To our community:

The team at the Urban Native Collective (UNC) has recently faced the task of removing Jheri Neri from his former position as Executive Director. We took this action on December 1, 2022 after receiving several allegations from women and gender nonconforming people in our community of past and ongoing sexual misconduct.

As the UNC Board of Directors (Board), it is our duty to ensure that this and other leadership roles at UNC are held in high esteem by the community and that there is trust, honesty, and integrity shared with those we serve, and with our relatives and relations. With this responsibility in mind, the Board made the swift and necessary decision to separate Jheri Neri from the organization and to make the removal and the allegations public.

The Board has taken several immediate steps to respect the wisdom of those who experienced harm and is continuing to make major changes to processes, activities, structures, and leadership. During this period of change, Sarah Hernandez, former Chief Operating Officer, has been named the Interim Executive Director of UNC and is keeping a sacred circle. Over the course of the next few months, the UNC board will continue to conduct a deeper investigation into allegations of Jheri Neri’s misconduct.

We wish to assure our community and relatives that our focus on education, advocacy, and support of Indigenous people and Native communities in the region remains strong. We are certain that our community can count on the emergent leadership of Native women that has recently come forward in response to the allegations against Jheri Neri. Our focus during this time is community healing, connection, and building resilience.

We ask the community to be patient with us as we navigate these matters and to expect a transformation of the organization as we work to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for our community.

Sincerely,

UNC Board of Directors