In the past, he had been called one of Silicon Valley’s stars. Now Emmett D. Carson, the founding president and chief executive of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, has been not only accused of creating a toxic work environment but of ignoring sexual harassment complaints as well. Amid an internal investigation about these allegations, Carson has been was placed on paid leave. This decision was made by the foundation’s board.
Carson built the foundation to become the largest philanthropy of its kind, and it currently handles charitable gifts for such tech giants as Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. “The foundation he runs is the largest community foundation in the country, with $15.3 billion in assets, and the third-largest philanthropic group in the country,” the Mercury News reported.
Carson’s outing came a week after his top official, Mari Ellen Loijens, resigned amid sexual harassment complaints.
“In a blog post Thursday morning, the Mountain View-based foundation said its board had voted to appoint Greg Avis, a former member of the board, as interim CEO,” Silicon Valley Business Journal reported.
The board made its decision after receiving a letter from 25 former foundation employees that have been sent to board chairman Samuel Johnson. “As the leader of the organization and the culture,” it said, “Emmett did not address Mari Ellen’s inappropriate behavior and permitted the abuse to continue for years.”
A second letter emailed anonymously to the board and was “initialed by 65 current foundation employees called for putting Carson on leave until the investigations are completed,” the Mercury News reported.
“To truly change our culture and restore integrity to this organization, you must remove those individuals responsible for this toxicity at SVCF,” said the email.
Carson’s paid leave means he will still collect his annual compensation, which in 2015 was $865,715. Carson is actually the highest-paid community foundation CEO in the country, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported earlier. And, he is the second-highest-paid nonprofit CEO or president in Silicon Valley, Business Journal research reported.
The foundation’s board released a statement that read: “While that investigation was first launched following allegations of sexual harassment by one individual, it has since become clear that we may have a larger culture issue that needs to be addressed. This includes evaluating how teams are managed, what type of working environment is being fostered and confirming that we are the type of organization where reports of misconduct are met with swift and just action. To that end, we remain committed to taking whatever actions will be required based on that investigation’s findings.”
Carson has yet to respond to the allegations. But in a blog post on April 17, he wrote: “All of us at SVCF take this matter very seriously. It is as important as ever to ensure that this behavior does not exist in any form. I am fully committed to further cultivating and ensuring a safe workplace and a culture that is inclusive and open. In this regard, we will share our learnings and actions at the conclusion of the investigation.”
