Who was the first female executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation?

Sue Gardner was the first female executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation.

A Canadian journalist and nonprofit executive, Gardner joined the Wikimedia Foundation after directing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s website and online news operations. She was hired as Wikimedia’s executive director in December 2007 and served until 2014. She was the foundation’s second executive director, succeeding Brad Patrick.

During Gardner’s tenure, the foundation expanded its fundraising and staff and moved its headquarters from St. Petersburg, Florida, to San Francisco. She also made gender diversity in Wikipedia editing a prominent issue, discussing barriers such as an unfriendly editing interface, lack of time, conflict-heavy discussions, and concerns about harassment or misogyny.

The other choices are Wikimedia figures associated with leadership or community history, but they were not the first woman to hold this specific executive-director role. Katherine Maher became executive director later, in 2016, while Lila Tretikov succeeded Gardner in 2014. Angela Beesley was an early Wikimedia contributor and board member, not the foundation’s executive director.