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Embattled racial justice nonprofit Brown Hope voted last week to keep founder and CEO Cameron Whitten in his job pending the outcome of internal and Oregon Department of Justice probes into whistleblower allegations of mismanagement at the organization.
One issue: Until last week, Brown Hope’s board hadn’t met for 14 months, and the whistleblower document alleges poor record-keeping.
Emails WW obtained though a public records request show that DOJ explicitly told Whitten in September 2020 that he needed to “regularly download and save all financial records” so they could easily be retrieved in future. Whistleblowers have raised questions about whether the group, which got significant funding from city, county and state sources as well as major foundations, did that.
The emails also show Elizabeth Grant, who heads DOJ’s charitable activities section, contacted Brown Hope board president Greg McKelvey on Dec. 14. “If the organization has an attorney, please have them contact me,” Grant wrote. If not, “I believe it would be helpful to arrange a conference call.”
As the investigations got underway, Whitten circulated an email Dec. 19 sharing the names of the two new board members Brown Hope added at its board meeting last week. They are Bev Barnum (who founded the activist group Wall of Moms in 2000) and Jessica Stirton. Those additions expand the Brown Hope board from three members (Whitten, McKelvey and Dashia Fontleroy) to five.
Whitten also wrote that Fontleroy has replaced McKelvey as board president.
