Two Wikimedia employees announce resignations

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Saturday, March 31, 2007

Brad Patrick and Danny Wool announced their resignations from the Wikimedia Foundation last week.

Danny Wool, previous Grants Coordinator for the Foundation made his resignation first known on March 20, by removing his name from the current staff listing on the Foundation's website. Unlike Patrick, this was the first indication of Wool's resignation.

According to a mailing list post by Wool, he will be running for a seat on the Board of Trustees, the Wikimedia Foundation's governing body, in June. Earlier in the same message, he says that he is unwilling to discuss the reasons of his resignation with the community.

Brad Patrick's resignation was known to the Board of Trustees about a month previously and was made public on March 22. Patrick says in his mailing list message that his resignation is not related to Wools, and that "the timing is just unfortunate". Patrick says that he will not be leaving the Wikimedia projects, just "not going to be the WMF's General Counsel" anymore.

In an interview with Wired News, Patrick criticized the Board's ability to "handle things", as well as concerns with the "informal structure of the Board" and "the inexperience of its seven members". When contacted by phone, Jimbo Wales said that he was confused by Patrick's statements.

"What I hope for is for the board to decide to choose a future that will be conducive to a very powerful executive director who can provide some much needed leadership right now," Patrick said.

Sources

Ral315. "Patrick and Wool resign in office shakeup" — Wikipedia Signpost, March 26, 2007
Kim Zetter. "Wikipedia Shakeup: Resignations point to trouble in the top" — Wired News, March 23, 2007
Danny Wool. "My resignation" — Foundation-l, March 22, 2007
Brad Patrick. "Brad Patrick resigns as General Counsel" — Foundation-l, March 22, 2007

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