Washington Blade - November 4, 2005
Lou Chibbaro, Jr.

"Whitman-Walker Clinic's financial situation has stabilized somewhat in the last several months, and the board agreed that the agency is back in a position to find that new and visionary leader we seek," said Billy Cox, chair of the board.

In an Oct. 27 news release, Cox said the board retained Korn/Ferry International, an executive search firm, to conduct a national search for a permanent executive director.

The Clinic's last executive director, Cornelius Baker, resigned from his post in December 2004. The board named Roberta Geidner-Antoniotti, the Clinic's director of operations, as interim executive director until a permanent director was hired.

Another resignation

Cox's announcement about the resumption of the search came shortly after the director of the Clinic's lesbian services program, Ellen Kahan, submitted her resignation to take a job as head of the family advocacy project for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group.

Kahan's resignation was the latest in more than a dozen resignations of high-level Clinic officials during the past year.

Kahan said her decision to join the HRC staff was based on her interest in broadening her advocacy work to issues involving GLBT families after serving eight years as head of Whitman-Walker's lesbian services program and nearly 12 years at the Clinic.

"There was really no other reason for my decision to do this," she said.

Some Clinic insiders have said most of the other resignations were precipitated by concern that the Clinic's financial problems could result in the elimination of their jobs. At the height of the Clinic's financial crisis earlier this year, Geidner-Antoniotti circulated a staff e-mail saying the crisis threatened to force the Clinic to close its doors.

But other sources familiar with the Clinic have said many of the resignations were caused by disagreements over Geidner-Antoniotti's leadership style.

The sources agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because they said speaking openly could jeopardize their jobs or their relationships with the Clinic.

One source familiar with the Clinic said the mounting resignations prompted board members to reach out to some of the officials who resigned in recent months to determine whether the departures were due to ordinary career advancement or dissatisfaction over the Clinic's leadership.

"They're beginning to ask why so many people are leaving, especially people who have been with the Clinic for so many years," said the source.

The source said eyebrows were raised recently when board members excluded Geidner-Antoniotti from a meeting between board members and members of the Clinic's staff in charge of fund-raising programs.

At least one high-level Clinic official expressed "glowing" admiration for Geidner-Antoniotti, according to another Clinic source, suggesting that Clinic managers have mixed views about Geidner-Antioniotti.

"I have not heard anything about people leaving because of Roberta," said the source.

Cox declined all comment on Clinic matters, saying the board designated clinic spokesperson Kim Mills to handle news media inquires.

Mills said Geidner-Antoniotti has not disclosed whether she is a candidate for the permanent executive director's post.

"In an effort to keep the search fair and open, she has not said what her plans are," Mills said.

Geidner-Antoniotti has said the high-pressure environment of a public health clinic caring for patients with serious illness often leads to a higher staff turnover than other workplaces. She said she did not believe the Clinic's staff turnover in recent months was significantly higher than its normal turnover rate in past years.

Continued confidence

Mills said this week that the officials who resigned recently did so for career-related reasons, rather than over disagreements with Geidner-Antoniotti.

"The board has shown its continued confidence in Roberta," Mills said. "She is doing what she has been charged to do."

Mills said the board has not set a timetable for the selection of a new executive director, although it hopes to complete the process as soon as possible.

She said that although the Clinic's cash shortfall has been alleviated, Clinic officials continue to plan further "restructuring" of the staff and the Clinic's programs.

According to Mills, the Clinic retained a financial consulting firm to review all of the Clinic's management "systems" and budget-related procedures from funds allocated by the city as part of the city's recent financial assistance package to the Clinic.

Mills said the District government has disbursed to the Clinic a little more than $675,000 out of a promised grant of just over $1 million that D.C. Councilmember David Catania (I-At-Large) initiated and Mayor Anthony Williams approved in July. Catania and the mayor's office noted that Whitman-Walker is the city's largest non-government provider of services for people with HIV and AIDS, and it would be in the city's best interest to help the Clinic remain a viable operation.

The firm RSM McGladrey is carrying out the Clinic's financial review and will make recommendations on how the Clinic can remain financially viable in the future, Mills said.

Asked if more staff layoffs are expected and more programs might be reduced, Mills said, "Everything is on the table."

She said specific decisions on changes and possible cutbacks will be disclosed in December when the Clinic's staff submits its proposed budget to the board.

"The Clinic has received several infusions of cash since June, including reimbursement owned to the Clinic under federal and state grants," Cox said in a Oct. 21 news release. "In addition, the Clinic is continuing to make necessary structural and operational changes to ensure its long-term financial stability."

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