It is a big deal when a prominent educator-- whose achievements are a credit to Miami -- is pushed out of a job in a charitable organization, not by line managers but by trustees using pretexts and allegations. Caroline Lewis, the former Director of Education, could have been fired at will; but she was not fired at will. Trustees reached around executive management and threw her out. Pretexts were used and no opportunity was provided through review or consultation that should have been offered given her achievements, accomplishments, and community that coalesced around Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden due in large part to her work. That's the story of an acclaimed educator and Fairchild Garden.
Caroline Lewis says of the Oct 21 meeting with staffers that warranted the intervention of Garden officers including Bruce Greer, "In trying to alleviate fears about the Fairchild Challenge Student Leadership Forum scheduled for Nov 14, I called a meeting to explain to staff how I planned to conduct the first hour and a half of the forum meeting. I then articulated ideas for the second half and asked the staff to talk it through. The most junior member of the staff then asked if I could excuse one of them from attending the student forum. I was taken aback since both the young man seeking the excusal and his supervisor were in the room and neither voiced the request. I quickly responded that unless he had other personal obligations, which I would honor, I really needed him at the Forum, and that’s why we hired him - that I did not simply want a group of white women addressing and leading these teenagers."
So there you go: read it twice for offense and decide whether it is a capital offense. (Click, 'read more')
Lewis says, "Those were the words that offended one and belatedly offended two others. I WANT TO ADD THAT AT NO SUBSEQUENT TIME UNTIL NOTICE OF THE GARDEN'S INTENT TO REASSIGN ME, WAS I EVER GIVEN THE CHANCE TO DIRECTLY RESPOND TO THE ALLEGATION I HAD MADE A RACIST COMMENT TO MY SUPERVISOR. I DID OF COURSE APOLOGIZE TO THE STAFFERS."
Caroline Lewis speaks bluntly. Bruce Greer, the longtime Garden president, wanted -- for unknown reasons-- to wrest control of the Fairchild Challenge but never explained and did not use management channels to lay out his reasons why, to the Director Education, Caroline Lewis. If he wanted to fire her, he should have just done it. Not used terrible allegations that are untrue, and that make a bad situation worse for all concerned. Now Mr. Greer claims that the entire matter of dismissing Caroline Lewis was handled through appropriate management channels. Were this true, there would be no controversy. But it is not true.
Ms. Lewis blunt talk offended a junior staffer who wanted to be excused from attending a weekend Challenge event. Her response was then elevated to a pretext for a board president, Bruce Greer, who did not allow normal business practices to warn Caroline but instead used what she said as way to force her out of a position overseeing a very significant success and achievement that any educator would be proud of, and any funder proud of, and any host organization thrilled with.
The real question is; what is going on at Fairchild Garden?
30 comments:
That's what all the fuss is about? Heavens!
Everyone in Miami knows that when you create a group, to be effective, you need to include Hispanics, Blacks and Whites. I don't find referring to this reality offensive, it is what it is.
Amen! Now, that the TRUTH is out there, let's all work together to effect some positive CHANGE.
I understand that Ms. Lewis has a website at:
http://www.carolinelewiseducation.com/
This is a travesty. Caroline Lewis is an exploratory person who has been instrumental in building the Fairchild Challenge. She is loved and respected by the education community and students. She will sorely missed in her capacity at the Fairchild Challenge. Fortunanetly, she has done such a tremendous job establishing the Challenge, that the program will continue its mission to serve the environment and conservation through the youth.
I'm just upset Caroline Lewis apologized to anyone! My goodness, her quoted remarks are the antithesis of racism. We should all be thrilled that their are such people as Ms. Lewis in our multi-ethnic community.
If I had the power she'd have Mr. Greer's job tomorrow.
Amen Paul, it just might happen!
It's very bad form, especially for a teacher like me, to misuse the words "their", "there", and "they're" and so out of respect to a master teacher like Ms. Lewis allow me this correction. "We should all be thrilled that there are such people as Caroline Lewis in our beloved multi-ethnic community."
I'm sorry for the error Ms. Lewis. You, on the other hand have neither done nor said anything to apologize for and I hope soon you will retract yours.
Paul - I can relate --- as I age I tend to make the mistakes of their, there; one, won; whether, weather; etc. more often. Although I know the difference and am aware of the meaning I want in the context, my fingers type the wrong one/won almost every time!
