Minutes:2015-09-14
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Wikimedia Foundation Board minutes
- September 14, 2015
- Board of Trustees present: Jan-Bart de Vreede (Chair), Lorente (Vice-Chair), Alice Wiegand, Dariusz Jemielniak, Denny Vrandečić, Frieda Brioschi, James Heilman, Jimmy Wales, Stu West, and Guy Kawasaki
- Others present for part of the meeting: Lila Tretikov (Executive Director), Terence Gilbey (Chief Operating Officer), Katherine Maher (Chief Communications Officer), Trevor Parscal (Director, Head of Editing), and Stephen LaPorte (Legal Counsel)
Patricio called the meeting to order at 12:00 PM on September 14, 2015. Stephen called roll and confirmed that a quorum was present and able to simultaneously hear the meeting. Lila, Terry, and Stephen were present.
Strategy update
Lila started the meeting with an update on the Foundation's strategy process, including a review of the previous strategy and goals. Lila reviewed a number of strategic activities underway, including improving community workflows, increasing on-site speed, supporting high-quality content, expanding the Wikimedia Foundation's engagement with the community. The ongoing strategy process will provide an opportunity to set short term and long-term goals, as well as opportunities to reevaluate and update goals when appropriate. The Board and community will have an opportunity for more input. Board members emphasized the importance of providing adequate time for community input.
Operational Updates
Terry provided a regular update on the operations of the Foundation. The update covered the current expenses and revenue for the year, as well as change to the Fundraising banner schedule. The update also included the HR activity and quarterly goals for the Foundation, as well as the timeline for the next annual plan.
Katherine and Trevor joined at the conclusion of this topic.
Housekeeping
- The Board discussed candidates for committee chairs. The Board unanimously approved a resolution on committee chair selections, after a motion by Patricio seconded by Stu.
- The Board unanimously approved approved the July meeting minutes, after a motion by Patricio seconded by Alice.
- The Board discussed Garfield's transition. The Board unanimously approved appointed Terry as interim Treasurer, after a motion by Alice seconded by Stu.
Patricio was required to leave at this point in the meeting.
Key projects update
Katherine provided a high level overview of a potential plan to review and address branding. Katherine plans to provide a recommendation and continue discussion with the Board at a future meeting. The process will include an open discussion with the community. Board members discussed the project, including the Board's role in the process, and the amount of potential resources required for the project.
Trevor reviewed the recent development for Visual Editor. Visual Editor is available to most Wikipedia users by default, and now performs approximately as fast as the wikitext editor. The team working on Visual Editor held regular triage meetings where users can help identify priority bugs. Trevor also reviewed recent development for Flow, including a new strategy that is helping the team reprioritize features to support existing core processes on wikis to ensure high quality content. Board members discussed some user feedback on Flow.
Executive Session
All of the Foundation staff members were excused at this point in the meeting, and the Board held a confidential executive session. At the conclusion of the executive session, the meeting closed.