Re: WMF Board of Trustees: Board Selection Process Update

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Hello Erik - I completely agree with you. It is too restrictive, and the
functions within a Wikipedia community are not automatically preparing a
person for the board.
Kind regards
Ziko

Am Fr., 24. Juli 2026 um 17:13 Uhr schrieb Erik Moeller via Wikimedia-l <
[email protected]>:

> On Fri, Jul 17, 2026 at 10:40=E2=80=AFPM Margo Lee via Wikimedia-l
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> > The Board is now looking for specific feedback on the proposed
> eligibility criteria.
>
> I concur with others that these criteria are too restrictive when it
> comes to the demonstrated experience as a functionary. This turns the
> process even more into a committee-style selection procedure that is
> fairly closed off to folks who bring fundamentally different
> perspectives (and, yes, disagreements) to the Board than the ones
> already selected for through the functionary roles deemed sufficient
> for eligibility.
>
> Wikimedia Foundation needs folks with relevant governance experience
> for an organization of this scale, but it also needs voices that
> challenge it and push it in new directions on the Board. The trick is
> to find the right balance between those goals. Requiring that people
> advance along an internal functionary ladder towards the possibility
> of standing for trusteeship is not that balance; it is the kind of
> requirement structure you find in institutions that drift towards
> stagnancy and self-reinforcement, often out of institutionalized fear.
>
> A compromise proposal:
> * Change the word "must" to "should" when it comes to the governance
> experience criteria
> * Require that candidates indicate comparable or equivalent experience
> in their candidate profile if they do not meet these criteria.
>
> Will there be another iteration of these criteria that is responsive
> to the feedback so far?
>
> Warmly,
>
> Erik
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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div>Hello Erik - I completely agree with you. It is too r=
estrictive, and the functions within a Wikipedia community are not automati=
cally preparing a person for the board.</div><div>Kind regards</div><div>Zi=
ko</div></div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir=
=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_attr">Am Fr., 24. Juli 2026 um 17:13=C2=A0Uhr schri=
eb Erik Moeller via Wikimedia-l &lt;<a href=3D"mailto:wikimedia-l-RusutVdil2haa/[email protected]=
imedia.org">[email protected]</a>&gt;:<br></div><blockquote c=
lass=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px soli=
d rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">On Fri, Jul 17, 2026 at 10:40=E2=80=AF=
PM Margo Lee via Wikimedia-l<br>
&lt;<a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]" target=3D"_blank">wi=
[email protected]</a>&gt; wrote:<br>
&gt; The Board is now looking for specific feedback on the proposed eligibi=
lity criteria.<br>
<br>
I concur with others that these criteria are too restrictive when it<br>
comes to the demonstrated experience as a functionary. This turns the<br>
process even more into a committee-style selection procedure that is<br>
fairly closed off to folks who bring fundamentally different<br>
perspectives (and, yes, disagreements) to the Board than the ones<br>
already selected for through the functionary roles deemed sufficient<br>
for eligibility.<br>
<br>
Wikimedia Foundation needs folks with relevant governance experience<br>
for an organization of this scale, but it also needs voices that<br>
challenge it and push it in new directions on the Board. The trick is<br>
to find the right balance between those goals. Requiring that people<br>
advance along an internal functionary ladder towards the possibility<br>
of standing for trusteeship is not that balance; it is the kind of<br>
requirement structure you find in institutions that drift towards<br>
stagnancy and self-reinforcement, often out of institutionalized fear.<br>
<br>
A compromise proposal:<br>
* Change the word &quot;must&quot; to &quot;should&quot; when it comes to t=
he governance<br>
experience criteria<br>
* Require that candidates indicate comparable or equivalent experience<br>
in their candidate profile if they do not meet these criteria.<br>
<br>
Will there be another iteration of these criteria that is responsive<br>
to the feedback so far?<br>
<br>
Warmly,<br>
<br>
Erik<br>
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 rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikim=
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Public archives at <a href=3D"https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/w=
[email protected]/message/RI3AY4EFXNAFY7BMO6OX44FEZ5UIFR2E/" r=
el=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/=
list/[email protected]/message/RI3AY4EFXNAFY7BMO6OX44FEZ5UIFR=
2E/</a><br>
To unsubscribe send an email to <a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]=
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blockquote></div>

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