >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Governance_Committee/Board_recruitment >> >> >> [3] >> https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees/Recruiting_procedure >> >> >> [4] >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/thread/PAKLDS53PN7GVLYVML6OWSTEEF5KWJ2M/ >> >> >> [5] >> https://wikimediafoundation.org/news/2023/11/01/wikimedia-foundation-welcomes-kathy-collins-as-new-incoming-board-trustee-and-audit-chair/ >> >> [6] >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Committee/Talking:_2024#October_2023_Update_and_Invitation_to_Talking:_2024 >> >> [7] >> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Community_Affairs_Committee/Talking:_2024#Let's_talk >> >> Best regards, >> 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!* >> >> _______________________________________________ > 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/T2VH5HV3QQWYY57W7WFWWRV5Z64HIZ2J/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] -- Samuel Klein @metasj w:user:sj +1 617 529 4266
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