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 <mden...@wikimedia.org> 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 <trulyt...@gmail.com> > 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 < >> philip.kopet...@gmail.com> 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 <mden...@wikimedia.org> >>> 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 -- 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/PFOBFWCBFACRGY3OMXAQG54ALPXGT3K3/ >>>> To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-le...@lists.wikimedia.org >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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/4V5RUB237FID73UVOWLEYDBHY3SOETM3/ >>> To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-le...@lists.wikimedia.org >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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/4RSIKRLLUJA5IM6O4EUTIPIDD2CQEHZ4/ >> To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-le...@lists.wikimedia.org > > > > -- > Maggie Dennis > She/her/hers > Vice President, Community Resilience & Sustainability > Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. > _______________________________________________ > 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/J64DDVROTHHRDK7HRL4W2D6WZ6WZN3LT/ > To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-le...@lists.wikimedia.org
_______________________________________________ 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/EUEENALP5LUOEZWLKCIBRZ73ML7HVWMQ/ To unsubscribe send an email to wikimedia-l-le...@lists.wikimedia.org