The chief executive officer and president of National Public Radio From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 |
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]
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]
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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]
Maher is based in San Francisco, California. Besides English, she also speaks Arabic, French, and German.[5]
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