Awards

Wikimedia DC has presented Distinguished Service Awards and Volunteer of the Year Awards since 2013 and 2014, respectively.

2018


Wikimedia District of Columbia awards its 2018 Distinguished Service Award to James Hare for exemplary contributions to the advancement of public knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content.

As one of the founders of Wikimedia District of Columbia, James played a crucial role in the development of the chapter as an independent nonprofit organization, the planning and execution of numerous high-profile programs, and the establishment of our relationships with many of our long-term partners. Under his leadership, Wikimedia District of Columbia grew from a small group of local volunteers to an effective and influential player within the global Wikimedia movement.

2017
Wikimedia District of Columbia awards its 2017 Distinguished Service Award to Soraya L. Chemaly and Julie Burton of the Women's Media Center for exemplary contributions to the advancement of public knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content.

Over the past year, the Women's Media Center has been an incredible partner for Wikimedia District of Columbia, organizing and hosting several outstanding events, supporting us through the development of the new Wikimedia strategic direction, and acting as advocates for the Wikimedia community as we built new partnerships. Soraya and Julie have consistently demonstrated an amazing commitment to the values of the Wikimedia movement, and have provided incredible support not only for our engagement with the Women's Media Center, but also for our institutional partnerships program as a whole.

2016
Wikimedia District of Columbia awards its 2016 Distinguished Service Award to Dina Herbert of the National Archives and Records Administration for exemplary contributions to the advancement of public knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content.

Over the past year, Dina has been among our most committed partners, organizing a number of outstanding edit-a-thons at NARA’s Innovation Hub and lending her support to a broad spectrum of Wikimedia District of Columbia programs, including the Wikimedia Diversity Conference, WikiConference USA, and WikiConference North America.

The edit-a-thons at the Innovation Hub, which included themes such as women in the Civil War and LGBTQ history, represented a key contribution towards our strategic aim of fostering diverse participation in all areas of the Wikimedia movement, and continued to reinforce the long-term partnership between Wikimedia District of Columbia and the National Archives. Wikimedia District of Columbia looks forward to continuing our collaboration with Dina on future programs. Wikimedia District of Columbia awards its 2016 Distinguished Service Award to Keith L. Lindblom of the American Chemical Society for exemplary contributions to the advancement of public knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content.

Over the past year, Keith has worked closely with Wikimedia District of Columbia to organize a number of high-profile edit-a-thons aimed at introducing professional scientists to Wikipedia and fostering public interest in Wikipedia’s coverage of scientific topics. As the organizer of these events, Keith has consistently demonstrated incredible commitment to the values of the Wikimedia movement, and has provided outstanding support to Wikimedia District of Columbia in developing an outreach strategy for engaging with professional and scientific societies, which represent a key area of future growth for our institutional partnership programs.

2015
Wikimedia District of Columbia awards its 2015 Distinguished Service Award to Veronica Erb of National Public Radio for exemplary contributions to the advancement of public knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content. Over the past year, Veronica has worked closely with Wikimedia District of Columbia to organize a number of edit-a-thons. The themes of these events, which included topics such as Black History and Hispanic Heritage, were designed to recruit editors from traditionally under-represented communities and to improve areas within Wikipedia that are particularly subject to systemic bias, and furthered our strategic aim of fostering diverse participation in all areas of the Wikimedia movement.

As the organizer of these events, Veronica pioneered a novel approach to teaching newcomers to edit Wikipedia: a first-time editor would partner with an experienced volunteer, choose a small editing task from a bowl containing recommended tasks that had been curated ahead of time, and work together to make their first edit. This form of guided instructional editing holds great promise for future Wikipedia editor recruitment and training programs.

2014
At our October, 2014 annual meeting, Andrew Lih received the 2014 Distinguished Service Award.

2013
At our 2013 Annual Meeting, the inaugural Distinguished Service Award was awarded to Sara Snyder and Effie Kapsalis in recognition of their work within the Smithsonian Institution to encourage people to learn how to edit Wikipedia.

2018
Wikimedia District of Columbia awards its 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award to Maria Rimmel for her dedication to the advancement of public knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content. A veteran Wikimedia volunteer, Maria stepped up to take a leading role in planning and executing the WikiConference North America 2018 program, consistently demonstrating incredible energy, dedication, and focus and working closely with Wikimedia District of Columbia board members and volunteers to ensure a successful conference.

2017
Wikimedia District of Columbia awards its 2017 Volunteer of the Year Award to Kevin Payravi for his dedication to the advancement of public knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content.

Kevin is a veteran Wikimedia volunteer and a recognized leader within the Wikimedia community in the United States. Having stepped up to spearhead the WikiConference North America 2017 organizing team, Kevin consistently demonstrated incredible energy, dedication, and skill, working closely with Wikimedia District of Columbia board members and volunteers to successfully design and implement a unique conference despite numerous uncertainties and challenges.

2016
Wikimedia District of Columbia awards its 2016 Volunteer of the Year Award to Phoebe Ayers and Sydney Poore for their dedication to the advancement of public knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content.

Phoebe and Sydney are both veteran Wikimedia volunteers, having contributed in numerous roles across the global movement. As key members of the WikiConference North America 2016 organizing team, Phoebe and Sydney consistently demonstrated incredible energy and skill, working closely with Wikimedia District of Columbia board members and volunteers to ensure the success of the conference. Without their extraordinary diligence and unwavering dedication in the face of challenges, the conference could never have been the success story that it ultimately became.

2015
Wikimedia District of Columbia awards its 2015 Volunteer of the Year Award to Gerald Shields and Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight for their dedication to the advancement of public knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content.

A long-time participant in our programs, Gerald has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to Wikimedia District of Columbia, regularly devoting his time to attend our events, support event organizers, and assist newcomers at events. He has been one of our principal event photographers for the past several years, and his work has been regularly featured in our public reports, press materials, and social media postings.

A graduate of one of our training workshops and an organizer of our partner organization, the WikiWomen's User Group, Rosie is active in organizing online and offline activities that recruit new editors, combat systemic bias, and develop exemplary content in under-represented areas of Wikipedia. Her contribution to the scholarship review process for WikiConference USA 2015 was crucial to the success of the event.

2014
Wikimedia District of Columbia awards its 2014 Volunteer of the Year Award to Kristin Anderson and Jim Hayes for their dedication to the advancement of public knowledge and the collection, development, and dissemination of educational content.

Kristin and Jim have demonstrated exemplary commitment, regularly devoting their time to attend and enhance our events. They are enthusiastic, friendly, and welcoming to newcomers to Wikimedia. They eagerly help others learn about the Wikimedia projects.

Jim serves on our Public Policy Committee and presented on Capitol Hill about Wikimedia. He is an active editor on Wikisource and posted many, many images on Wikimedia Commons. He trains others on Wikimedia at almost every event we hold.

Kristin has been effective at drawing in diverse editors and new chapter members. She studied the Native American language of Salish and reached out to potential editors in Native American languages. She organized our chapter's first Africa-focused edit-a-thon.