Dean Ornish Out of Event with Whole Foods CEO, as Urged by Anti-Sexual Violence Advocates

BAWAR Issues Call to Action: Tell the Commonwealth Club to cancel Whole Foods CEO John Mackey Event

A consortium of anti-sexual violence groups led by Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR) has issued a public “Call to Action,” urging the Commonwealth Club of California to cancel the appearance of Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, scheduled for May 1. Mackey is set to appear at the Cubberley Theatre in Palo Alto, in conversation with Alison van Diggelen, host of “Fresh Dialogues, and BBC contributor.​

Advocacy leaders from organizations including the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV) and Faculty Against Rape (FAR) have called for “sexual violence accountability,” urging Mackey to disavow spiritual leader Marc Gafni, a former New York rabbi accused of sexual abuse. Gafni is leader of San Francisco Bay Area-based think tank The Center for Integral Wisdom.

Mackey was originally set to appear in conversation with Dr. Dean Ornish. After BAWAR issued its Call to Action, Ornish was replaced by van Diggelen on the program announcement. Neither the Commonwealth Club nor Ornish have responded to inquiries about reasons for his departure from the program.

I am a volunteer advocate for BAWAR. Ornish called me on the phone last week, asking advocacy groups to stop “heckling” Mackey about his association with Gafni. I followed up on our phone call with this email to him:

Dear Dr. Ornish,

Thank you for your phone call yesterday about your planned appearance in conversation with Whole Foods CEO John Mackey at the Commonwealth Club in Palo Alto on May 1.

As you know, anti-sexual violence groups led by Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR) are urging the Commonwealth Club to cancel the event. I’m a volunteer advocate for BAWAR, working to change the culture of sexual violence.

Advocacy leaders have been asking Mackey to disavow spiritual leader Marc Gafni, a former rabbi accused of sexual abuse. As I understand from our conversation, you object to advocacy groups “heckling” Mackey (as you called it) about his association with Gafni. As we agreed, I am sharing your objection with advocates and leaders of anti-sexual violence groups.

Background Summary:

The New York Times first reported Mackey’s association with Gafni in December 2015. The Times reported Gafni describing one of his accusers: “She was 14 going on 35, and I never forced her.”

The Times also reported:

“A co-founder of Whole Foods, John Mackey, a proponent of conscious capitalism, calls Mr. Gafni ‘a bold visionary.’ He is a chairman of the executive board of Mr. Gafni’s center, and he hosts board meetings at his Texas ranch.”

The NY Daily News reported Gafni denying allegations. The News reported that Gafni stated his two underage accusers in the 1980s, then 13 and 16, were willing partners.

More than 100 rabbis and Jewish leaders undersigned a petition to Whole Foods: “Stop Marc Gafni from Abusing Again.” The petition cited “many, repeated and serious allegations, both public and private, former and recent against Marc (Mordechai) Gafni.”

Sara Kabakov identified herself as the then-teenager whom Gafni referred to as “14 going on 35.” She came forward publicly for the first time in an opinion piece in the Forward: “I Was 13 When Marc Gafni’s Abuse Began.”

The Washington Post reported on coordinated protests at Whole Foods stores in Los Angeles and New York City in May 2016.

An undated “Marc Gafni Statement” on the Whole Foods Market Newsroom says Mackey is no longer on the board of Gafni’s nonprofit; he “chose not to renew his role.”

On Mackey’s Whole Foods Market blog, updated in June, he states his involvement with Gafni is “strictly a personal relationship.”

Mackey issued a statement of loyalty to Gafni in June. As reported by the Forward:

“In a recent statement given through a publicist Mackey said he did not condone sexual assault — but would believe Gafni was innocent until he was proven guilty, and that he would remain loyal to his friend.

“‘Loyalty and the presumption of innocence are important values to me, so I will not join those who are condemning him,’ Mackey said.”

In November, soon after Donald Trump’s vulgar brag “grab them by the p***y” made headlines, Gafni tweeted: “Donald Trump is an Outrageous Lover.”

Response From Advocates:

An open letter from 130 advocates to board members of Whole Foods and Conscious Capitalism: “Sexual Violence Accountability” was published by Feminine Collective in December 2016. Advocacy leaders from the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV) and Faculty Against Rape (FAR) were among signers asking Mackey to disavow Gafni.

A press release from Peaceful Hearts Foundation (nonprofit founded by Matthew Sandusky, one of six adopted children of former Penn State coach, convicted pedophile Jerry Sandusky) announced a protest at Mackey’s San Francisco speech in February 2017:

“Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR) to Join Protesters at Whole Foods CEO Speech” [Watch video: former model, activist Nikki DuBose speaks at protest]

Commentary from business and ethics experts, including professors from Harvard Business School, Columbia University, Emory University, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, among others, criticized Mackey’s association with Gafni.

Gafni is exemplar on a petition to New York state lawmakers, urging them to pass the Child Victims Act, proposed statute of limitations reform for claims of child sexual abuse. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his support for the bill. Backed by PAC Protect NY Kids, the petition has garnered nearly 70,000 signatures. Andrew Willis, CEO of the Stop Abuse Campaign said:

“New York state’s statute of limitations laws, some of the strictest in the nation, protect sexual predators and not the children they prey on. Victims and survivors of child sexual abuse continue to be silenced by New York’s laws. The Child Victims Act allows survivors to hold their abusers responsible and protect today’s children. Whole Foods CEO Mackey’s statement of loyalty to Gafni, who is protected by statutes of limitations, perpetuates the culture of enabling. Mackey should disavow his friend.”

In Conclusion:

As I understand from our conversation, you think advocates should celebrate the fact that Mackey is no longer board chair of Gafni’s nonprofit, and has no professional affiliation with him. Advocates should be satisfied and glad that Mackey’s involvement with Gafni is “strictly a personal relationship.” Advocates should look past Mackey’s statement of loyalty to Gafni, and stop “heckling” him, i.e., stop urging Mackey to disavow Gafni, and stop asking Mackey’s colleagues to hold him accountable.

You argued that Mackey can be friends with whomever he wants. That’s not entirely correct. Mackey is CEO and founding board member of an $11 billion public company, so he is subject to a particular sort of scrutiny about his associations.

Sandra J. Sucher, Professor of Management Practice, Joseph L. Rice, III Faculty Fellow, Harvard Business School, and author, The Moral Leader: Challenges, Tools, and Insights, said:

“Mackey’s fellow board members of Whole Foods and Conscious Capitalism have a legal duty of care to act in and protect the best interests of their organizations. They need to ask how Mackey’s association with Gafni may affect the reputation of the entities.”

This brings us to the current chapter of advocacy groups “heckling” Mackey:

Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR), the country’s first rape crisis center, is leading a consortium of advocacy groups urging the Commonwealth Club to cancel Mackey’s appearance:

“We request that Mackey publicly disavow Gafni, or that his talk at the Commonwealth Club be canceled.”

Dr. Ornish, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). Would you be willing to demonstrate your support for survivors and victims of sexual assault, and help change the culture of sexual violence? Are you willing to stand with advocacy leaders, hold Mackey accountable, and cancel your conversation with him at the Commonwealth Club?

Thank you for your time and consideration.

***

Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR) Call to Action:

Please urge the Commonwealth Club to hold Whole Foods CEO John Mackey accountable and cancel his appearance. Call 415–597–6700, email CEO Gloria Duffy, gduffy@commonwealthclub.org, or tweet at @cwclub