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 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Maher in 2016 | |||||||||
| Born | Katherine Roberts Maher April 18, 1983 Wilton, Connecticut, U.S. | ||||||||
| Alma mater | New York University | ||||||||
| Occupation | Business executive | ||||||||
| Years active | 2005–present | ||||||||
| Title | Executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation | ||||||||
| |||||||||
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
_(freddy2001).jpg)
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
- 2011: Youth for Technology Foundation, Member of the Board[22]
- 2013: Truman National Security Project, Policy Fellow, National Security Fellow, and Research Fellow, Democracy & Human Rights Initiative[23][24]
- 2013: Open Technology Fund, Advisory Committee Member[25]
- 2016: World Economic Forum, Member, Global Network Council on the Future of Human Rights[26][27]
- 2018: Wikidata UK Hackathon, talk at Newspeak house
- 2018: Oxford Union, on Technology and Empire[28]
- 2019: World Economic Forum Young Global Leader[29]
Personal life
Maher is based in San Francisco, California. Besides English, she also speaks Arabic, French, and German.[5]
Works and publications
- Maher, Katherine (December 2010). "Food Fights". Bookforum. http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/1704/6687.
- Maher, Katherine (March 21, 2011). "SXSW festival takes on board use of technology for social impact". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/mar/21/sxsw-festival-technology-for-social-impact.
- Maher, Katherine (August 17, 2012). "Did the Bounds of Cyber War Just Expand to Banks and Neutral States?". The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/did-the-bounds-of-cyber-war-just-expand-to-banks-and-neutral-states/261230/.
- Raja, Siddhartha; Melhem, Samia; Cruse, Matthew; Goldstein, Joshua; Maher, Katherine; Minges, Michael; Surya, Priya (August 2012). "Chapter 6: Making Government Mobile" (PDF). Information and Communications for Development 2012: Maximizing Mobile. Washington, DC: World Bank. pp. 87–101. doi:10.1596/9780821389911_ch06. ISBN 978-0-8213-8991-1. OCLC 895048866.
- Maher, Katherine; York, Jillian C. (2013). "Origins of the Tunisian Internet". In Hussain, Muzammil M.; Howard, Philip N. (eds.). State Power 2.0: Authoritarian Entrenchment and Political Engagement Worldwide. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4094-5469-4. OCLC 940726016.
- Maher, Katherine (February 25, 2013). "The New Westphalian Web: The future of the Internet may lie in the past. And that's not a good thing". Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/02/25/the-new-westphalian-web.
- Maher, Katherine (March 19, 2014). "No, the U.S. Isn't 'Giving Up Control' of the Internet". Politico. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/03/control-of-the-internet-104830_Page2.html#.WHGhHrYrLXF. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- Maher, Katherine (December 5, 2016). "The Sum of All Knowledge" (Video). Google Talks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESVQknHESuA.
- Maher, Katherine (October 4, 2017). "How Wikipedia Changed The Exchange Of Knowledge (And Where It's Going Next)". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/10/04/how-wikipedia-changed-the-exchange-of-knowledge-and-where-its-going-next/#44302597cbef.
- Maher, Katherine (October 17, 2017). "Will Wikipedia Exist in 20 Years?" (Video). Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/2017/luncheon/10/Maher.
Katherine Maher Media
Katherine Maher with giddha dancers at WikiConference India 2016.
References
- ↑ 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/.
- ↑ 2.0 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/.
- ↑ 3.0 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/.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "AUCians Recognized Among Top 99 Foreign Policy Leaders Under 33". The American University in Cairo. October 8, 2013.
- ↑ 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/.
- ↑ "2000s". NYU Alumni Magazine (22): 59. Spring 2014. https://www.nyu.edu/alumni.magazine/issue22/pdf/NYU22.pdf.
- ↑ Heather Ann (August 2, 2009). "SXSW 2009 Interview – Katherine Maher and Guarav Mishra" (Video). AustinLifestyles.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvOsVpw0ORY.
- ↑ Maher, Katherine (June 26, 2016). "Wikimania 2016 – Q&A with the ED of Wikimedia Foundation Katherine Maher" (Video). Wikimania 2016 (Wikimanía Esino Lario 2016). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcSmAhVURjM.
- ↑ "Tech in the Egyptian Revolution" (Video). frogdesign Design Mind. March 12, 2011. https://vimeo.com/20966760.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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/.
- ↑ 14.0 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/.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Phillip, Abby (August 6, 2014). If a monkey takes a selfie in the forest, who owns the copyright? No one, says Wikimedia.. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/08/06/if-a-monkey-takes-a-selfie-in-the-forest-who-owns-the-copyright-no-one-says-wikimedia/.
- ↑ Tretikov, Lila (February 25, 2016). "[Wikimedia-l] Thank you for our time together" (Mailing list post). Wikimedia-l. Wikimedia Foundation.
- ↑ Maher, Katherine (October 29, 2016). "MozFest Speaker Series: Privacy and Harassment on the Internet" (Video). Mozfest 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vycwQM9Isgw.
- ↑ "Innovators: Katherine Maher". The Diplomatic Courier. September 10, 2013. http://www.diplomaticourier.com/innovators-2/.[dead link]
- ↑ "People: Katherine Maher". Youth for Technology Foundation. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ↑ "Team: Katherine Maher". Truman National Security Project. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ↑ "Politico Magazine: No, the U.S. Isn't 'Giving Up Control' of the Internet". Truman National Security Project. March 2014. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ↑ "Advisory Council: Katherine Maher". Open Technology Fund. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ↑ "People: Katherine Maher". World Economic Forum.
- ↑ "The Future of Human Rights". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on April 3, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ↑ OxfordUnion (May 6, 2016). "Oliver Stone - Full Q&A - Oxford Union" – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Meet the 2019 Class of Young Global Leaders". World Economic Forum.