I am truly offended. Now I will have to form a "White Women Anti-defamation League". You white guys might as well join too.
It's too bad that no matter how good a teacher I may be, I would have been turned away because of the color of my skin. Isn't it time to stop hiring people on the basis of their ethnic background or gender and, instead, hire them on their ability to perform the job? And, if you do hire them because of their ethnicity, never, ever admit it in public! Good Grief! 1. Open mouth. 2. Insert foot. 3. Apologize to anyone that will listen.
I'm sure that you, too, would be offended find out that you were hired for your ethnicity, not for your qualifications. No matter how qualified these people were, she made it clear that they were hired for their looks. Maybe she should get a job hiring waitresses at "Hooters".
Too bad. Great program. Can't a person make a mistake once in a while? Enough already, get the woman back. She's the best, even for a white lady. I forgive her!
TOM
So now we see what Lewis says was her offensive remark to her subordinates. We are beginning to get somewhere. My hunch is that the subordinates will say that she said something even more offensive. We shall see. I might add that even her presumably sanitized version is a racist statement, not the "antithesis" of racism that some here claim.
Interestingly, Lewis now alludes to a second allegation of a racist remark she made, this time to her supervisor. She says she was not given the chance to directly respond to it. So what was that second allegedly racist comment made to her supervisor?
"That's why we hired you...!?" That IS offensive. And yes, I wonder what else she really said.
"I hired you because you are Hispanic/black" is NOT offensive? Isn't that classification based on race, which we as a nation have rejected and even prohibited in our Constitution? Wasn't the Dream that people would be judged on the content of their character, NOT the color of their skin?
"Hunches" do not substantiate comments and Lewis "alludes" to nothing. There was nothing else said, so stop digging at nothing.
The truth is now out there and as those who were questioning the exact words/comments can now see, her intentions were not racist in the least.
A tragedy and injustice has happened here and it has nothing to do with Caroline's comments and everything to do with who is driving this organization, their intentions.
Anonymous, I was the one who wrote that Caroline Lewis' remark was the "antithesis" of racism. And I wrote that because it IS (I don't know how to put the word in italics so I'll use capital letters to signify that I'm raising MY voice)!!!
Ms. Lewis struck a blow against racism in this instance and whenever she insisted that the program she ran not be exclusively represented to any audience by "a group of white women". What a profound understanding of the nature of racism this particular white woman demonstrated with that attitude.
Successive Presidents of the United States have had the sensibilities of Ms. Lewis toward race and so we have Supreme Court Justices Ginsberg, Thomas, Roberts and Soto.
I could be wrong, but I don't think you have the same sensibilities about race "Anonymous". I'd be glad to discuss it if you have anything beyond your simple declaratory sentences (it "IS a racist statement") and you'd care to explain why it reflects racism. It would help if you would come out of hiding though. You know, the anonymous thing! It would advance the debate to know, for instance, that you aren't Mr. Greer.
As a longtime friend and volunteer at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, it is distressing that the Garden's mission of conservation, education and research is barely visible through the art and social functions that have appeared over the past several years. It was one thing to have a highly successful season built around Dale Chihuly's world-reknown glass work. But look around: fake gorillas and dinosaurs are running amuck. It's so Disney like. The Garden has been dumbing down the ideals of the garden's founder, David Fairchild! Department heads are leaving or being terminated. Volunteers are quitting, and local and international programs are now in jeopardy. Recent actions by the Director of the Garden, supported by the Board of Trustees have led to the departure of an outstanding educator who was on the cusp of both national and international recognition in environmental education. The Fairchild Challenge program has grown exponentially since it's inception and now reaches over 50,000 students locally. Gardens across the globe are embracing its purpose and becoming satellite partners: all based on the vision and energetic leadership of Caroline Lewis, also gone. The Garden is transformed: for the worse.
Dear Fairchild Management:
Seems like you have very poor management structures, starting with your Board, then moving down to what seems to be an ineffective Director, poor or no HR protocol, and trickling down to horrible, horrible staff moral. I hope you will bring in outside help to restructure and fix some of your “problems” or this sort of thing will not continue to happen.
