GraceMed CEO resigns following Karlstack investigation
Last week I unveiled a troubling discrepancy regarding Venus Lee's educational credentials, or the lack thereof.
It was one of my better-performing articles, garnering 21,000+ views on Substack…
And went viral on X…
And even hit #1 on the /r/Wichita Subreddit:
Next, KWCH-DT — the #1 ranked local news in Wichita, and an affiliate of CBS — followed up on my reporting a few days later in a news segment titled Questions raised about GraceMed CEO's credentials and an article, GraceMed CEO won’t provide proof of credentials, despite questions. KWCH reports that:
Just days ago, Lee’s education section on the GraceMed website showed degrees from Wichita State and Emory. Now those degrees are not listed.
…
A request for Lee’s degree information through the Clearing House only shows that Lee attended WSU for a year in the 1990s. There is no mention of a degree.
In my original reporting, I was unable to verify if she had an MBA from Wichita State University (WSU), which she claimed to have in addition to a ThD from Emory University.
KWCH now confirms she does not have an MBA from WSU.
Boom.
I then obtained this document which shows that, yes, she was enrolled at WSU for 1 year in 1993… but did not graduate!
Here is where it gets weird.
GraceMed then put out a press release saying that ‘‘She has no credentials under the names of Venus, Lee, Thatcher, or Thomas, which she is willing to confirm.’’
They are hinting that she has degrees under a different name.
Such claims contradict the documented evidence of her academic tenure under her known legal names, raising serious questions about the credibility of her assertions and the organizational willingness to obfuscate the truth.
Lee herself said her degrees do exist and that she has documents to prove it but wouldn’t share them. She also wouldn’t confirm whether she only attended WSU for a year.
…
Lee still insists the degrees exist — but will not allow anyone to read them. She also declined to appear on camera.
She could put this all to bed at this point simply by getting a classmate, teacher, or supervisor at Emory University to stand up and say, ‘‘yes, she was a doctoral student with me.’’ Why not do that?
Next, GraceMed tripled down and said ‘‘There are NO changes coming for leadership.’’
Yet, in a dramatic turn of events, Lee resigned as CEO today, just an hour ago, marking a significant victory for journalistic integrity and the relentless pursuit of truth.
Thus ends the saga of Venus Lee, we hardly knew ye.
For those who've got the dirt on the next big scandal, I'm all ears.
chrisbrunet@protonmail.com
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It’s great that local news continues to follow-up on great reporting from people like you, regardless of agenda! It’s one way local news can differentiate themselves from mainstream media. Great work!
Extremely effective, decentralized, 'house cleaning' services provided at Karlstack.
What is causing these institutions to lie about the credentials of their executives? What other lies are they telling?