Everson hiring/firing and the future of the American Red Cross

NB: to follow this story with some nuance, readers are advised to read Trent Stamp’s Take. TST is the blog of Trent Stamp (scroll down for bio), the founder of Charity Navigator. Many of comments are thoughtful and illuminating – suggesting that Stamp’s created a small community with shared concerns about nonprofit governance.

Link to Stamp’s most recent post – “Red Cross Debacle: Day Two.”

Stephanie Strom has been covering the ARC and other nonprofits for the Times for a couple of years. This is from her Thursday piece (November 29th), Firing Stirs New Debate Over Red Cross:

Nonprofit experts said that the Red Cross needed to move quickly to fill its top job, but that its culture, which is averse to change, coupled with the missteps of over more than a decade, would make it a difficult job to fill.

“You need someone like Colin Powell to step in,” said Paul C. Light, a professor of public service at New York University who does an annual survey of confidence in charities. “But there aren’t that many national figures like that who’ll take the job, and within that pool, there aren’t any who know anything about disaster relief, let alone blood. And who would take this job under these circumstances, anyway?”

I’m not certain what Professor Light means by “like Colin Powell” – particularly because Secretary Powell’s conduct prior to the invasion of Iraq has given many of his admirers pause.

We’d like to suggest six candidates to lead the Red Cross, and one structural change.

Candidates for the top post

Four people, any of whom would be outstanding in the top post:

  • Dr. Irwin Redlener, pediatrician, author of Americans At Risk, founder, with Paul Simon (not the senator) of the Children’s Health Fund, and head of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University (The Children’s Health Fund has four stars from Charity Navigator

    ); (A cursory review of the ARC’s history suggests that Dr. Redlener might be the first Jewish person to head the Red Cross);

  • Craig Fugate head of emergency services for the State of Florida (post about Fugate background coming later in the day);
  • William Bratton, currently the Chief of Police in Los Angeles; he’s also been head of the NYC Transit Police, Boston’s transit police equivalent, and Police Commissioner for the City of New York. Some may remember that he was forced out – despite outstanding successes – by then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Bratton has a history of doing impressive things without telling reporters about them: patrolling subways by himself and in uniform in the middle of the night, and he has a history of rescuing dogs and volunteering in animal shelters. This is in contrast to, for instance, a recent Cabinet member who made regular trips to Walter Reed to visit wounded soldiers – but made sure lots and lots of reporters knew about it.
  • Paul Maniscalco, former Deputy Chief of New York City’s Emergency Medical Service, co-author of “Understanding Terrorism and Managing the Consequences,” and currently on the faculty at George Washington University.

Disclosure: I’ve done unpaid consulting for Dr. Redlener, and hope I don’t unduly flatter myself by claiming him as a friend; I’ve corresponded with Craig Fugate, and pestered him with research questions, but we’ve never met; Bratton and I have several friends in common, and we’ve met – the first time walking our respective dogs in Central Park. We talked for an hour and it wasn’t until the next day that I knew who I’d met. Paul Maniscalco’s wife and I were colleagues at an investigative firm, and became friends.

Appoint an Inspector General – either in addition to, or in place of, the Ombudsman

ARC clearly has integrity and ethics issues – nationally and in regional and local branches. A strong Inspector General System – with authority over the national organization and the affiliates – would go a long way towards restoring trust.

Two oustanding candidates for ARC’s first Inspector General

Clark Kent Irvin – former IG for the Department of Homeland Security and before that the IG of the United States Department of State. And the author of Open Target: Where America Is Vulnerable to Attac,an account of his work – and frustrations – as Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security. 

Bunnatine (“Bunny”) Greenhouse –  the chief contracting officer for the Army Corps of Engineers – with a stellar record – until she complained about Halliburton’s no-bid contracts – and lost her job.

Using Mr. Ervin  or Ms. Greenhouse as an Inspector General (or  auditor, etc.) would immediately send a message that the ARC is serious about integrity and transparency – by hiring someone who puts integrity ahead of career.