Anasuya, thank you for the time and wisdom you have shared with us. We will miss you dearly.
Luis & Siko, congratulations. Looking forward to working with you in your new role. Katie On 19 February 2015 at 23:02, Gregory Varnum <gregory.var...@gmail.com> wrote: > Anasuya - I think you know that I adore you - and I am truly sad to see > you go. > > I look forward to seeing you around online - and hope to see you at > Wikimanias - but your impact has been immense and you will be missed. :( > > -greg aka varnent > > > > On 19 Feb, 2015, at 5:20 PM, Anasuya Sengupta <asengu...@wikimedia.org> > wrote: > > > > Dear friends and colleagues, fellow adventurers on the Wikimedia journey > - > > > > Goodbyes are overrated.[1] But since I’m sure this will be au revoir, > I’ll > > continue: I am leaving the Foundation as head of the Grantmaking > > department, at the end of March. This was not an easy decision to make; > > this is not an easy email to write. > > > > As some of you know, I have been battling health issues over the past few > > months. I’ve learnt sharp and intimate truths about myself as I’ve worked > > to get better, and what I’ve kept coming back to is the compassionate but > > fierce feminist slogan around self-care and sustainability: ‘what’s the > > point of the revolution if we can’t dance?’[2] To reassure you all, I > will > > be well,[3] but I need a little time and space to focus on getting my > > dancing legs strong again. > > > > That said, I am pleased that we have a really solid plan in place as I > > leave. As Lila’s email announced, Luis Villa (our current Deputy General > > Counsel) will be taking over the team effective immediately, and leading > > the organisation further in our support of Wikimedia communities > worldwide. > > Luis brings with him a range of skills and qualities that I know will > stand > > him, the team, and the movement in wonderful stead through it all. As a > > friend and colleague, I am so delighted to be supporting Luis through the > > next few weeks of transition. > > > > I joined the Foundation in July 2012 to oversee and implement the FDC > > process. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of creating and leading a > > department of more than twenty remarkable and passionate people who care > > about our mission, our communities, and the resources needed to match the > > two. > > > > We went from Asaf managing a small grants portfolio on his own, ably > > supported on occasion by Winifred, to a fully fledged grantmaking > > department with a spectrum of monetary and non-monetary resources. We > have > > been able to offer these in different ways to different parts of our > > movement: to individual volunteers with great ideas in need of project > > management, to small groups experimenting with new initiatives, and to > > established organisations who form critical content and policy > partnerships > > in their local contexts. We built an infrastructure for understanding our > > collective impact. We learned together about what our different > communities > > are doing globally, about the successes and challenges we have, and above > > all: about how we can, together, create a more powerful set of outcomes > for > > free knowledge. > > > > In doing so, I’ve had the joy of discovery,[4] of learning from and with > > some of the most dedicated volunteers in the world, who believe that > > knowledge matters. Most importantly, that it’s not only free knowledge > > _for_ all that we seek, but even more critically, that we believe in > > knowledge _from_ and _with_ all. > > > > And I’ve discovered that the nerdy, geeky, obsessed-with-data part of me > > found a home in this extraordinary universe, where everybody’s > “unimaginable, > > magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds” can find expression.[5] I > > look forward to the day when my worlds find more space on Wikipedia, when > > 80% of the globe is represented by far more than 20% of the edits, when > > much more than 15% of our contributors can self-identify as women. Till > > then, I’ll keep fighting notability one article at a time...[6] > > > > So thank you for sharing your worlds with me, and no thanks for turning > me > > into an obsessive Wikimedian. :-) As I have learnt with you, I know I > have > > done so with trust, and as I have challenged you, I hope I have done so > > with respect. I look forward to continuing our friendships and obsessions > > on a wiki near you. > > > > With appreciation and gratitude, > > > > Anasuya > > > > p.s. You can find me in the future at my enWP user page (User:Anasuyas > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Anasuyas) or (dare I say it) on > > Facebook. Longer diatribes on liff, the universe and everything can be > sent > > to anasuyaATsanmathi.org > > > > [1] Neil Gaiman, American Gods (Chapter 8) > > > > [2] Urgent Action Fund, a funder of women’s human rights defenders, has > > this book on sustainability: > > > http://urgentactionfund.