Harvard Humanitarian Initiative puts executive director on leave for not being very humanitarian

The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative announced today that Theresa Lund, its executive director, has been put on leave for her interaction with another resident of a Harvard-owned apartment complex - in which Lund wondered whether the woman, who has a biracial daughter, lived in one of the "affordable units" and demanding to know her apartment number in a dispute over how loud the woman's daughter was while drawing with chalk outside.

The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative is an organization that promotes and defends humanitarian principles of service, equity, and justice. Our core values of integrity, collaboration, and respect for universal human rights are the foundation of all we do. It is within this context that I have been viewing the events of July 14th involving Theresa Lund. I wish to make clear that HHI does not condone her conduct during the exchange with Alyson Laliberte and her family.

Today, I write to share that Ms. Lund will be on-leave, effective immediately.

Each of us is committed to advancing our organization’s values of belonging and inclusion. As such, HHI will implement in the coming weeks additional trainings and programs for our staff to address implicit and explicit bias, pursue opportunities to promote diversity and inclusion within our workplace, and continue our efforts to serve those affected by war, crisis, and disaster. We look forward to continuing to improve our awareness and understanding of these issues within our communities, both locally and globally.

Sincerely,

Michael VanRooyen
Director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

The Globe reports Lund apologized.