$600K alleged theft at the High Museum of Art: Where was the accountability?

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Brady Lum, who served as chief operating officer of the High Museum, resigned on Dec. 9 after an external review found $600,000 misappropriated over three to four years. Leadership at the Woodruff Arts Center has stated operations will not be affected.

That reassurance does not address the central question: How did financial irregularities continue for multiple fiscal years inside our region’s flagship cultural institution?

This is not simply about individual wrongdoing. It is about whether checks and balances did their job.

Were the safeguards real or procedural?

Credit: Marlo Herring

Credit: Marlo Herring

The High Museum is part of the Woodruff Arts Center, which also includes the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Alliance Theatre.

Governance includes CEO Hala Moddelmog, CFO Brian Walley, board Chair Kathy Waller, audit Chair Kevin Kelly of PwC and treasurer/finance Chair Barry McCarthy. This layered structure is meant to provide oversight at multiple levels.

When misconduct spans several years, it is reasonable to ask how these layers functioned in practice.

This is not an allegation. It is a call to examine if safeguards were real or merely procedural.

History makes that examination more urgent. From 2005 to 2012, Ralph Clark, then director of facilities at Woodruff Arts Center, embezzled $1.1 million during the tenure of then-CEO Virginia Hepner (Clark pleaded guilty in 2013). Now, another financial breach has occurred within the same institutional umbrella.

Two separate cases. Two extended periods before detection. These facts raise legitimate questions about the strength and effectiveness of internal controls.

According to Woodruff’s audited financial statements for the year ending May 31, 2025, the High Museum reported $30.8 million in total revenue, including $13.47 million in support from individuals, corporations and foundations.

Using those figures, $600,000 equals 4.45% of the total support revenue, more than 10% in individual giving, roughly 17% in corporate support and nearly one-third in foundation support.

Arts donor confidence is fragile

Although Woodruff maintains stability, a loss at that level is significant for any nonprofit. The organization has engaged forensic and legal counsel, notified donors, referred the matter for federal investigation and is pursuing restitution. Those steps are necessary and appropriate. They are also costly, and they do not explain how controls failed for years or how donors can be assured safeguards are now stronger.

Contributors expect their support to advance mission-driven programming and service, not investigations tied to governance failures.

The most recent Form 990 reports that High Museum Director Randall Suffolk’s total compensation was $777,887.

Compensation at that level carries heightened fiduciary expectations. Strong internal controls, regular financial review and active board engagement are fundamental responsibilities at that scale.

Atlanta’s arts community operates in a challenging funding environment. Donor confidence is fragile. When governance failures surface at major institutions, the ripple effect extends beyond their walls.

Large institutions often point to governance depth and operational sophistication as measures of strength. If scale is evidence of stability, then scale must also mean faster detection, stronger controls and full transparency when failures occur.

This moment is not simply about one executive.

It is about systems. It is about oversight. It is about accountability.

The public deserves clarity about what failed, what has changed and how donor trust will be protected going forward.

Heather Infantry is a longtime Atlanta arts advocate and CEO of Giving Gap, which closes the gap for Black-founded nonprofit organizations.