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/06/WTPR-Final-Book.pdf > > > > [3] And look forward to dancing together on the beaches of a future > > Wikimania… > > > > [4] Sometimes frustrating, sometimes unbelievable, sometimes somewhat > > insane; but yes mostly, generous beyond belief, and always, joyous. :-) > > > > [5] More Neil Gaiman, from The Sandman: > > https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Sandman#A_Game_of_You > > > > [6] > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Key_theme_-_Global_South,_WMF_Metrics_Meeting_February_2015.pdf&page=20 > > Ask Florence (User:Anthere) for _that_ story! > > > > > > On Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 2:15 PM, Lila Tretikov <l...@wikimedia.org> > wrote: > > > >> > >> Dear Wikimedians, > >> > >> Among the WMF’s top priorities for 2015 is strengthening our engagement > >> with Wikimedia editors and volunteers. Today we are taking the first > step > >> by bringing together the people who know our communities best and asking > >> them to break barriers and improve engagement. Everyone at the WMF who > >> carries responsibilities directly related to the communities will join a > >> new Community Engagement department. > >> > >> I have asked Luis Villa to lead the Community Engagement organization as > >> the Senior Director of Community Engagement, reporting to me. Promoting > >> from within the WMF for this critical role will allow us to leverage the > >> knowledge and experience with our communities and reinforce the > strengths > >> of our people. > >> > >> Luis’s experience with communities is lengthy and deep. He has been > >> involved in open communities since the late 1990s, from communities as > >> small as the Lego Mindstorms hackers to those as large as Mozilla. He > >> worked in open communities as a lawyer, a programmer, a bugmaster, an > >> engineering lead, a community leader, and a board member. Luis has > >> performed exceptionally within the Foundation and supported some of our > >> most fruitful community engagements. The Grantmaking, L&E, Education, > >> Community Advocacy and Community Liaisons teams will join the new > Community > >> Engagement department [2] under his leadership. > >> > >> Unfortunately, Anasuya Sengupta -- our beloved leader of grantmaking -- > >> will be leaving us due to personal health concerns at the end of March. > We > >> will invite you soon to celebrate her time with us, her work at the WMF > and > >> the deep insight she brought to the Foundation. We are saddened to see > her > >> go. The team she has nurtured will provide an important foundation for > our > >> upcoming work. > >> > >> Siko Bouterse will move up to lead the day-to-day work of the > Grantmaking > >> team as Director of Community Resources, supervising all department > Grant > >> programs and the Global South strategy. Siko has been instrumental in > >> innovating programs at the WMF, including initiatives like the > Teahouse[1] > >> and the IdeaLab[2] combining vision with strong support for volunteer > >> community, tough decision making, and great project management skills. > >> > >> These changes are an opportunity to improve the coordination of our work > >> supporting the communities. To accelerate this, I have asked Luis to > lead > >> an internal “tiger” team to better understand the needs, concerns and > >> priorities of our volunteers, and to develop recommendations for future > >> programs. This work will be shared with all of you as it becomes > available. > >> > >> Please join me in congratulating Luis and Siko and in supporting our > >> teams. The Wikimedia communities are what makes the projects strong, > >> unique, and irreplaceable. This is the next step forward in our support > to > >> them, and in service of our mission. > >> > >> > >> ~~~~Lila > >> > >> > >> > >> [1] As Director of Community Resources, Siko will oversee the IdeaLab, > >> Annual Plan Grants, Project and Event Grants, and Travel and > Participation > >> Support. Her team will include Katy Love, Winifred Olliff, Alex Wang, > >> Janice Tud, Jonathan Morgan, and Asaf Bartov. Asaf will also take on a > new > >> title as Senior Program Officer, Emerging Wikimedia Communities. > >> > >> [2] Rachel DiCerbo, Philippe Beaudette, Siko, and Anasuya’s other direct > >> reports, and their respective teams (CL, CA, and Grantmaking/GLEE) will > >> report to Luis. The Engineering Community team will be part of the tiger > >> team but will continue to report to Engineering. > >> > >> [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse > >> > >> [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IdeaLab > >> > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> 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 > >> > >> > > > > > > -- > > > > > > *Anasuya SenguptaSenior Director of GrantmakingWikimedia Foundation* > > > > Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in > > the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! > > Support Wikimedia <https://donate.wikimedia.org/> > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > > 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 > Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > -- Katie Chan Volunteer Support Organiser Wikimedia UK +44 (0) 20 7065 0990 +44 (0) 7885 980 534 PGP Key-ID: 0x483767A3 Wikimedia UK is a Charitable Company registered in England and Wales. Registered Company No. 6741827. 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