SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As Supervisor Nathan Fletcher faces growing calls to resign immediately over allegations of sexual harassment and assault in a civil lawsuit, there are questions about what happened to a nonprofit he founded nearly ten years ago.
Fletcher is a veteran, and over the years, has supported numerous military causes.
After he served in the Assembly and ran for mayor of San Diego twice, he founded a nonprofit called Three Wise Men Foundation in 2014.
A few years after that, he made a big announcement—his organization was merging with The Headstrong Project, based on the East Coast. Headstrong is a nonprofit mental health organization that is focused on helping veterans, service members and families.
In an announcement online dated Mar. 10, 2017, Fletcher wrote, "By combining forces and merging our operations with Headstrong, we can have a much stronger impact and serve more veterans."
At the time, both Fletcher and Headstrong celebrated the merger.
“Together we'll join forces to provide care for even more post-9/11 vets,” The Headstrong Project posted on its Twitter account.
Team 10 discovered the merger never happened.
Two people currently involved with Headstrong confirmed via email and over the phone that Fletcher’s organization did not join with Headstrong.
They did not want to be named, but one person emailed Team 10 a statement that said, “Mr. Fletcher served on the board for a very short time and left the board over six years ago. His organization dissolved and never merged with The Headstrong Project. He has no affiliation with The Headstrong Project and we've been out of touch since his departure."
In a separate emailed statement, another person involved with Headstrong said, “Mr. Fletcher left the board several years ago and has no affiliation with The Headstrong Project.”
According to IRS records, Nathan Fletcher—his name spelled as "Natan Fletcher"—was listed as a director for Headstrong in 2017. He is not listed in IRS records after that.
Fletcher’s biography at UC San Diego, where he taught for years as a professor, is still active. “He remains active with many veterans organizations including serving on the board of the Headstrong Project,” the biography stated as of Apr. 19.
His campaign website has been taken down, but an internet archive search showed that as of June 2020, his website also listed him as a Headstrong board member. A person currently working at Headstrong told Team 10 he was not affiliated with the organization at that time.
Team 10 also spoke to someone who served on the board of Three Wise Men. The individual said they do not know why the merger never happened.
When asked why the merger fell through, the source at Headstrong said the person to ask would be Fletcher.
A spokesperson for Supervisor Nathan Fletcher’s office told Team 10 that Fletcher “is unable to respond due to the fact he is in treatment.”
One of Fletcher’s last public statements at the end of March said he is receiving out-of-state treatment for alcohol abuse and PTSD.
