CEO of charity put on leave
Silicon Valley Foundation faces scandal
The Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a major force in regional philanthropy, has placed its CEO on paid administrative leave as an investigation continues into a workplace culture that former employees say allowed bullying and sexual harassment.
The foundation said Thursday that Emmett Carson, who has led the organization since 2007, would step away “until further notice” and be replaced on an interim basis by a former board member, Greg Avis.
The decision comes after the board received a letter from a group of employees asking for Carson to be put on leave during the investigation, which two outside law firms are con-
ducting. A major donor has called for Carson’s resignation, saying he should have been aware of the problems in the workplace and done more to prevent them.
The investigation began after a report by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, in which numerous former employees alleged that a top executive at the foundation, Mari Ellen Loijens, harassed and bullied them. Loijens resigned from the foundation last week.
Neither Carson nor Loijens responded to a request for comment Thursday.
“People did not feel safe at the Community Foundation, and that definitely came from the top,” said Patti Pace, a former corporate philanthropy manager at the foundation.
The Silicon Valley Community Foundation bills itself as the largest community foundation in the world. It has grown dramatically under the leadership of Carson, one of the most prominent African American voices in philanthropy nationally. Its assets under management soared to $13.5 billion last year, overtaking the Ford Foundation — up from $1.7 billion in 2007, when Carson took over.
But many former employees have said that despite the success, working at the foundation could be unpleasant. Loijens, they have alleged, made off-color or inappropriate remarks — labeling employee outfits as “sexy,” for example — and berated people to the point where it was insufferable.
Steve Kirsch, who has donated more than $10 million to the foundation, said Carson should step down. He called the board’s action to put Carson on leave “long overdue.”
“If Emmett didn’t know what was going on, he should be fired,” Kirsch said. “If he did know what was going on and didn’t stop it, he should be fired. He’s in a no-win situation as far as I can see.”
Last week, Carson tweeted that as CEO, he is responsible for workplace culture.
“I am deeply troubled and regret that former staff felt they could not report inappropriate behavior and urge any other staff to come forward,” he wrote. “Listening and fixing this is Priority#1.”
The law firms hired by the foundation will evaluate management processes, claims of inappropriate behavior, the workplace environment and how reports of misconduct have been handled. The foundation acknowledged this week that “we may have a larger culture issue that needs to be addressed.”
On Wednesday, board member Julie Kwon, a partner at law firm McDermott Will & Emery, confirmed receiving a letter from the foundation’s staff. “We are reviewing it and we want to respond pretty immediately,” she said, prior to the announcement that Carson would step aside.
A day later, the foundation put Carson on paid leave. His salary is $892,689 according to
a 2016 form filed with the IRS. He also received $56,490 in other compensation from the organization and related groups, according to the form.
A significant portion of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation’s assets are in donor-advised funds, which are individual accounts that allow donors — such as people or companies — to recommend what charities should get grants from their fund.
The foundation provides grants to nonprofits, commissions research and works with other organizations on projects such as an examination of the Bay Area’s job growth, population and housing that it recently did with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
Carl Guardino, CEO of the leadership group, said he was “stunned and saddened” to
hear about the allegations of misconduct at the foundation, but did not think it will affect his group’s future work with the foundation.
“All of us deserve a nurturing, positive, caring and professional work environment,” he said.
Greg Avis, a founding board member and former chairman will become the foundation’s interim CEO. Avis, who could not be reached for comment, is a managing partner at private investment firm Bangtail Partners and serves on dozens of company boards.
Carson came to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation after spending 12 years as CEO at the Minneapolis Foundation, which administers charitable funds and makes investments to shape public policy. He’s also on The Chronicle’s VisionSF nominating committee, which chooses candidates for the paper’s Visionary of the Year Award.
In Minnesota, Carson was known as a champion of lowincome people, and sought to support groups that addressed gang violence, among others.
“He’s somebody that has a lot of empathy for the plight of people who are less fortunate than he is,” said Gary Cunningham, a trustee of the Minneapolis Foundation.
The Silicon Valley foundation’s success in fundraising — its donors include Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and GoPro CEO Nick Woodman — may have caused its leaders to overlook alleged inappropriate behavior by Loijens, according to Kyle Mayer, an associate professor of strategy at the University of Southern California.
“In most organizations, the more talented you are, the more leeway you get to be ‘rough around the edges,’ ” Mayer said.
The board will need to determine whether Carson will be able to gain the trust and support of employees (more than 200 as of 2016) and donors, Mayer said. At Uber — another recent case of workplace misconduct — CEO Travis Kalanick was forced out when the board was not convinced he could change the culture, Mayer said.
Cunningham cautioned that the investigation has just begun.
“We live in a society where you’re not tried before the investigation is over,” Cunningham said. “You should be innocent until proven guilty.”