The Next Chapter

It’s been a little over 9 months since I was affected by layoffs. I’m one of many in the tech industry who have been in this sort of situation, including almost 300 of my colleagues.

However, this unexpected “sabbatical” turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I feel grateful for the time to rest, reflect, and dig deeper into my passion for cybersecurity. I’ve solidified a lot of skills during this time, earned my first cybersecurity certification, and have almost completed a second one.

Today I’m pleased to share that I will be starting a new chapter very soon! In a few weeks, I will begin work as a software developer on the product security team for the Wikimedia Foundation. This is the non-profit organization that runs Wikipedia.org; one of the top ten most-visited websites, and the only such site that is not backed by a for-profit corporation.

One of the key strengths of the internet, in my opinion, is that it enables connection and collaboration. At its best, humanity can use this connectedness to combine our knowledge and capabilities, achieving things that none of us could on our own. As someone who has spent most of my career working over the internet, with people from all across the world bringing a variety of perspectives, skills, and backgrounds, I greatly appreciate the power of connectedness.

This is the thing that excites me about working for Wikimedia. The organization’s mission is to create a world where everyone can contribute to the sum of human knowledge. That is what Wikipedia is at its core, combining the knowledge of humanity and making it freely available for everyone. The standards which the community has developed strive to ensure that this information is factual, well-cited, and trustworthy. In today’s world of fake news, AI slop, and the manipulation of content for commercial or political gains, this is more important than ever.

I’m both excited and humbled to have the opportunity to work with a diverse group of people, dig deeper into the ever-important area of cybersecurity, and contribute to a mission that is important for the internet and the world.