Gma H ton Grant Concerns 12/17/21 6 07 AM

Hilton Grant Concerns

Wed, Dec 15, 2021 at 4:28 PM
To: kolbea@uncw.edu

Hello Athena,

I know that we have already talked about some of these issues over text but someone mentioned to me that it might
be helpful for you if you have an email with more details about what has transpired over the past few days in
regards to the Hilton grant. I want to make it clear that I don't necessarily believe any of the things I have been told
about the grant are true and that I just have serious concerns over comments Vanessa Hughes and Jenny Magill have
made.

First, I was told that I was being hired to be a Reporting Manager and that at some point I would transition to working
with Vanessa on the research. Later, I found out that had seemingly been hired for the same role and then
was unsure what she was supposed to be working under too. I was told repeatedly by Vanessa and Jenny that they
were going to "take the research" and build an entirely new "institute" for the research grant to be held. I don't think
that was ever a possibility but I did initially support the idea because it would mean Jenny and Vanessa leaving BCS
and they were running the organization into the ground.

Second, Jenny told me and the other two employees that are left that all three of us had the opportunity to go to
UNCW and have fully paid positions with which to do the research with you. I knew from speaking with you yesterday
that this is not a possibility so when I asked Jenny to further clarify, she doubled down on her statements. She did not
fire us or lay us off and said we had the opportunity to choose to go to UNCW or to stay with BCS and she hoped she
would find funding to continue paying us.

Third, I got a phone call from Vanessa last night. She was slurring her words and kept saying inappropriate comments
like "I can't lose you" and "I am going to take care of you". She made statements like "If anything happens to me, I
want to make sure that you are taken care of". I took this to imply that she may harm herself and when I asked if I
should be worried about her, she said "Yes you should worry about me, I have never been this bad before." She then
stated that she intended to take out a piece of the grant and "earmark it with your name, a little earmark"
and that this would continue paying me for a few months while I was being hired at UNCW. I did not have time to
clarify that this is not something I wanted and that I believed this to be unethical and possibly illegal because she
abruptly said she was getting another call and hung up. The emotional impact that this left on me was severe because
I truly believed that she was a danger to herself. I also want to clarify that I have never at any point asked Vanessa to
take money out of the grant for me. I have previously told her that I would go with her to do research, but over the past
week, I no longer feel comfortable or safe associating with Vanessa Hughes. I have never told her that I was
comfortable leaving BCS or doing research projects without the support of the community. I have never told her that a
future in research or social work was even something I wanted to do.

In conclusion, I just wanted to make it clear to you that I never asked her to do any of the things that she is saying she
is going to do and I wanted to convey my concerns with Vanessa further interacting with the survivor community.

Please let me know if you have any further questions or anything I can help you with.

Thank you for your time,

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