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Mercy Corps CEO resigns amid co-founder sex abuse scandal

Neal Keny-Guyer's resignation comes two days after a report detailing co-founder Ellsworth Culver's sexual abuse of his daughter, Tania Culver Humphrey.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Mercy Corps CEO Neal Keny-Guyer resigned on Thursday, two days after sexual abuse allegations against the Portland-based company’s co-founder became public.

In a statement on Thursday, Mercy Corps Board Co-Chair Gisel Kordestani said Keny-Guyer had immediately relinquished his responsibilities.

“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,” Kordestani said.

Credit: Mercy Corps
Ellsworth Culver

Details of the abuse were first reported by The Oregonian on Tuesday. Tania Culver Humphrey said her father sexually abused her for decades. She told members of the Mercy Crops board about her father’s abuse in the early 1990s and no action was taken against Ellsworth Culver. She reported it again last year, but again, Mercy Corps did nothing.

Ellsworth Culver died in 2005.

Credit: KGW
Tania Culver Humphrey

Prior to resigning, Keny-Guyer released a statement on Wednesday saying the global humanitarian aid group “failed her with our response.”

Keny-Guyer’s resignation comes after the resignations of Barnes Ellis, corporate secretary and senior legal counsel, and Robert Newell, who was on the Mercy Corps Board of Directors.

Mercy Corps said an independent, external review will take place to review the company’s handling of Humphrey’s report.

Click here to read Keny-Guyer's resignation letter

RELATED: ‘I don’t have to live in shame’: Daughter says Mercy Corps chose to protect sexually abusive co-founder

RELATED: Mercy Corps accused of mishandling sexual abuse allegations by daughter of co-founder Culver

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