| Why did three GiveWell board members resign in April 2019? |
2019-04-03 |
Milan Griffes |
Effective Altruism Forum |
GiveWell |
Rob Reich, Brigid Slipka, Tom Rutledge, Elie Hassenfeld |
Board member departure |
Charity evaluator |
Milan Griffes asks people what they know about the reasons for the departure of three board members from GiveWell announced at [2] The comments and answers discuss the resignation letters posted by Rob Reich and Brigid Slipka at [3] and [4] respectively, and also the response of GiveWell Executive Director (ED) Elie Hassenfeld at [5] Griffes also links to and pastes questions by him and answers from Catherine Hollander of GiveWell in the GiveWell open thread [6] |
| Elie Hassenfeld Board Letter |
2019-04-01 |
Elie Hassenfeld |
GiveWell |
GiveWell |
Rob Reich, Brigid Slipka, Elie Hassenfeld |
Board member departure |
Charity evaluator |
Elie Hassenfeld, GiveWell Executive Director (ED) responds to concerns raised by resigning board members Rob Reich and Brigid Slipka that they express in their respective resignation letters [3] and [4] Hassenfeld says "I understand their concerns and agree with them that it is crucial that GiveWell has a board that plays a serious role in its governance." However, he says that a smaller, focused, and engaged board is the way the board could best participate actively in governance, and that he came to this decision after discussion with staff, board members, and leaders at similar nonprofits. He also expresses gratitude to resigning board members Rob, Brigid, and Tom Rutledge for their support of and service to GiveWell both as board members and outside of that. |
| Rob Reich Board Resignation Letter |
2019-02-04 |
Rob Reich |
GiveWell |
GiveWell |
Rob Reich, Elie Hassenfeld |
Board member departure |
Charity evaluator |
Rob Reich resigns from the GiveWell board, citing three reasons: (1) He is taking on a new set of professional responsibilities and needs to free up time for those, (2) He believes that service on a nonprofit board should not be ongoing, and his five-year stint has been long enough. (3) He has continuing concerns that GiveWell leadership does not take the board's role seriously, and that board meetings are held mainly to meet legal obligations. Although he has communicated this to GiveWell leadership and they have taken some steps to address his concerns, he thinks the steps are not adequate in achieving his goal of a professionalized board. Reich concludes by requesting that his letter be included on the GiveWell site and linked from [7] -- this is granted, with [2] as an intermediate page. Reich's resignation would be followed by the resignation of Brigid Slipka and Tom Rutledge after GiveWell leadership decides to contract the board. Slipka explains her resignation at [4] |