Sierra Club’s board fires Ben Jealous, the group’s executive director

The Sierra Club’s board of directors voted unanimously Monday to fire Ben Jealous, its executive director, after conducting “an extensive evaluation of his conduct.”

Jealous has been on leave for the last month following a rocky tenure at the Sierra Club, one of the oldest nonprofit environmental groups in the country. He oversaw several rounds of layoffs and clashed with employee groups, which in recent months have raised concerns about his ability to lead the organization effectively through a second Trump term.

The Sierra Club declined to offer details about the events that led to his removal.

“The Sierra Club will continue to look into concerns raised regarding misconduct irrespective of who they are raised against in furtherance of our policies, the law and our mission,” Jonathon Berman, chief communications officer, said in a statement.

In a statement, Jealous said he was proud of his tenure at the Sierra Club and that he would contest the move to fire him. “It is disheartening, unfortunate, but perhaps not surprising that the board has chosen an adversarial course that the facts so clearly cannot support,” he said. “I have begun the process under my contract to fight this decision. I am confident that we will prevail.”

Loren Blackford, a longtime Sierra Club leader, took over Jealous’ role last month and will continue to lead the organization as it searches for a permanent replacement.

Founded in 1892, the Sierra Club counts local chapters in every state. It has more than 800 staff members and typically brings in more than $100 million in revenue annually.

The nonprofit organization has experienced funding shortfalls in recent years. An increase in donations to the Sierra Club during President Donald Trump’s first term ran dry, and Trump’s reelection has not lead to a similar influx of cash.

Jealous was the first person of color to lead the Sierra Club. He was formerly the CEO of the NAACP and was the Democratic nominee for governor of Maryland in 2018.

Jealous’ leave came after employee groups and local Sierra Club chapters expressed concerns with his leadership. Local group leaders in Oregon and Missouri requested that the board hold a vote of no confidence.

Oregon chapter leaders took issue with Jealous’ hiring of a senior staff member who was registered as a lobbyist for the cryptocurrency firm Crypto.com while he worked for the Sierra Club, among other things.

In a statement, Erica Dodt, president of the Progressive Workers Union, which represents Sierra Club employees, said, “We hope that his departure will open the door for a stronger relationship between workers and management, and allow the Sierra Club to better focus our efforts on fighting the Trump administration and protecting the environment.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.