Nichole,
It's been great to see your work over the years, both from when we were
working closely together and while I've gotten to see your team's work in
bringing the global education community together. Hope to see you around,
and thanks for all you've done!
Jami
On Fri, Mar 31, 2023 at 10:01 AM LiAnna Davis <lianna(a)wikiedu.org> wrote:
Nichole,
I remember meeting you for the first time shortly after you joined the
Foundation and being very impressed by your dedication to and experience in
education all over the globe. From every conversation we've had since then,
your love of teaching and learning and your belief in the principle that
education is a human right has shined through. I appreciate all your hard
work over the years connecting Wikimedia projects to education.
Thank you for all you've done for the movement, and best wishes on your
future endeavors! Hope to see you continuing to edit on the projects as a
volunteer. :)
LiAnna
On Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 9:13 AM Nichole Saad <nsaad(a)wikimedia.org> wrote:
Dear EduWiki friends,
I want to let you know that today, March 31st, will be my last day at the
Wikimedia Foundation.
Over the last 6.5 years, I have been really privileged to see you all
grow
as leaders, and I'm so proud to have
contributed in any small way to your
ability to build bridges between the education sector and the Wikimedia
Movement.
I want to stay this: I started working as an educator in 2006, and have
held about every type of role you can in the education sector. I spent a
lot of time observing what not to do. I’ve seen kids go through years of
schooling and still not be able to read or write. I have seen kids and
teachers lost in the “system”. I’ve seen teachers struggling with
classrooms of 60+ students with few resources, without even a desk in the
school (they kept their teaching materials in their car, can you
imagine?).
I worked in a school once in a conflict zone,
where we never knew if the
school would be there the next day. So, I hope you will trust me when I
say
that the Education Team has done our best to
support equitable quality
education by helping you--our EduWiki community-- promote Wikipedia &
free
knowledge, and I know that together we’ve made a
difference.
Your contributions as volunteers, affiliate staff, and allies has been
incredibly inspirational to me, and I will miss engaging with you on a
regular basis though I hope to still be in touch. I look forward to
continuing to see your work flourish. Please keep sharing what you do in
the newsletter, on diff, on LinkedIn, anywhere you get the chance,
because
we’re better when we learn from each other and
support one another.
On that note, I want to give a special shout-out to the Newsletter
volunteer team, because they have been working hard behind the scenes to
publish on time every month. They are so well coordinated, that they are
almost invisible, but they are there for you--collecting your stories,
helping you edit, and sharing EduWiki news for all to enjoy. <3
There are so many around the community that I need to acknowledge and
thank
that this message would be infinite if I did it
all here. Many of you
have
become dear friends, and it has meant so much to
me to share moments
whether in virtual calls or at Wikimedia movement events or just to meet
up
if we were in the same area. Thank you for
helping me learn and grow in
my
Wiki journey.
I also want to say that Sailesh, Melissa, and Vasanthi are the best team
anyone could ask for, and I have been exceptionally privileged to work
alongside them and learn from them. I hope you will join me in praising
and
highlighting a few of their accomplishments
including Melissa’s work with
Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom that has supported rising leaders in
the
EduWiki community to reach thousands of teachers
around the world. The
community organizing program led by Sailesh that has championed equity
and
inclusion, and made space for new leaders to grow
and contribute to
Wikimedia in education. Finally, the often background work of Vasanthi
who
has built participatory evaluation methods and
tools that have allowed us
to always be learning, iterating, and improving. The Education Team is
still here for you, and you can reach out to them at
education(a)wikimedia.org
.
Do stay in touch.
All the best,
Nichole
--
*Nichole Saad*
Wikimedia Foundation | Senior Manager for Education
nsaad(a)wikimedia.org
user: NSaad (WMF)
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--
Jami Mathewson
Director of Partnerships
Wiki Education
jami(a)wikiedu.org <jami(a)wikiedfoundation.org>
*partner.wikiedu.org <https://wikiedu.org/partnerships/>*
Pronouns <https://www.mypronouns.org/>: she/her/hers