Press releases/Erik Möller Deputy Director

= Wikimedia Foundation Announces Deputy Director = St. Petersburg, FL, January 9, 2008 &mdash; The Wikimedia Foundation today announced the appointment of Erik Moeller as Deputy Director, effective January 10, 2008.

"I'm delighted that Erik has agreed to join the staff of the Wikimedia Foundation. Since I came to the Foundation in June, I've been impressed with Erik's dedication, his hard work, and his evangelism on behalf of Wikimedia. He's an invaluable addition to the core team," said Sue Gardner, Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director.

In this new role, Moeller will lead the development and execution of Wikimedia's technical strategy, and a variety of specific initiatives and projects. He will have full delegated authority when the Executive Director is absent.

Moeller has been an active editor of the Wikimedia Foundation's projects since 2001. He has made thousands of edits and uploads, has contributed to the MediaWiki software, and helped launch [//www.wikinews.org/ Wikinews] and [//commons.wikimedia.org/ Wikimedia Commons]. He is a frequent writer and commentator on topics such as free content, free software, and wiki technology, and is author of "Die heimliche Medienrevolution," one of the first books to include an in-depth analysis of wiki collaboration.

Most recently, Erik was Chief Technology Officer of Stichting Open Progress, where he managed a decentralized team of developers in the implementation of OmegaWiki, a collaborative ontology database. He also provides hosting for several wiki communities, including WikiEducator.org, and has project-managed other wiki software development projects such as the LiquidThreads discussion system.

Moeller was elected to the Wikimedia Board of Trustees for two consecutive terms, and was most recently its Executive Secretary. As part of the transition to join the staff of the Foundation, he has resigned his post as board member, and will relocate to San Francisco from Berlin.

Moeller's appointment comes as the Wikimedia Foundation relocates from St. Petersburg, Florida, to San Francisco. The new headquarters will be fully established February 1, 2008.