Zero response: Anger and dismissiveness at MCC US Board meetings

by Julene Fast, member of MAST steering committee

I need to respond publicly to the response of the MCC US board members to the many letters of concern they received just prior to their in-person meetings in Akron in October 2025. The 20+ letter writers asked board members to take seriously the allegations of abuse, harmful behaviour, and ugly terminations that have been accumulating and that are being safely held by the MAST steering committee members. Over 80 stories have been documented. All are waiting to be given a just hearing, and all are worthy of receiving concerned and respectful attention from MCC leadership.

The letter writers were either staunch MCC supporters or committed former MCC staff or volunteers. They did not write letters of accusation. Rather, they shared wise, carefully worded counsel to help MCC boards address an issue that is hovering over the organization like a black cloud. They offered heartfelt pleas for MCC leaders to pay attention to the damage caused by their refusal to admit to wrongdoing or even to acknowledge the stories that have come forward. They were calling MCC to act courageously and humbly by agreeing to an external investigation so that all the allegations can be heard and weighed without bias.

It was with incredible dismay that I read a report received by MAST about how the matter of these letters was handled at the October board meetings. We heard that the board members were intensely angry that their email addresses had been made available to the letter writers. We heard that they were very tired of this topic and wanted it to go away. We heard that Executive Director Ann Graber Hershberger downplayed the large number of stories by saying that most had happened a long time ago. We heard that some expressed anger about all the money that is being taken away from the good work MCC is doing and being spent on this issue. We heard that the board members were told not to engage with MAST. We heard that a MAST member was prayed for, to be delivered from her trauma. We even heard that the disruption caused by these letters, and by MAST, was referred to as the devil’s work.

What we heard sounds like a huge group temper tantrum.  

Meanwhile, we didn’t hear that the board members spent any time talking about what was in the letters. We didn’t hear that there was any discussion about the seriousness of the allegations, any concern expressed for those who had been harmed, or any reflection about what impact this harm might be having on MCC as a whole. The actual letter contents seemed to have whizzed right over the board members’ heads, unnoticed.

I was one of the letter writers. It is pretty humiliating to have zero response to a heartfelt letter.

All of these letter writers are good, caring and thoughtful people. I find it amazingly disrespectful that the leadership of MCC treats their precious donors, supporters, alumni, and wise counselors this way. And that instead of showing concern for volunteers who have experienced harmful behaviour, they behave like toddlers, engaging in a temper tantrum because their email addresses were leaked! I am very, very perplexed!