Wounded Warrior founder open to leading group again

Associated Press

GAINESVILLE, Fla.

Steve Nardizzi’s entrepreneurial approach to charity work transformed the Wounded Warrior Project, which began as a shoestring effort to provide underwear and CD players to hospitalized soldiers, into an $800 million fundraising enterprise.

It also led to his downfall.

A lawyer by training who never served in the military, Nardizzi traded a career in the courts for one helping wounded veterans. He arrived at the Wounded Warrior Project in 2006 after nearly a decade at the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association and persuaded the board that they needed a new, more aggressive leadership style.

By 2010, Nardizzi replaced founder John Melia as CEO and catapulted the nonprofit into the top ranks of U.S. charities. His success led to lavish spending – the group’s annual staff meeting in 2014 cost $970,000 – prompting complaints from employees, veterans and charity watchdogs about profiteering off veterans that emerged in reports by The New York Times and CBS News in January.

On Thursday, Nardizzi and chief operating officer Al Giordano were fired, the board said, as the organization cracks down on employee expenses and strengthens controls that have not kept pace with the rapid growth.

Melia, a former Marine, launched the group in 2003 after he was injured in a helicopter crash off Somalia and saw how wounded veterans were treated. His exit left him bitter. But Melia told The Associated Press on Friday that he has requested an “immediate” meeting with the board of directors and is open to leading the group again.

Board chairman Anthony Odierno, overseeing the charity on an interim basis, did not respond Friday to a request for comment. Neither did the fired executives, Nardizzi and Giordano.