Alicia Young founded a nonprofit called IDEA Stages in 2020 to solve problems she saw in the local theater community regarding equity, diversity and inclusion at area stages.

But eventually, her own board of directors came to accept decided that she has become part of the problem.

An ugly, divisive and damaging chapter came to a decisive close today when the board of the grassroots advocacy nonprofit announced that it has accepted the recommendation of its accountability committee to suspend its founder and executive director.

Further, the board is suspending all IDEAs programming for a complete restructuring and reconsideration of the organization.

Acting board President GerRee Hinshaw said the difficult decision to suspend Young was made “with careful consideration and a commitment to the organization’s long-term well-being.”

Last fall, cast members from Vintage Theatre’s production of “In the Heights” came forward with a six-page document detailing alleged offenses committed by Young herself as an actor throughout the run of that musical. Their complaint was accompanied by a series of damning text-message screen shots that seemed to demonstrate toxic and hypocritical behaviors that are clearly antithetical to IDEA Stages’ stated mission.

“In the Heights” ran at Vintage Theatre from June 23-July 30. During that time, the complaint alleged that Young, among other things, engaged in repeated offensive behaviors toward her castmates, including sending sexually graphic and inflammatory group text messages to members of the cast and crew.

“She prides herself on being a positive force, and someone you can turn to,” the complaint asserted, “but she was the exact opposite of that.”

On July 25, Young was honored by the Colorado Theatre Guild as the outstanding actress in a play for her work in the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company’s production of “The Royale.” “To the little girls and boys who look like me: When people tell you there is no room in this space for you, it’s not true,” she said in accepting the award. “You have a space, and we’re going to make sure that this space stays there for you.”

By November, Young had ascended to directing Vintage’s doomed holiday production of “Black Nativity.” But she was fired, and the production was canceled before it could open.

Two weeks ago, an accountability subcommittee created by IDEA Stages issued a report concluding that Young’s actions during “In the Heights” “caused profound harm” that created a subsequent work disruption and a hostile work environment.

Today, the full board agreed.

“Young demonstrated critical errors in judgment and failed to uphold distinct values for which IDEAs was created to advocate,” Hinshaw said. But, she added, the grassroots nonprofit’s board shares some culpability for its own failure to act and react in the moment.

As a result, she said, “Alicia had no continuous feedback or pushback from her board. As she represented IDEAs and played a role in multiple incidents of harm, community members perceived a lack of response from IDEAs to that harm.”

“In the Heights” director Jonathan Andujar, who brought the original complaint against Young with cast member Michal McDowell in September, said he was pleased both by the board’s decision, “and that they are now looking inward. Because they were presenting themselves as a safe-to-tell space that was actually perpetuating the very things they said they were against.”

Young launched IDEA Stages, as the group puts it, “with a mission to galvanize theater-makers and inspire partnerships to build the will and skill to create more inclusive and equitable practices in Colorado theater-making.”

But it has been difficult for IDEA Stages to transition “from a grassroots movement to a (fully functioning nonprofit organization) poised for enduring relevance and accountability to our community,” Hinshaw said.

READ THE FULL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT

“Early on, we rallied around our determined founder-leader, working on a number of initiatives – some short-term, some meant to endure. But it’s been challenging to move the organization to a formally structured nonprofit that is led by a longer-term plan with clear accountability and expectations of all roles.”

Andujar, a Colorado Springs educator who was making his first foray into directing at a Denver theater company with “In the Heights,” said he was “very excited with the idea of IDEAS – at first. But when you see how the sausage is made, it becomes very disheartening.”

He called the temporary shutdown of the organization a necessary move.

“It is my hope that they pick a leader who truly embodies the stated values of the organization,” he said, “and that they find someone who is public in walking the walk.”

McDowell is also pleased with the outcome, which was six months in the making.

“This process has really shown me why victims don’t come forward about abuse. It’s a long process that makes you want to just move on and push it back somewhere else. Even safe places were not the places of support we thought they were.”

She said IDEA Stages’ origin as a self-appointed organization with no formal buy-in from the community to justify its authority has been counter-productive.

“We need to call people in and stop calling people out,” she said.

Despite Young’s clear missteps, Hinshaw maintains that IDEA Stages “has helped countless individuals and many organizations … to deepen their understanding of what it means to put people at the center and make inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility come to life beyond the acronym.”

Now, said MiDian Holmes, chair of the Accountability Committee, “We find ourselves in the ‘messy middle,’ navigating the uncomfortable, ambiguous and often chaotic stages encountered when organizations change, grow or seek atonement.

“IDEAs must now embody the resilience, courage and perseverance it asks the community to show in the face of necessary change. As the organization closes this chapter, we will work to make this juncture an opportunity to reaffirm IDEAs’ dedication to fostering equity and inclusivity in theater-making with unwavering integrity and purpose.”

Young did not return an offer to comment for this report.