Katherine Maher

Katherine Maher
Katherine Maher in 2016
Maher in 2016
Born Katherine Roberts Maher
(1983-04-18) April 18, 1983
Wilton, Connecticut, U.S.
Nationality American
Alma mater New York University
Occupation Business executive
Years active 2005–present
Title Executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation
Katherine Maher talking about Wikidata in 2017

Katherine Roberts Maher (born April 18, 1983)[1] is the executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, a position she has held since June 2016.[2] Previously she was chief communications officer.[3] In addition to a background in the field of information and communications technology (ICT), Maher has worked in the non-profit and international sectors focusing on the use of technology to empower human rights and international development.[1]

Early life and education

Maher grew up in Wilton, Connecticut[1] and attended Wilton High School.[4] After high school, in 2003, Maher graduated from the Arabic Language Institute's Arabic Language Intensive Program (ALIN) of The American University in Cairo, which she said was a formative experience, instilling a deep love of the Middle East.[5] Maher also studied at the Institut français d’études arabes de Damas (L'IFEAD) 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

After two internships, at the Council on Foreign Relations and Eurasia Group, in 2005 Maher began working at various locations of HSBC—in London, Germany, and Canada—as part of their international manager development programme.[1]

In 2007, Maher moved back to New York City where from 2007 to 2010 she worked at UNICEF as an innovation and communication officer.[8] She was one of the founding members of what became known as the innovation team, focusing on the use of technology to improve people's lives. As part of this position, Maher traveled globally and 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] Another project received USAid Development 2.0 Challenge grant funding to work on the use of mobile phones to monitor nutrition in children in Malawi.[8]

From 2010 to 2011, Maher worked at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) as an ICT Program Officer, working in the field of information and communications technology (ICT).[10]

From 2011 to 2013, Maher worked at the World Bank as an ICT innovation specialist. At the World Bank, Maher was a consultant in technology for international development and democratization, working on ICT for accountability and governance, focusing on the role of mobile phones and other technologies in facilitating civil society and institutional reform, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.[11] She co-authored a chapter on "Making Government Mobile" of a World Bank publication titled Information and Communications for Development 2012: Maximizing Mobile.[12] 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[13][14]

From 2013 to 2014, Maher was advocacy director at the Washington, D.C.-based Access Now.[3][15] 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.[16] Access was a signatory of the Declaration of Internet Freedom.[11]

Wikimedia Foundation

Katherine Maher and Jimmy Wales at Wikimania 2017

From April 2014 to March 2016, Maher was chief communications officer of the San Francisco, California-based Wikimedia Foundation.[3][17][18] During this time, she gave an interview in The Washington Post on United States copyright law.[19]

In March 2016, Maher became interim executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation following the resignation of then executive director, Lila Tretikov.[15][20] 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][21]

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][22]

