Katherine Maher

Katherine Roberts Maher (born April 18, 1983)[1] is a former chief executive officer and executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation.[2] Before this, she was their chief communications officer.[3]

Katherine Maher
File:Katherine Maher.jpg
Maher in 2016
Born
Katherine Roberts Maher

18 April 1983 (aged 42)
Alma materNew York University
OccupationBusiness executive
Years active2005–present
TitleExecutive director of the Wikimedia Foundation
File:Happy Birthday Wikidata!.webm
Maher talking about Wikidata in 2017

Early life and education

Maher grew up in Wilton, Connecticut.[1] She went to Wilton High School.[4]

In 2003, Maher graduated from the Arabic Language Institute's Arabic Language Intensive Program of The American University in Cairo.[5] Maher subsequently studied at the Institut français d’études arabes de Damas in Syria. During this period, she also spent time in Lebanon and Tunisia.[1][6]

In 2005, Maher received a bachelor's degree from New York University in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.[7]

Career

From 2007 to 2010, Maher worked at UNICEF as an innovation and communication officer.[8] She focused on the use of technology to improve people's lives. Maher worked on issues related to maternal health, HIV/AIDS prevention, and youth participation in technology.[1] One of her first projects at UNICEF involved testing MediaWiki extensions related to accessibility in Ethiopia.[9]

From 2010 to 2011, Maher worked at the National Democratic Institute as an ICT Program Officer.[10]

From 2011 to 2013, Maher worked as an ICT innovation specialist at the World Bank.[11] In 2012, Maher's Twitter feed on issues related to the Middle East was cited as being notable in its coverage of the Arab Spring.[12][13]

From 2013 to 2014, Maher was advocacy director at the Washington, D.C.-based Access Now.[3][14] As part of this work, she focused on the impact on people of laws about cyber security, morality, and defamation of the state that increase state censorship and reduce dissent.[15] Access was a signatory of the Declaration of Internet Freedom.[11]

Wikimedia Foundation

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Maher and Jimmy Wales at Wikimania 2017

From April 2014 to March 2016, Maher was chief communications officer of the Wikimedia Foundation.[3][16][17] During this time, she gave an interview in The Washington Post on United States copyright law.[18]

In March 2016, Maher became interim executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation following the resignation of then executive director, Lila Tretikov.[14][19] Maher was appointed executive director in June 2016. The appointment was announced by Jimmy Wales on June 24, 2016 at Wikimania 2016 in Esino Lario, Italy, effective June 23, 2016.[2][3]

Maher states that she focuses on global digital inclusion as a way to improve and protect the rights of people to information through technology.[1][20]

Honors

  • 2013: The Diplomatic Courier, Diplomatic Courier and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. "99 Under 33" (world’s top 99 foreign policy leaders under the age of 33)[5][21]

Leadership

Personal life

Maher is based in San Francisco, California. Besides English, she also speaks Arabic, French, and German.[5]

Works and publications

Katherine Maher Media

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Boix, Montserrat; Sefidari, María (September 3, 2016). "Maher: "La Fundación necesita reflejar la cultura que queremos ver en la comunidad"" (Video). Wikimujeres (Wikimanía Esino Lario 2016). http://wikimujeres.wiki/2016/09/03/katherine-maher-la-fundacion-wikimedia-necesita-reflejar-la-cultura-que-queremos-ver-en-la-comunidad-y-en-el-movimiento/. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Lorente, Patricio; Henner, Christophe (June 24, 2016). "Foundation Board appoints Katherine Maher as Executive Director". Wikimedia Blog. https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/06/24/katherine-maher-executive-director/. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gardner, Sue (April 15, 2014). "Katherine Maher joins the Wikimedia Foundation as Chief Communications Officer". Wikimedia Blog. https://blog.wikimedia.org/2014/04/15/katherine-maher-joins-foundation-chief-communications-officer/. 
  4. "More than half of Wilton High makes honor roll". Wilton Bulletin: 3D. May 10, 2001. http://www.fultonhistory.com/Process%20small/Newspapers/Newspapers%20%20Out%20of%20NY/Wilton%20CT.%20Bulletin/Wilton%20CT%20%20Bulletin%202001%20Grayscale/Wilton%20CT%20%20Bulletin%202001%20Grayscale%20-%200839.pdf. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  6. Rooney, Ben (June 28, 2012). "Web Can Foment Openness as Corrupt Regimes Fall". The Wall Street Journal. https://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2012/06/28/web-can-foment-openness-as-corrupt-regimes-fall/. 
  7. "2000s". NYU Alumni Magazine (22): 59. Spring 2014. https://www.nyu.edu/alumni.magazine/issue22/pdf/NYU22.pdf. 
  8. Heather Ann (August 2, 2009). "SXSW 2009 Interview – Katherine Maher and Guarav Mishra" (Video). AustinLifestyles.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvOsVpw0ORY. 
  9. Maher, Katherine (June 26, 2016). "Wikimania 2016 – Q&A with the ED of Wikimedia Foundation Katherine Maher" (Video). Wikimania 2016[broken anchor] (Wikimanía Esino Lario 2016). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcSmAhVURjM. 
  10. "Tech in the Egyptian Revolution" (Video). frogdesign Design Mind. March 12, 2011. https://vimeo.com/20966760. 
  11. 11.0 11.1 Curley, Nina (October 9, 2012). "Resisting Internet Censorship: Katherine Maher of Access at SHARE Beirut" (Video). Wamda. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM3OPNwGOFg. 
  12. York, Jillian (April 3, 2012). "A Seat at the Table: A Twitter-ful list of women crucial to foreign policy". Levo League. https://www.levo.com/posts/a-seat-at-the-table-a-twitter-ful-list-of-women-crucial-to-foreign-policy. Retrieved November 20, 2019. 
  13. York, Jillian C. (June 20, 2012). "Introducing the FPwomerati: Why didn't Foreign Policy include more women in its Twitterati list? Here's a list of 100 female tweeters around the world that everyone should follow". Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/06/20/introducing-the-fpwomerati/. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 Lorente, Patricio (March 16, 2016). "Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees welcomes Katherine Maher as interim Executive Director". Wikimedia Blog. https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/03/16/board-welcomes-katherine-maher/. 
  15. Fletcher, Lisa (August 8, 2012). "Predicting crime online and offline" (TV show). The Stream (Al Jazeera English). http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201208082004-0022307. Retrieved November 20, 2019. 
  16. Fitzsimmons, Michelle (January 16, 2016). "Wikipedia is still disrupting after 15 years". TechRadar. http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/wikipedia-is-still-disrupting-after-15-years-1313225. 
  17. Bradley, Diana (May 15, 2014). "Wikimedia hires Maher to fill chief comms role". PRWeek. http://www.prweek.com/article/1294445/wikimedia-hires-maher-fill-chief-comms-role. 
  18. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
  19. Maher, Katherine (October 29, 2016). "MozFest Speaker Series: Privacy and Harassment on the Internet" (Video). Mozfest 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vycwQM9Isgw. 
  20. "Innovators: Katherine Maher". The Diplomatic Courier. September 10, 2013. http://www.diplomaticourier.com/innovators-2/. [dead link]
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