Problem #1: Carolyn's "blunt" comment (very mild in my opinion) combined with her not particularly great management style (I've heard complaints from her staff for years and this was a real problem that the Director should have dealt with ages ago) should have been handled by documenting the complaints, sending her to management training and giving her a corrective plan for managing her staff, including improving moral in her department. If she wasn’t capable of changing or fixing the problems, then you let her go.
There were already a lot of problems there -- this sort of thing doesn't just arise from nothing and I don't believe that management didn't know about it (I don’t work there but I’ve heard frequent complaints from a variety of her staff over the years). But either way this was very poorly handled.
Problem #2: A non-profit Board Chair (or whatever Greer’s official title is) who is overstepping his boundaries. The Board of Directors of a non-profit should NEVER be involved in personnel decisions outside of setting a budget and staff requirements and hiring and firing the Director. This is non-profit 101 no matter what any of the lawyers out there might be saying. It is not so much to do with the law (unless it is in your by-laws) as it is a best management practice. Just from reading this blog, it sounds like Greer has overstepped his boundaries, plus the “trustees” do not understand their role. I’m sure Greer does lots of wonderful things for Fairchild and brings in money, but unless he is cycled off the board for several years, this sort of thing will continue. This is also why you need strict terms limits for your board, and particularly for your chair. It is the only way to rest back control from an out-of-control Board Chair.
Problem #3: I don’t know anything about your Director, but if he let a Board Chair make a decision about the hiring or firing of his own staff, then he is a weak Director and not qualified to lead an organization like Fairchild. If he made the decision to fire Carolyn then he needs step up to the plate and say so and admit he wanted Carolyn gone and he made the decision, in which case fine, it was bad decision but it is done and move along to the next problem below. If he did not make the decision and let Greer do it then he is not ready to lead an organization like Fairchild and probably needs to step down and allow Fairchild to find an effective and qualified Director.
Problem #4: Fairchild, you’ve got BAD, BAD staff moral. They are trashing the board members and management all over town and have been long before anything started with Carolyn. You need to bring fix this situation. Since management doesn’t seem to have the ability to stop the bloodletting and backstabbing, perhaps you need to bring in outside help. But first the board should start by voting for a new Board Chair as I doubt Greer is capable of giving up any control.
Fairchild belongs to the community, not to a bunch of out-of-control egos, why don’t you all wake-up and realize that?
I am appalled at the lack of significance that this previously closely held statement contains. Mrs. Lewis, of an ethnic background herself, meant absolutely no harm in this comment. Somebody has made a profound mistake and this woman should be reinstated immediately with pay.
while i appreciate much of what was said in the above post, in regards to problem #1, when the majority of her current staff write letters in support of her returning as Director of Education - their boss - and 17 out of 21 staff under her sign a petition saying they want her reinstated as their boss, I don't think that suggests bad management. She is a strong personality and a few people's egos and personal agendas are just too inflated to handle that. Most people appreciate and are inspired by her management style.
Kudos to Anom with the 4 problems above. You are right on the money about Fairchilds woes. I hope you are a garden member, if not please join. As we move forward from here we will tackle these issues head on. We will be looking to our members for support and to help effect change. We will resurrect, reconstruct and bring this garden back to life with the help people like you in the know.
4 out of 21 staff members not supporting you is a fairly high number - almost 20% of your staff.
If, as a manager, you don't fix a problem where almost 20% of your staff dislike you or don't support your leadership you are both a bad manager for not noticing or fixing the problem and practically asking to be taken down.
And I say this with full respect for the greatness of the Challenge and Caroline's leadership in making it great.
BURNED, you certainly sound it. As a current employee, I can't find a single statement you said that reflects an ounce of truth.
Well, well well...the cats out of the bag and it's not even a kitten. I can't believe this innocuous statement from Mrs. Caroline Lewis warrants her termination. She's rallying her subordinates and embracing diversity as she pushes the Fairchild Challenge program to new highs and this is how management reacts! Bruce Greer has over-stepped his bounds and needs to stop meddling in the day to day operations of the garden. Carl Lewis needs to go back to being a scientist and a real Director found to run this garden.
no one is irreplaceable. it's time for her to move on.
Maybe the Greers have become so important and
prominent, in their own eyes, that they think they are above it all and can throw their self-important weight around. If due process was not followed, the Board should act immediately to correct the matter or lose the hard won support of this community. Is there something about someone with the Greername that it includes a problem with the use and abuse of power and authority in this State?