Leadership

Personal life

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

See also

Works and publications

  • Maher, Katherine (December 2010). "Food Fights". Bookforum.
  • Maher, Katherine (March 21, 2011). "SXSW festival takes on board use of technology for social impact". The Guardian.
  • Maher, Katherine (August 17, 2012). "Did the Bounds of Cyber War Just Expand to Banks and Neutral States?". The Atlantic.
  • Raja, Siddhartha; Melhem, Samia; Cruse, Matthew; Goldstein, Joshua; Maher, Katherine; Minges, Michael; Surya, Priya (August 2012). "Chapter 6: Making Government Mobile". Information and Communications for Development 2012: Maximizing Mobile (PDF). 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. 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. Archived from the original on March 5, 2015.
  • Maher, Katherine (March 19, 2014). "No, the U.S. Isn't 'Giving Up Control' of the Internet". Politico.
  • Maher, Katherine (December 5, 2016). "The Sum of All Knowledge" (Video). Google Talks.
  • Maher, Katherine (October 4, 2017). "How Wikipedia Changed The Exchange Of Knowledge (And Where It's Going Next)". Forbes.
  • Maher, Katherine (October 17, 2017). "Will Wikipedia Exist in 20 Years?" (Video). Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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.
  2. 1 2 Lorente, Patricio; Henner, Christophe (June 24, 2016). "Foundation Board appoints Katherine Maher as Executive Director". Wikimedia Blog.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Gardner, Sue (April 15, 2014). "Katherine Maher joins the Wikimedia Foundation as Chief Communications Officer". Wikimedia Blog.
  4. ↑ "More than half of Wilton High makes honor roll" (PDF). Wilton Bulletin. May 10, 2001. pp. 3D.
  5. 1 2 3 "AUCians Recognized Among Top 99 Foreign Policy Leaders Under 33". The American University in Cairo. October 8, 2013.
  6. ↑ Rooney, Ben (June 28, 2012). "Web Can Foment Openness as Corrupt Regimes Fall". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012.
  7. ↑ "2000s" (PDF). NYU Alumni Magazine (22). Spring 2014. p. 59.
  8. 1 2 Heather Ann (August 2, 2009). "SXSW 2009 Interview – Katherine Maher and Guarav Mishra" (Video). AustinLifestyles.com.
  9. ↑ Maher, Katherine (June 26, 2016). "Wikimania 2016 – Q&A with the ED of Wikimedia Foundation Katherine Maher" (Video). Wikimania 2016. Wikimanía Esino Lario 2016.
  10. ↑ "Tech in the Egyptian Revolution" (Video). frogdesign Design Mind. March 12, 2011.
  11. 1 2 Curley, Nina (October 9, 2012). "Resisting Internet Censorship: Katherine Maher of Access at SHARE Beirut" (Video). Wamda.
  12. ↑ Raja, Siddhartha; Melhem, Samia; Cruse, Matthew; Goldstein, Joshua; Maher, Katherine; Minges, Michael; Surya, Priya (August 2012). "Chapter 6: Making Government Mobile". Information and Communications for Development 2012: Maximizing Mobile (PDF). Washington, DC: World Bank. pp. 87–101. doi:10.1596/9780821389911_ch06. ISBN 978-0-8213-8991-1. OCLC 895048866.
  13. ↑ York, Jillian (April 3, 2012). "A Seat at the Table: A Twitter-ful list of women crucial to foreign policy". Levo League.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. 1 2 Lorente, Patricio (March 16, 2016). "Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees welcomes Katherine Maher as interim Executive Director". Wikimedia Blog.
  16. ↑ Fletcher, Lisa (August 8, 2012). "Predicting crime online and offline" (TV show). The Stream. Al Jazeera English.
  17. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Michelle (January 16, 2016). "Wikipedia is still disrupting after 15 years". TechRadar.
  18. ↑ Bradley, Diana (May 15, 2014). "Wikimedia hires Maher to fill chief comms role". PRWeek.
  19. ↑ Tretikov, Lila (February 25, 2016). "[Wikimedia-l] Thank you for our time together" (Mailing list post). Wikimedia-l. Wikimedia Foundation.
  20. ↑ Maher, Katherine (October 29, 2016). "MozFest Speaker Series: Privacy and Harassment on the Internet" (Video). Mozfest 2016.
  21. ↑ "Innovators: Katherine Maher". The Diplomatic Courier. September 10, 2013.
  22. ↑ "People: Katherine Maher". Youth for Technology Foundation.
  23. ↑ "Team: Katherine Maher". Truman National Security Project.
  24. ↑ "Politico Magazine: No, the U.S. Isn't 'Giving Up Control' of the Internet". Truman National Security Project. March 2014.
  25. ↑ "Advisory Council: Katherine Maher". Open Technology Fund.
  26. ↑ "People: Katherine Maher". World Economic Forum.
  27. ↑ "The Future of Human Rights". World Economic Forum.
  28. ↑ OxfordUnion (May 6, 2016). "Oliver Stone - Full Q&A - Oxford Union" – via YouTube.
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