Mercy Corps Chief Executive Officer Resigns

Statement from Gisel Kordestani, Mercy Corps Board Co-Chair

PORTLAND, Ore. — “The Mercy Corps Board has accepted the resignation of CEO, Neal Keny-Guyer, who has immediately relinquished his responsibilities. We are launching a search for a new Chief Executive Officer and will announce interim leadership soon.

“The Mercy Corps Board today heard global Mercy Corps employees’ demands for accountability and responsibility after it was revealed this week that the daughter of co-founder Ellsworth Culver brought details of sexual abuse perpetrated by him to the attention of Mercy Corps in the early 1990s and again in 2018.

“Neal Keny-Guyer’s decision to step down follows the resignation of Barnes Ellis, Corporate Secretary and Senior Legal Counsel, and the resignation of Robert Newell from the Mercy Corps Board of Directors earlier this week.

“The Mercy Corps Board has initiated an independent, external review to examine the organization’s handling of Ms. Humphrey’s report to the Mercy Corps integrity hotline in 2018. That review will also examine Mercy Corps’ safeguarding policies and leadership accountability.”

Keny-Guyer’s letter of resignation can be found here.