Guide Dogs of the Desert board chairman to step down amid leadership restructuring

The chairman of Guide Dogs of the Desert’s board of directors has resigned and the organization has restructured its leadership, The Palm Springs Post and Coachella Valley Independent have learned, weeks after a joint investigation revealed safety, management and financial concerns at the Whitewater nonprofit.

Richard Clapp confirmed last week that he will step down as chairman on June 30, to be replaced by current Vice Chair Guido Portante. The organization has also elevated Executive Director Robert Maher to chief executive officer and hired Rosa Verduzco as chief operations officer.

Clapp did not cite the investigation as the reason for his resignation, instead stating that his desire to step down began two years ago when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

“I’ve been way too busy. I’m supposed to retire. I’m supposed to be traveling, so I’m looking for ways to make my life simpler,” he said. “I’d originally planned on retiring from Guide Dogs in January, but stayed on until now…so it’s just time to do fewer good things, and do some fun things.”

Regarding the leadership restructuring, Clapp said the goal was to bring the organization’s structure more in line with other nonprofits in the valley.

“There are very, very few that run with the head person being called an executive director; they’re mostly president or CEO or something, and we decided on CEO,” he said.

When asked about the reasoning for adding the new COO role, Clapp said the organization had been debating how to best restructure.

“You reach a point where you take a look around at an organization, and you realize that with everything going on in society and the changes and everything, you just need to take a look at how it’s organized and how it’s run,” he said. 

“There have been some personnel switches and changes, and it just made sense to let Rob focus more on what his expertise is about—fundraising, and rearranging things lets him do what he does best, and be able to monitor everything that goes well.”

Maher did not respond to the Post and Independent’s request for comment.

The announcements follow a six-month investigation published by the Post and the Independent on April 23, citing safety complaints, leadership concerns and financial warning signs at the organization. The investigation was prompted after an Aug. 16, 2025, rape and murder attempt against a female employee by an intruder at the organization’s Whitewater campus. The assailant was sentenced on March 19 to 25 years to life in prison.

During the investigation, the Post and Independent spoke with more than 15 current and former employees and volunteers and reviewed internal documents, emails and court records. Those materials revealed that employees had raised concerns over campus security, including gaps leading up to the attack. 

Among them was a broken lock on a door to the building where the attack occurred, which was allegedly left unfixed despite requests from multiple employees; employees also expressed concerns about leadership’s response following the attack. (There is no indication in court records that the attack was directly linked to the issues raised by staff.) The documents also showed concerns over management and workplace practices and a pattern of concerns over financial mismanagement.

At the time, Clapp and Maher declined to answer specific questions about internal complaints, citing that they could not speak publicly on personnel matters, but broadly disputed claims described by current and former employees, internal communications and documents.

“There is nothing to say to you, because those are all private matters, and they don’t have anything to do with you, the public, or anyone else,” Maher said in an interview ahead of the Aug. 16 publication of the investigation. “My response is that these are all in-house staff relations, and of course, by law, I’m not allowed to speak on them.”

The investigation also included a lawsuit filed by former Human Resources Director and Community Engagement Director Caryn Gates, alleging 15 causes of action, including whistleblower retaliation, discrimination, harassment and failure to implement required workplace violence prevention measures. 

The suit followed what she said were attempts to work with leadership on multiple concerns brought to her by staff, including concerns leading up to and following the attack, and a discrimination claim from a blind employee.

In a statement sent Monday, Gates wrote, “I can confirm that my lawsuit against Guide Dogs of the Desert has been resolved. I’m not able to discuss the terms of the resolution.” She is no longer employed by the organization.

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