Northwest Youth Services Board President Michelle Harmeier resigned from the embattled nonprofit serving homeless youth in an email sent to board members on Nov. 24.
No reason was given for the departure, but in an email from the board to NWYS staff early Tuesday morning, the board characterized Harmeier’s departure as a retirement.
The latest move is part of a shakeup on the board as its two most senior members, Board Vice President Aaron Vahid and Board Treasurer Richard Clough, will not stay on after their three-year terms end this winter, Cascadia Daily News confirmed.
“Each of these members has spent their time and energy supporting our organization and we are grateful to them for it,” board member Clare McFrazier said in the email.
Harmeier, whose resignation was effective immediately, did not respond to a request for comment. Two days prior, a memo calling for a vote of no confidence was circulated among staff, CDN confirmed.
The memo stated, “We believe the current Board President does not align with the agency’s values due to their actions surrounding the previous CEO’s harmful impact.”
It went on to say the staff did not have faith in Harmeier’s ability “to guide us forward in the shift of culture, compliance and fiscal health that is essential to the success of Northwest Youth Services…”
At least 19 employees signed the memo, which was reviewed by CDN. It is unknown if the board was presented with the memo.
Following Harmeier’s resignation, the organization is preparing to go from a six-member to three-member board as it focuses on core services that directly support youth in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Members are expected to vote to nominate McFrazier for board president, Bill Hayward for treasurer and Kate Bauer-Jones for secretary at a December meeting.
“For right now, we will be smaller in number, but not in our commitment to making meaningful progress and supporting you, our mission and the youth and young adults we serve,” McFrazier wrote in the Tuesday email to staff.
That mission is supported, in part, by Whatcom County and the City of Bellingham. The county budgeted about $845,000 for the nonprofit’s programs for homeless youth in 2024, while the city provided about $242,000.
Whatcom County confirmed Wednesday that it has been meeting with interim NWYS CEO Lance Jones to “better understand how the organization will institute changes and ensure it can continue to play its vital role in the community.”
Northwest Youth Services operates the only facility in the county licensed by the state to care for underage homeless youth.
“It would be a devastating loss if this service was lost and youth had to go to Skagit County or even further south to get support,” said Marie Duckworth, communication specialist for Whatcom County Health and Community Services.
“Our goal right now is to work with the new leadership and dedicated staff of Northwest Youth Services to make sure local youth clients are served appropriately and responsibly, and that staff are supported to succeed in this challenging work,” she said.
Duckworth confirmed that the county has increased monitoring and oversight of its housing contracts with NWYS and “will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.”
NWYS has faced a reckoning following former CEO Jason McGill’s resignation in September and subsequent investigations by CDN showing employee accusations against McGill ranged from creating a culture of fear within the organization to “inappropriate relationships” with current and past clients.
McGill is the subject of a Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families investigation, as well as an independent investigation ordered by the board.
Those allegations included sharp criticism of the board and Harmeier, all made aware of employee concerns about McGill years ago, according to emails and personal accounts shared with CDN. Multiple emails sent to NWYS board members in 2021 warned board members of potential damage being done to the nonprofit those it serves.
Jones said he is working with the board and staff to improve the situation while centering the needs of homeless youth.
“It’s a perpetual state of earning and rebuilding trust,” Jones told CDN.
Jones said that during a recent board retreat, members discussed ways to improve governance, accountability and transparency.
Jones pointed out that the organization didn’t end up in its current position “overnight” and that the issues didn’t happen because of a single executive director or one group of board members.
“I’ll give credit to our board,” Jones said. “They have made a lot of changes and did a lot of stuff that required them to look internally.”
The board has some oversight on budgeting and hiring and “guides and drives the work of Northwest Youth Services,” according to the website.
Harmeier joined the board in 2023, the same year Harmeier founded the nonprofit Bellingham Queer Collective.
“I am very appreciative of the Bellingham Queer Collective and the work that they do around this community,” Jones told CDN.
NWYS teamed up with the Bellingham Queer Collective in May to open the Q Center in downtown Bellingham. Harmeier’s organization has not paid rent for the space it uses. The agreement between NWYS and the BQC is set to be renegotiated in January.
“I want every contract or financial relationship that we take part in to be mutually beneficial and one that centers the needs of our young people,” Jones said.
Before moving to Bellingham, Harmeier was the superintendent of San Carlos Elementary School District. In 2019, Harmeier faced a vote of no confidence in that position.
More than 90% of the district’s 154 union members passed the vote against Harmeier, who had been hired in 2018, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal.
“People are afraid of her,” said Dan Liner, president of the San Carlos Teachers Association, in the story. “It’s bad for us, it’s bad for the kids.”
Nonetheless, Harmeier secured enough support from principals, parents and trustees to hold on to the job. Harmeier retired from that position in 2021.
Isaac Stone Simonelli is CDN’s enterprise/investigations reporter; reach him at isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 127.
