HREI director LePow resigns

COEUR d'ALENE - The executive director of the Human Rights Education Institute has resigned.

Dan LePow's final day guiding the Coeur d'Alene center near City Park is May 27.

The 64-year-old said while he enjoyed his work here leading the nonprofit organization since July, he got an offer he couldn't refuse.

"I just got a good opportunity someplace else," he said Friday.

LePow will be moving to San Antonio, Texas, where he'll work as a fundraiser, similar to what he did for HREI. His contract in Texas calls for him to start July 1.

He said he'll be working on a $2 million campaign and manage a $17 million endowment.

"I'm not leaving on bad terms," the Philadelphia native said. "I'm not leaving because I'm angry. I only wish the best. You have to take opportunities when they come by."

Marilyn Muehlback, HREI board president, said the board met Friday morning and will meet again Monday to determine its next step.

LePow's departure will give the board a chance to consider KREI's main purpose and whether it might be time to "revamp" things.

"We'll use this as a chance to look at where we are, what we're doing, where we want to go," Muehlback said.

She said LePow's primary focus when he was hired was to raise money.

"Being new to the community, he spent a lot of time getting to know people, reaching out, creating a foundation for that to happen," she said.

LePow was an "idea person," she said, regarding programs and staffing.

"He had lots and lots of idea about things we could be doing," Muehlback said.

LePow said he was frustrated he couldn't do more for HREI.

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have been doing my job," he said.

He considers his time with the institute, a "fortunate occurrence in my life." He said HREI helped him grow as a person.

"People in Coeur d'Alene and North Idaho have been nothing but the best for me," he said.

He believes he made a difference while guiding HREI and leading its efforts to "celebrate diversity and promote human rights by educating, raising awareness and inspiring transformation in our community."

"I think I better defined human rights as an issue that's across the board for everybody," LePow said. "Hopefully, I brought human rights to a point where everybody can relate and everybody can care."