Dalio Philanthropies, the charitable foundation created by Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio and his wife, Barbara Dalio, is being sued for defamation of character and breach of contract by Mary Anne Schmitt-Carey, the former chief executive of the foundation”™s failed public-private educational partnership with the State of Connecticut.
The Partnership for Connecticut was launched in April as a five-year endeavor to increase funding for public schools, with the Dalios pledging $100 million to Connecticut”™s public schools. But it was dissolved after two months amid political in-fighting among board members.
Schmitt-Carey, who filed her lawsuit Wednesday in New York Supreme Court, stated that shortly after being named CEO of the Partnership for Connecticut she was “informed that her job was not to develop and implement the strategic plan approved by the Partnership”™s board. Instead, she had been hired to rubberstamp the silver-bullet programs chosen unilaterally by Dalio Philanthropies figureheads Ray and Barbara Dalio ”“ despite those policies”™ dubious efficacy.”
Schmitt-Carey also accused Ray Dalio of attempting to bully her into doing his wife”™s bidding in an April 30 telephone conversation.
“Mr. Dalio bluntly stated during that April 30 call, ”˜If my wife wants to distribute 10,000 coats, your job is to figure out how to do that,”™” the lawsuit claims.
Schmitt-Carey also asserted Barbara Dalio and two members of the Dalio Philanthropies staff threatened to publicly drop “a raft of false allegations” relating to her work with previous employer, the nonprofit Say Yes to Education, unless she voluntarily resigned. Schmitt-Carey refused and asserted in her lawsuit that she was placed on administrative leave in violation of the Partnership for Education”™s bylaws.
Schmitt-Carey”™s lawsuit also names Say Yes to Education as a defendant for allegedly spreading false information about her work with the nonprofit to the Dalios.
“Specifically, Defendant Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, then a Say Yes board member, and Defendant Rachel Flax, of Say Yes benefactor the Weiss Family Foundation, contacted representatives of the Dalio Philanthropies and The Partnership on or about April 22, 2020 to convey a series of malicious lies regarding Ms. Schmitt-Carey,” the lawsuit says. “These statements were not only false and defamatory, but also violated the clear and unequivocal terms of Ms. Schmitt-Carey”™s separation agreement with Say Yes.
“The baseless accusations made by Defendants fueled the Dalio Philanthropies”™ and its supporters”™ thinly-veiled pretext for sidelining Ms. Schmitt-Carey after she made clear she would put her duties as The Partnership”™s CEO before the preferences of Dalio Philanthropies representatives,” it adds.
A spokesperson for Dalio Philanthropies contacted the Business Journal to offer this comment on the lawsuit: “Anyone can make outlandish accusations. The evidence will be presented and judged fairly following the legal process. That is when the truth will come out.”