Ok, so then I guess its OK to say, "I dont want a bunch of Latins running the City of Miami"?
Since "a bunch of Latins" don't run the City of Miami, you can just remain silent Steve. One less bigoted voice to pollute the atmosphere.
In your warped mind that posting has some relation to Caroline Lewis and the Fairchild Gardens situation? More likely, you just needed to spew.
I will post my comment in two sections, since this blog is lacking a properly functioning character count. My apologies for those offended by my double post.
Sadly, we’ve heard news that teachers don’t want to continue with the program. On this blog and on the Miami Herald article that came today, teachers are chiming in that they’ll no longer participate. Since this is a free country and the Challenge isn’t mandated by MDCPS, teachers have the right to choose whether or not to continue with it. The Challenge is voluntary and does not pay teachers to take part. It was Caroline's passion and commitment to education and elevating teachers that riled us up and got us participating in droves; from 10 schools in its inception in 2002 to over 150 schools in 2010. I know, I’m one of the teachers that got riled up into action by Caroline's message in many Challenge events many years ago. Because of her and the support I received from my school; my colleagues and I got together to push forward the Challenge curriculum. I initially did it because the Challenge offered activities that were outside of textbook learning and was fun. I’ll shamefully admit it, I started doing the Challenge because of the creativity, not because it increased "environmentalism behaviors".
Unfortunately, some people state that teachers are hurting students when they choose to not continue with the program. I think its unfair to label teachers as harming students because they make a choice to not continue with the Challenge. Teachers are overworked, underpaid, unappreciated, and taking time from their families when doing numerous Challenge options on Saturdays (and sometimes on weeknights); including the time it takes to fill out the field trip forms, arranging transportation to and from events for students and assigning and grading the numerous options. Teachers already go above and beyond for their students on a daily basis. Doing the Challenge (or not) shouldn’t be used to judge the character/quality of a teacher. On the contrary, there are better measurements of quality for characterizing what makes a good teacher. In fact, there are other programs, such as Dream in Green, that also strive to empower students and promote the environment. Those teachers that are dropping out of the Challenge may want to consider other avenues for empowering their students - if they so choose. In fact, newsflash! Teachers can do these activities on their own without having a Fairchild Challenge! Schools had gardens and recycling programs before; I can assure you that my school will continue to have such programs after the Challenge.
On another note, how’s the Challenge going to retain those of us who are planning not returning? Is there special Fairchild honey that will sweeten this already acrimonious situation? You would not expect us to actually listen to the employees in question! (You know "the most junior member of the staff" and the "young man" - any teacher who’s a diehard Challenge teacher knows who they are, one only needs to go to the workshops and Challenge events to figure it out.) These two members of the Challenge team have lost their effectiveness amongst the teachers. Their message will not be the heartfelt and genuine message that Caroline would orate. If this program is to continue without the leadership of Caroline Lewis, then lets not add insult to injury and remove the two staff members who apparently caused this "capital offense" to happen. Only then will teachers continue to buy in to the program that has already lost its shining star.
And that’s why I no longer will partake in the Challenge. It isn’t because I am a bad teacher. It isn’t because I want to hurt my students. Its because students also need to learn that an injustice somewhere is an injustice everywhere. Its because students are so adamant about what’s fair and protest what isn’t fair. It isn’t because of Fairchild. It isn’t because Caroline has said anything - your blog and the Herald has actually said more. Its because students need to see teachers stand up for something that they believe in. I believe in Caroline's message for “recognizing that individuals can indeed make a difference.”
Whether Mrs. Lewis is reinstated or not, I believe that Mr. Greer should keep some integrity and resign. His decisions have long been weakening the Garden and its original mission, and he must now let someone else take his post.
Let's not forget that Fairchild is not a park or an attraction, it is a botanic garden and (should be) a community leader in research and education. How is this supposed to happen when Mr. Greer continues to weaken the horticulture, education and research departments by dismissing (or not hiring) capable department heads and staff members? Who has ever heard of a botanic GARDEN with more staff members in their marketing and events departments than their horticulture department?
I am glad that all of these issues are finally receiving much needed attention. Bottom line, Mrs. Lewis is an inspirational leader, and her faults will never outshine her accomplishments.
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