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Annual Election/Members Meeting
When and Where
DateWednesday, September 20, 2023
Time6:00 pm -7:00 pm (Open Hour)
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm (Wiki Salon)
LocationHybrid - Online & at Prime Produce, 424 W 54 Street
Welcome to Wikimedia New York City!
New cap

Wikimedia New York City invites you to attend its Annual Election/Members Meeting on Wednesday, September 20, from 7:00 pm - 9:00 PM ET. No experience of anything at all is required. All are welcome!

All attendees are subject to Wikimedia NYC's Code of Conduct.

Details

  • Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2023
  • Time:
    • 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm (Open Hour)
    • 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm (Wiki Salon)
  • Location: Hybrid - Online & at Prime Produce, 424 W 54 Street!
  • This month's facilitator is Pharos.

How to connect via Zoom

How to connect: To join just follow this url: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85212519478

If you have not used Zoom before, you will be prompted to download its launcher program. It works on PC, Mac, and Linux. Give yourself about 5 minutes to download and install the software. If necessary, you can also connect through Zoom's iOS or Android app, which you can find on the zoom.us website. As a last resort, you can also dial in by phone, calling (646) 876-9923 and enter the meeting ID (852 1251 9478). Please keep in mind that if you dial in by phone you will be able to listen, but will miss all visuals.

Agenda

  • Zoom etiquette
  • Introductions
  • Wikimedia NYC Strategic Plan
  • Treasurer's Report
  • Wikimedia NYC Elections (polls open until 8:00 pm!)
  • Ongoing/upcoming events!
When: Sunday, October 1
Where: Prime Produce
When: Tuesday, October 3
Where: John Cotton Dana Library, Newark
When: Weekend of October 21-22
Where: Prime Produce
When: Sunday, October 29
Where: Butler Library, Columbia University
When: November, 10 to 12, 2023

Election FAQ

What is the Members' Meeting?

The Members' Meeting is when the WikiNYC community votes to elect a new Board of Directors.

How many people serve on the WikiNYC Board?

The board will include six elected seats, all of which will be up for election at the Members' Meeting. Once elected, those six board members can appoint up to five more, for a total of up to eleven. Board members will in future normally serve a term of two years, though because this is the first time we're doing it, three of the elected board members will serve for a two year term, and the other three a one year term.

How are officers selected?

There are four officer positions: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Nominees may indicate interest in serving in one of these roles, but the board members will decide on these appointments internally.

What are the responsibilities of being a WikiNYC board member?

The WikiNYC board is responsible for the overall governance of the organization. Some legal details are available in our bylaws. The board manages finances, keeps track of membership, develops and implements strategic priorities, engages in annual planning processes, applies for grants, writes grant reports, maintains communications with the Wikimedia Foundation, holds monthly board meetings, handles issues regarding the code of conduct, pursues or facilitates events and relationships that further our goals, and works with accountants, lawyers, consultants, and any other relevant professionals whose services the organization requires. Not every board member is active in all of these areas, but nominees should expect to be involved with most of them to some degree. Despite a long list of responsibilities, it is not a full-time commitment. Separated from the volunteer activities any WikiNYC member can participate in, most board members probably spend an average of about 5-10 hours/month on official duties, with somewhat more time for officers.

If you want to learn more about people's experiences, reach out to one of the current board members listed on our Meta page.

Are board members compensated for their time?

No. This is a volunteer board.

Do I have to divulge my real name?

At this phase, you are welcome to just use your Wikimedia username. However, board members do have their real names and usernames published publicly.

Who is eligible to be an elected board member?

Nominees must:

  • be dues-paying members of Wikimedia New York City (contact Legoktm or Pharos if you're not sure if your membership is current)
  • live primarily in New York or the greater New York Metropolitan Area
  • nominate themselves on this page by 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on September 13. Note that this is a week before the meeting to ensure voters sufficient time to read about the candidates.

How do I vote?

  • You must be a dues-paying member of Wikimedia New York City, having renewed in the past 12 months
  • Register to join at wmnyc:Membership
  • Voting will be online, via emailed ballots from the ElectionBuddy service
  • Poll will be open for the 48 hours from 8pm September 18 to 8pm September 20
  • Contact Legoktm or Pharos for any membership questions, to conform your status, and to ensure your ballot is sent to your preferred email

How do I nominate myself?

