Former Presbyterian minister faces daunting task at Habitat
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, February 8, 2005
With the firing of Habitat for Humanity’s co-founders, Millard and Linda Fuller, a former Presbyterian minister has taken over command of the ministry’s operations.
Paul LeonardPaul Leonard of Davidson, N.C., has agreed to remain as interim chief executive officer of the organization, which reported revenues of $157 million in 2003. Leonard said he holds out hope for reconciliation with Fuller, perhaps even a position for him with the charity “once the dust settles.”
A Habitat statement said the decision to fire the Fullers culminated after “months of differences” with the board after a former employee accused Millard Fuller of sexual harassment. An executive committee also cited “divisive and disruptive” public comments by the Fullers.
Leonard, 65, the retired executive of a Charlotte construction company, faces a daunting task of raising money and keeping partners aboard as Habitat’s international board has come under fire from a group called Habitat Partners Unite. They say Fuller did not sexually harass the woman who complained and that former President Jimmy Carter vouched for him.
Carter, a long-time friend of the Fullers and one of the stars in Habitat project lineups, was asked to impartially review the accusations against Fuller. He concluded that “it is obvious that there is no proof of impropriety, much less of actual sexual abuse. It is a case of conflicting reports, the earliest official notice of which was made by the accuser more than a year after the alleged incident. Without knowing her or having any knowledge of what actually happened, I am convinced that Millard is innocent of any serious impropriety.”
Later, Carter wrote a column titled “Helping Habitat to Build a Better World” that is posted on the Habitat Web site. He describes how he and his wife Rosalynn became involved in Habitat. He does not mention the Fullers in the column.
Habitat Partners Unite says the Habitat board punished the Fullers because they refused to remain silent about the accusations against him. He was accused of touching the woman inappropriately and making a sexual comment.
Habitat Partners Unite has begun an Online petition supporting the Fullers. It had more than 1,400 signatures Monday, mostly from Habitat Partners. Most of the signers also posted comments supporting the Fullers.
A native of Miami, Leonard graduated from Davidson College, the University of Chicago with a master of divinity degree and Emory University with an MBA.
Leonard joined Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlotte on a pastoral internship from the University of Chicago in 1964. Ordained by Mecklenburg Presbytery, he served Trinity as its minister of Christian education. In 1968, he joined the Catawba Presbytery to lead a non-traditional church focusing on community action and service.
In 1971, Leonard went to work with a city housing program. In 1973, he joined the John Crosland Co. in Charlotte as multifamily manager. Crosland promoted him to vice president of the multifamily division in 1974, to executive vice president in 1981 and president in 1984.
While at Crosland, Leonard leveraged federal housing programs to build low- and moderate-income housing, and in his years in Charlotte, he organized Charlotte Fair Housing and served as its first president.
Centex Real Estate Corp. purchased Crosland’s homebuilding operations and named Leonard executive vice president responsible for the Southeast, including Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. In addition to his other responsibilities, he developed and taught curriculum for land development, financial management and leadership for the company.
Leonard became involved with Habitat for Humanity in 1992 when his church and Centex built Habitat for Humanity homes in Charlotte and Centex sponsored a home during the Washington, D.C., Jimmy Carter Work Project.
In June 2004, Leonard became managing director of Habitat, overseeing overall management of the house-building ministry.
He is no longer listed by the denomination as a Presbyterian minister.