SAN FRANCISCO — Debbie Findling, an alumna of the Wexner Heritage Program, is leading an organized accountability effort regarding Leslie Wexner's ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Findling is partnering with Jan Reicher on the initiative, which seeks to pressure the Wexner Foundation to support survivors of sexual violence and trafficking.

Findling and Reicher circulated a public letter to the Wexner Foundation signed by 80 Wexner alumni. The letter urges the foundation to take meaningful action to support survivors of sexual violence and trafficking. Fifty of the signatories are from the Bay Area.

In May, Findling and Reicher launched Tikkun Funds to direct donations to nonprofits supporting survivors of sexual violence or trafficking. They asked fellow alumni to contribute $36,000 each to the fund; more than $356,000 has been pledged so far. "I feel like I am acting in the leadership capacity that Wexner taught me, which is to stand up for those who are less fortunate, to stand up for survivors, to stand up for truth," Findling said.

Leslie Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein maintained a close relationship for years. Wexner was instrumental in Epstein's rise to wealth and prominence, and Epstein managed Wexner's finances. Epstein also served as a trustee of the Wexner Foundation. Leslie Wexner has denied knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, including those against minors, and testified that he severed financial and legal ties with Epstein in 2007.

The Wexner Foundation held meetings with alumni after revelations of Wexner's ties with Epstein emerged in 2019. The foundation declined to comment for this story. "I've lost something that I was really proud of - it was taken away from me," Findling said. She added, "I feel like the rug got pulled out from under me."

Evan Segal, a Wexner Heritage participant, commented on the situation in a podcast interview. "For years, the Wexner name has been put in a pantheon of mensch-y philanthropists," Segal said. "Now it is 180 degrees of that." He added, "If you want to know why the Jewish philanthropic world has been crickets, it's because many of the big names that people have respected for years are tied - some more directly, some indirectly - to this scandal."

Leslie Wexner is a retail magnate known for the rise of brands such as Victoria's Secret, The Limited, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Bath & Body Works. He became an influential funder of Jewish leadership development in North America and Israel. A Jewish nursing home and the Jewish student center at Ohio State University bear his name. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum named a learning center for Leslie Wexner. The Wexner Heritage Program launched in the late 1990s in San Francisco and has attracted almost 2,500 participants across 35 North American cities. The program is offered free of charge.

Why It Matters

This organized accountability effort reflects a response within the Jewish philanthropic community to Leslie Wexner's past association with Jeffrey Epstein. The initiative aims to redirect philanthropic efforts towards supporting survivors of sexual violence and trafficking. The establishment of Tikkun Funds and the public letter demonstrate action taken by alumni to address the impact of these associations.