logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Meals on Wheels East Texas Warned to End CEO as Board Chair Arrangement

Sheela Nimishakavi and Ruth McCambridge
April 11, 2019
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

April 10, 2019; Tyler Morning Telegraph

Reasons abound why one person should not take on the dual role of nonprofit CEO and board chair. So, when Meals on Wheels East Texas (MOWETX) announced its new CEO in July and at the same time installed her as board chair, they were tempting fate.

In April, MOWTEX received a letter from their state funder indicating their contract would be terminated if this arrangement were not changed by May 3rd. The board has now declared itself to be in restructuring mode as regards its “strategic leadership.” But is it in time to save itself?

MOWETX has had a leadership shakeup in recent years. According to a lawsuit filed against MOWETX, after 28 years of service, former CEO Michael Powell was fired from the nonprofit just days after indicating he needed to take a medical leave. Powell filed a complaint in May 2018, and the matter remains in court. In the meantime, MOWETX hired their new CEO/board chair.

There are layers of concern with this appointment, particularly in the face of the ongoing litigation. Most importantly, this dual role explicitly violates the terms of the nonprofit’s contract with the East Texas Council of Governments, which has, in a letter to the nonprofit, called the arrangement a “conflict of interest.” Meanwhile, the East Texas Council of Governments has the right to terminate the contract entirely within 90 days for failure to comply with any portion of it as written, and the contract is going out for bid in September. This would appear to constitute an unreasonable risk to the program.

Bettye Mitchell, the director of aging services, the program responsible for administering this contract, says, “Our contract is really clear about what’s needed to administer the program, and so with this program being in transition, there are some issues of concern. We have monitored the contract. We have sent for responses.”

Interestingly, MOWETX cites their legal proceedings as a reason for the dual role of the board chair and CEO. Kari Kietzer, the president and CEO, says, “Meals on Wheels is currently in federal litigation with a former disgruntled employee. In the course of litigation our CEO (Kietzer) was named as the corporate representative in the case. For myriad reasons, the board felt it prudent, for a temporary period of time, to have their CEO act in a strategic leadership capacity as chairman.”

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

She goes on to say, “This role is in effect a liaison for the board, the day-to-day organizational operations and legal matters.”

We disagree; we say that it is in effect a staff leadership position whose oversight is led by the same woman in a board leadership position. At a time when such concerns might put the organization at unusual risk, it is a questionable move in terms of checks and balances.

According to the Longview News Journal, a statement from MOWETX released Tuesday afternoon says the nonprofit’s operations have improved over the past nine months since Powell was dismissed. Eric Mansfield quotes Steve Hargrave, Meals on Wheels East Texas chief operations officer, as saying, “We have taken great steps to increase the efficiency of our meal service and our attention to detail in our client services. We have implemented modern methods to keep up with the best practices of taking care of our client’s needs.”

The statement said Meals on Wheels East Texas serves daily meals to more than 3,300 homebound seniors, an increase from the almost 3,000 daily meals that the organization quoted in a July statement announcing Kietzer’s hiring.

“Our finances are in good order for the first time in many years,” Joe Denson, a former construction company owner and the treasurer of the board of directors, said Tuesday. “By following best business practices, our new CEO and her team have taken MOWETX’s books into the black several months ahead of schedule.

“An outside audit of our financials was unanimously approved by the board last week,” he said. “It was the opinion of the auditors that we are compliant in all material aspects on our federal programs.”

And all of that may be true, but it doesn’t respond to the legitimate concerns of the funding agency. Moreover, while undergoing legal proceedings, it would seem more prudent to ensure the operations of the nonprofit under question remain free from any arrangements that imply inadequate governance, particularly if that arrangement is prohibited by its major funding agency.—Sheela Nimishakavi and Ruth McCambridge

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the authors
Sheela Nimishakavi

Sheela Nimishakavi is a nonprofit finance and operations professional with a passion for creating socially just and inclusive communities. She has held senior management positions at several community based organizations addressing access to healthcare and services for persons with disabilities, currently serving as the Director of Operations of the Brain Injury Association of Virginia. After working in the nonprofit field for over a decade and seeing many organizations struggle with the administrative requirements of running a nonprofit, Sheela founded ThirdSuite, a consulting firm that offers nonprofit administrative services and trainings to help organizations increase their capacity and further their mission. Sheela received an MA/MPH in Health Policy and Management from Boston University School of Public Health, and a BS in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior from the University of California, Davis. She currently serves on the boards of the Central Virginia Grant Professionals Association and Empowering People for Inclusive Communities.

Ruth McCambridge

Ruth is Editor Emerita of the Nonprofit Quarterly. Her background includes forty-five years of experience in nonprofits, primarily in organizations that mix grassroots community work with policy change. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Ruth spent a decade at the Boston Foundation, developing and implementing capacity building programs and advocating for grantmaking attention to constituent involvement.

More about: Board ChairsBoard GovernanceLeadershipNonprofit News

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
The Nonprofit Sector and Social Change: A Conversation between Cyndi Suarez and Claire Dunning
Claire Dunning and Cyndi Suarez
Nonprofits as Battlegrounds for Democracy
Cyndi Suarez
Countering Authoritarianism: Forging a Progressive Response to Fragmentation
john a. powell and Sara Grossman
Sankofa Philanthropy: Hip Hop’s Sixth Element
Jason Terrell
Blackprints for Freedom
Cara Page
From Scarcity to Inspiration: Rethinking the Value of Nonprofit Facilities
Joe Neri

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
The book "Nonprofit Neighborhoods" leaning against a wall
The Nonprofit Sector and Social Change: A Conversation...
Claire Dunning and Cyndi Suarez
Nonprofits as Battlegrounds for Democracy
Cyndi Suarez
A suspension bridge over a body of water, that leads to a cloud-covered town
Countering Authoritarianism: Forging a Progressive Response...
john a. powell and Sara Grossman

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.