Edit the Nomination page and copy the template there. Paste it in a subsection under the "nominations" header underneath. Change the subsection heading to be your username. Note that some of the questions have word limits. For fairness, we will be checking the word count and truncating statements that go too long.

Nominations

kind data

Username
kind data ( talk)
Have you been on the WikiNYC board in the past? If so, when?
No, I have never served on the WikiNYC board in the past.
Describe your involvement with WikiNYC in the past. If you were a board member in the past, please also include a summary of the contributions to chapter governance you're most proud of. [500 words max]
I began participating in WikiNYC events at last year's Wikidata Day, where I presented my work on K-12 NYC Open Education Data and Wikidata. Since then, I've attended many edit-a-thons and meetings, and have had the great pleasure of getting to know editors. This has given me a great sense of community within Wikimedia, opened up new avenues for thinking about my work as an academic librarian, and introduced me to editing Wikipedia after being more involved with Wikidata. To date, I have made 10,918 Wikidata edits, and a humble 42 Wikipedia edits. I helped coordinate a feature on Wikimedia NYC in Byline, covering Wikimedians across the country with a special highlight on New York City. I am helping coordinate Wikidata Day 2023, and look forward to continuing this work.
Why do you want to join the WikiNYC board? In what ways would you be most interested to help? [500 words max]
I would be excited to more formally serve the chapter, its work, and editors.
Which, if any, of the officer positions align with your skills and interests? (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary). This is just to gauge interest; the elected board will decide who should be in which position. Answers like "none of the above" or "I'd prefer to wait and see" are acceptable.
I am interested in serving as treasurer or secretary, but am open to other possibilities.

Windblown29

Username
Windblown29 ( talk)
Have you been on the WikiNYC board in the past? If so, when?
Yes, I am currently a member of the board
Describe your involvement with WikiNYC in the past. If you were a board member in the past, please also include a summary of the contributions to chapter governance you're most proud of. [500 words max]
As the Strategic Planning Officer, I have been active with grant work and securing the funding to hire a much needed Executive Director for WMNYC. Additionally, as a team, we continue to structure growth in key areas, including membership, volunteerism, communications and messaging, data mining, and building alliance structures. I continue to work collaboratively with all of our stakeholders and enjoy working creatively to build our affiliate.
Why do you want to join the WikiNYC board? In what ways would you be most interested to help? [500 words max]
Being part of the board requires energy, time, patience and critical problem-solving skills to meet and keep up with the many areas of growth and opportunity. I would like to continue assisting with strategic development of Wikimedia NYC. We are progressively entering the second year of our three-year strategic plan. The board will continue to respond to and accelerate our member/stakeholder needs and pursue opportunities that align with our mission.
Which, if any, of the officer positions align with your skills and interests? (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary). This is just to gauge interest; the elected board will decide who should be in which position. Answers like "none of the above" or "I'd prefer to wait and see" are acceptable.
I am currently the Strategic Officer and wish to continue in this role for another term, especially as we will be hiring an Executive Director to manage the overall operational and funding needs of the affiliate.

Wil540_art

Username
Wil540_art ( talk)
Have you been on the WikiNYC board in the past? If so, when?
Yes, I am currently a member of the board, elected in 2022.
Describe your involvement with WikiNYC in the past. If you were a board member in the past, please also include a summary of the contributions to chapter governance you're most proud of. [500 words max]
I joined the board last year to help stabilize the organization and encourage the chapter to produce more unique merchandise to promote itself. In this spirit, I have been an active participant on the successful grant application to hire a founding Executive Director for WMNYC. I am now part of the hiring committee as we search for this first employee. Additionally, I have helped support over 10 WMNYC events this year. In terms of merch I've helped produce, see: 2022 Wiki World's Fair NYC shirt, 2023 NYBG Wiki-Button, 2023 Governors Island Wiknic shirt.
Why do you want to join the WikiNYC board? In what ways would you be most interested to help? [500 words max]
I want to complete the goal of hiring and on-boarding an executive director. I also want to complete the production of merchandise items we've been working on.
Which, if any, of the officer positions align with your skills and interests? (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary). This is just to gauge interest; the elected board will decide who should be in which position. Answers like "none of the above" or "I'd prefer to wait and see" are acceptable.
I am currently the Vice-President. I would like to continue in that role.

