Safety, Ethics and Power

Contact the Independent Ethics Advisor
Report A Violation

    1. Ethics and Safety are overseen directly by the Ethics Director, a permanent board-level position with the power to hold anyone and everyone in the organization accountable.

    2. We use a two-lane ethics system so people can speak up early without fear and still get strong accountability when needed:

      Lane 1 is the external, confidential Independent Ethics Advisor (IEA): this is a consult-first contact for anyone who feels uneasy, has a boundary concern, is experiencing conflict, or wants help thinking through options. The IEA can listen, coach, support safe repair conversations when appropriate, and help someone decide whether to make a formal report. Conversations remain confidential except for a narrow set of safety-critical situations where escalation is required to protect others. To speak with the IEA, visit namelessmountain.org/iea-contact.

      Lane 2 is the Board Ethics Director (formal accountability): This lane is for formal reports and safety actions. The Ethics Director receives and triages reports, implements interim protections when needed (such as role restrictions, no-contact directives, or retreat access/housing adjustments), and can hire an external investigator for serious allegations or conflicts of interest. To report a violation or serious safety issue, go to namelessmountain.org/report-a-violation

    3. No one is ever required to confront an accused person or participate in “repair” as a condition of safety.

    4. All board members, teachers and senior staff must publicly disclose conflicts of interest on our web page, and recuse themselves from any governance procedures related to those conflicts. See namelessmountain.org/transparency for a full list of conflicts of interest and recusals.

    5. We will never require secrecy or confidentiality around misconduct involving abuse, harassment or retaliation.

    6. We publish an annual transparency report that includes reviewed financials, compensation bands, related-party transactions, conflicts of interest, and a count of complaints and resolutions. See namelessmountain.org/transparency for more.

    1. We background check anyone whose duties include child contact, as well as screen their references for a history of boundary issues.

    2. At any program or event involving minors, there will be at least two screened adults present, and adults must avoid one-on-one isolated contact with an unrelated minor. If a one-on-one conversation is needed, it must occur in view of others or with another adult nearby.

    3. Any suspected abuse, grooming, boundary violation, or retaliation must be reported immediately through the formal ethics channel and, when applicable, to civil authorities.

    4. Spiritual authority never overrides organizational or civil safeguarding.

    5. Photos/video/audio of minors may be captured only with the consent of both child and parent. NM affiliates will not post images of minors from our activities on personal accounts; only authorized adults may capture and share images via official organizational channels. We will never share full names, identifying details or locations. And we will never record media in private or sensitive contexts (bathrooms, changing areas, distressing moments). Images are stored only in organization-controlled accounts with restricted access and are removed promptly upon parent/guardian request.

    6. Adult communications with minors follow a strict no–one-on-one rule: adults do not privately text/DM/email minors; all digital communication must include a parent/guardian and/or a second screened adult, and any concerns about inappropriate contact, photography, or boundary violations must be reported immediately through the formal ethics channel.

    1. Nameless Mountain forbids sexual and romantic relationships between people in positions of power (staff, teachers and facilitators) and any member or student that they have taught, counseled or supervised within 12 months.

    2. People in extraordinary positions of power (board members, executive director, leadership staff) are forbidden from any sexual or romantic relationships with community members at any time, unless that member also holds an extraordinary position of power, and neither directly reports to the other.

    3. Sexual or romantic relationships between teachers and students outside of the cooldown period must be reported to the Ethics Director.

    4. Boundaries are a core safety practice. Staff and teachers may offer confidential guidance and presence, but they may never use spiritual authority to override consent, pressure intimacy, or create secrecy or dependency.

    5. Grooming behaviors are treated as serious misconduct, even before overt abuse occurs. These include: special access and secrecy, escalating private contact, boundary testing, intrusive “confession” capture, leveraging status, or spiritual threats.

    6. One-on-one meetings must be private in content but transparent in context.

    7. Students are never required to confront an accused person or participate in “repair” as a condition of safety.

    8. Concerns may be raised to our Independent Ethics Advisor for confidential guidance and options, or filed as a formal report to the Board Ethics Director.

    9. Credible safety-critical allegations trigger immediate interim restrictions (pause from teaching/mentoring, no one-on-one contact, communication limits, housing/access adjustments) and, when appropriate, an external investigation, with strict anti-retaliation protections throughout.

    1. We will respect your privacy. At any Nameless Mountain event, you share only what you choose.

    2. We will not shame or shun. If a member decides to leave any Nameless Mountain community, we will part ways with gratitude and respect, and offer a supportive off-ramp to help them transition.

    3. We will practice humility. Teachers and staff can be wrong. Students are encouraged to challenge and dissent. Doubt is a necessary prerequisite for faith.

    4. We will practice financial ethics. We will be transparent in our pricing and policies, we will not use pressure or authority for solicitation, will not target vulnerable individuals for giving, and staff and teachers may not accept gifts from members.

    5. We will remain vigilant against abuse. We train all of our staff and teachers on the potential harm caused by religious abuse, and on the measures we take against coercive control, sexual impropriety and inappropriate boundaries.

    6. We will hold ourselves and each other accountable. We will fully investigate all ethics violations and safety issues, and apply consequences according to our written procedures, regardless of the subject’s position or power within the organization. Credible allegations involving serious safety concerns will automatically trigger external/independent investigations.