SafeSport Center opens search for new CEO

The U.S. Center for SafeSport posted the opening for a new chief executive officer on Thursday, hoping to find a leader to steer the agency into a new era after several troubled years as a start-up.

The center, a non-profit that opened in 2017 and is charged with handling sex-abuse cases in Olympic sports, hired consulting firm Korn Ferry to lead the search and work with a search committee made of center board members and advisors.

“This is more than a job search. It is a reflection of our values and the people we are accountable to — our staff, athletes, and the broader sport community,” said Board Vice Chair and search committee lead Chicka Elloy.

April Holmes stepped away from her duties as board chair to serve as interim CEO in place of Ju’Riese Colon while the search takes place.

The center parted ways with Colon in April, not long after Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, began querying the center when details emerged about its hiring of an investigator who would later be charged with rape in a case that dated to his time before he joined the center and was working as an officer for the Allentown, Pennsylvania, police department.

The center, which also opened a search for a new chief financial officer, said Korn Ferry “is currently conducting organizational assessments and confidential outreach to identify candidates who exemplify both executive acumen and a people-first philosophy.”

The job description said the center was looking for someone with a “deep understanding of the sports ecosystem and/or experience working in fields related to abuse prevention, compliance, or athlete advocacy.”

It said the targeted salary would be between $250,000-$300,000.

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