Hi! I'm Yael.
I'm the Vice President of Community Growth at WMF, where I lead the foundation's Community Programs, Community Resources, Community Development and Partnerships teams. Previously, I lead WMF's Strategic Partnerships team, where you'd find me commenting on partnerships, the "external" perspective on Wikimedia, and how non-affiliated organizations can contribute to the Wikimedia movement.
I was born in Israel, grew up in Kenya, came to the U.S. for college and did my graduate work in the UK. I landed in San Francisco in 2011 and much to my surprise have now lived in the Bay Area (currently proud resident of Oakland) longer than anywhere else.
Personally, I'm new to the movement, so happy to receive any / all feedback, and particularly gentle corrections about how to be a better Wikimedian. I've already benefitted from folks who gave me corrections about logged-out editing on Wikipedia and editing bios of living persons. Thank you for those, and please keep them coming! And please bear with me. I'm getting better. :)
I'm passionate about equity and social justice, volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for foster youth. When I'm not working, you'll probably find me rowing on Oakland's Lake Merritt, on a hiking trail, or in my kitchen cooking feasts for 30+ people in my home.