Pharos

Username
Pharos ( talk)
Have you been on the WikiNYC board in the past? If so, when?
I have served on the WikiNYC board since the start of the chapter, which I helped to found originally.
Describe your involvement with WikiNYC in the past. If you were a board member in the past, please also include a summary of the contributions to chapter governance you're most proud of. [500 words max]
I was the founding president of WikiNYC until 2017, have also served as secretary and in numerous other capacities on the board and in the community, and returned to the position of chapter president last year. I'm proudest of building human connections at WikiWednesday Salons, Wikipedia Days and picnics and conferences, and us fostering a vital and open local community.
Why do you want to join the WikiNYC board? In what ways would you be most interested to help? [500 words max]
I want to help us implement our three-year strategic plan and hire our first Executive Director, so that we are a stronger local community on a long-term basis. Hope to be able to celebrate this eventually with a full-scale Wiki World's Fair, with a polyglot festival atmosphere that facilitates outreach to thousands, and truly embraces our diverse city. I also want to help build up a capacity with volunteer committees that grounds us and is complementary with our future staff efforts.
Which, if any, of the officer positions align with your skills and interests? (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary). This is just to gauge interest; the elected board will decide who should be in which position. Answers like "none of the above" or "I'd prefer to wait and see" are acceptable.
I am willing to continue as president for one more term to see out our three-year strategic plan, and hire our first Executive Director.

Kosboot

Username
Kosboot (talk)
Have you been on the WikiNYC board in the past? If so, when?
I've served on the board for about 6 years
Describe your involvement with WikiNYC in the past. If you were a board member in the past, please also include a summary of the contributions to chapter governance you're most proud of. [500 words max]
I've organized 3 editathons and particpated in others, mostly by offering help. For the past 4 years I've served as Treasurer.
Why do you want to join the WikiNYC board? In what ways would you be most interested to help? [500 words max]
I see Wikimedia New York City entering a new phase, one in which we will be scaling up the organization. I am stepping down from my Treasurer responsibilities (because I feel that position is beginning to require someone with more budgetary knowledge than I have) but would like to remain on the board.
Which, if any, of the officer positions align with your skills and interests? (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary). This is just to gauge interest; the elected board will decide who should be in which position. Answers like "none of the above" or "I'd prefer to wait and see" are acceptable.
Though I am stepping down from the Treasurer position, I would very much want to remain on the board to help implement (and plan) our strategic issues. Additionally I am very much interested in our discussions of a North American Hub which we will be planning with Wikimedia DC and other usergroups.

ComplexRational

Username
ComplexRational ( talk)
Have you been on the WikiNYC board in the past? If so, when?
No, I have never served on the Wikimedia NYC board before.
Describe your involvement with WikiNYC in the past. If you were a board member in the past, please also include a summary of the contributions to chapter governance you're most proud of. [500 words max]
I joined my first Wikimedia NYC meetup over Zoom in 2020 and my first in-person meetup in 2022. Since then, I have regularly attended events, including the Wiki World's Fair, Wikipedia Day 2023, and many WikiWednesdays. At several events, I have given lightning talks, and I have also worked with newcomers to the project at a couple of edit-a-thons. My involvement with the chapter has also inspired me to do more editing related to New York City and its history.
Why do you want to join the WikiNYC board? In what ways would you be most interested to help? [500 words max]
I am eager to become more involved with the Wikimedia NYC chapter. I greatly enjoy sharing knowledge and experience – both as a Wikipedian and a New Yorker – and conversely am always open to learning from others. Accordingly, I would be interested in facilitating edit-a-thons and similar events to recruit and train new editors, building upon my prior experience both in creating content and as an administrator. I strongly believe that such opportunities can have an integral role in the chapter's growth.
Which, if any, of the officer positions align with your skills and interests? (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary). This is just to gauge interest; the elected board will decide who should be in which position. Answers like "none of the above" or "I'd prefer to wait and see" are acceptable.
At this time, I believe that I am better suited for a deputy or non-officer position.

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