Katherine Maher

Katherine Maher is the CEO and executive director of Wikimedia Foundation. She has held the position since 2016. Prior to assuming the role, Maher joined the foundation in 2014 as its chief communications officer. She is a fellow at the Truman National Security Project. She previously worked in Access Now, World Bank, UNICEF, National Democratic Institute, and HSBC. She also co-founded Sharek961.org with Sacha Tueni, David Munir Nabti, and Abdallah Chamas. The website serves as an election monitor for Lebanon’s 2008 elections.

Maher attended the American University in Cairo to study Arabic, and continued her studies at Institut français d’études arabes de Damas (L’IFEAD). In 2005, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Middle East and Islamic Studies from New York University. She had aspirations of working in the diplomatic services before the United States invasion of Iraq made her change her mind. Maher is originally from Connecticut, United States. She lives in San Francisco as of June 2020.