User:KrisisIrish/sandbox

My name is Kris Berinson, and I have been a Wikipedia user for a while. However, I had never thought about being a contributor until I attended a workshop in Washington DC, entitled "Women Who Wiki." As I learned, the Wikipedia editor community is largely male and the group strove to teach women the basics about engaging in the WIkipedia space. Additionally, it sought to empower women to join the WIkipedia discussions and ongoing dialogue around copious topics since their knowledge could be vital in many areas. I was excited to participate in the class and realize the potential of listening to the background debates surrounding a topic. I am looking forward to listening and sometimes participating in the larger community dialogue.

COI Disclosure: In the interest of best adhering to Wikipedia's WP:COI guideline, and also taking into account guidance outlined in the plain and simple conflict of interest guide, I find it important to disclose upfront that, where appropriate, I contribute to articles related to clients of my employer, New Media Strategies. I am here to advance Wikipedia's aims of building a neutral, well-sourced free encyclopedia, and will not at any point allow my own interests to supersede those of the project.

I have carefully read through Wikipedia's policies regarding neutral point of view, verifiability and reliable sources, and see it as crucial to follow these and the other core content and conduct policies closely. I am firmly opposed to non-encyclopedic puffery, marketing speak and original research that would detract from the project's aims. Although I rarely propose the creation of new articles (and when I do, I leave the final decisions up to the consensus of others), I am mindful of what constitutes enduring notability.

I recognize the inherent challenge of editing Wikipedia while mitigating the chance for bias presented by a conflict of interest, and for that reason I ask for independent input and seek out consensus via article Talk pages and related Wikiprojects before making any substantive changes. With this approach, I seek to bring a subject matter expertise and ability to obtain hard-to-find reliable sources to the community (to more fully bring articles up to Wikipedia's own standards), while also ensuring that resulting changes to an article are the product of community consensus. I am also cognizant of WP:OWN and view Wikipedia as a work in progress, so as questions or later input regarding the edits that I have made arise, please feel free to leave a message for me on my User Talk page. In short, I try to keep an open and objective mindset, and will always take care to ensure that my participation consistently upholds Wikipedia's mission and aims. I am always up for discussion (though I do sleep), so don't hesitate to drop me a line.