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== The Wikimedia Foundation Announces New Consultant and Special Advisor to the Wikimedia Board of Trustees ==

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. – June, 27, 2007 – The Wikimedia Foundation, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the growth, development and distribution of free, multilingual content, is delighted to announce today it has engaged digital media executive Sue Gardner as a consultant and special advisor to the board.   

“This is an important step for Wikimedia, as we continue to professionalize and evolve,” said Florence Devouard, Wikimedia Foundation Chair. “Sue is an accomplished senior manager with the skills and characteristics that we need right now. She’s experienced at leading change, she’s oriented towards consensus, which is important for a community-centered group such as ours, and she is experienced with helping organizations develop out of youth and into maturity.”

Gardner’s engagement is a critical part of the Foundation’s continued efforts to ensure sustainability and reliability, and to set the stage for future growth. Her responsibilities will include assessing and improving all aspects of the Foundation’s operations, in support of that goal. She will also support the board in its efforts to further develop the governance model.

Gardner is a nonprofit internet executive who was most recently head of CBC.CA, the website of Canada’s national public broadcaster, and that country’s largest and most popular news site. Under her leadership, CBC.CA more than doubled its audience, and won dozens of international awards. Prior to running CBC.CA, Gardner was a journalist for 10 years, producing documentaries and talk programming primarily for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and also for media organizations such as the British Broadcasting Corporation and National Public Radio.

“I have an enormous amount of respect for Wikimedia, and I find its mission deeply inspirational,” Sue Gardner said. “Launching Wikipedia was brilliant and gutsy. And now it –along with the other projects- has grown into a huge and undeniable success. I admire what the community has managed to create in just a few years, and I want to help it to achieve even more.”

===For more information===

* In the United States, contact Sandra Ordonez via email at sordonez{{@}}wikimedia.org or by phone at (727) 231-0101.
* In Europe, contact Jan-Bart de Vreede via email at jan-bart{{@}}wikimedia.org or by phone at +31-648938014

=== About us ===
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'''About the Wikimedia Foundation'''

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The Wikimedia Foundation got its start in 2003 and is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia. Based in San Francisco, California, we currently employ over 150 staff and contractors globally. The Wikimedia Foundation is committed to creating a world in which every single human being can freely and easily share in the sum of all knowledge. Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation receive nearly 500 million unique visitors per month, making them the 5th most popular web property worldwide. Wikipedia is available in more than 280 languages, containing more than 51 million articles contributed by a global volunteer community of over 100,000 people. In an effort to continue our mission, we are hiring talented and creative individuals to join the team.

* [//wikimediafoundation.org wikimediafoundation.org]
* [//blog.wikimedia.org blog.wikimedia.org]
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'''About Sue Gardner'''

Sue Gardner is a digital non-profit executive who most recently ran [[:w:en:CBC.ca|CBC.ca]], the largest and most popular news site in Canada and the website of the [[:w:en:Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]], Canada's national public broadcaster.  While running CBC.CA, Sue oversaw a variety of programming initiatives ranging from elections coverage to interactive children's communities to entertainment journalism. Under her leadership, the site more than doubled its audience, and won dozens of international awards.

Prior to running CBC.CA, Sue was a working journalist for ten years, writing for newspapers and magazines and producing talk programming and documentaries for public broadcasters worldwide, including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the [[:w:en:British Broadcasting Corporation|British Broadcasting Corporation]], and National Public Radio. In 2000, Sue created one of CBC Radio's first bimedial (radio/web) programs, the interactive summer series Road Dot Trip. She later led the implementation of the CBC's [[:w:en:New Media Renewal project|New Media Renewal project]], a year-long consultation process that led to a complete overhaul of the CBC's online strategy.

Also see her [[:m:user:Sue Gardner|userpage]] and [[:w:en:Sue Gardner|biography on Wikipedia]].
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[[category:Press releases issued in 2007]]
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