GraceMed CEO won’t provide proof of credentials, despite questions
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) — A Wichita healthcare nonprofit CEO whose credentials are under scrutiny insists she has proof of her college degrees but refuses to show them to anyone — and now says none of her degrees are under the name she uses in public.
Venus Lee is the CEO of the faith-based nonprofit health organization GraceMed and makes over $240,000 yearly, according to 2022 tax filings. She claims to have an MBA from Wichita State University and a doctorate from Emory University, but multiple people question whether that’s true.
Just days ago, Lee’s education section on the GraceMed website showed degrees from Wichita State and Emory. Now those degrees are not listed.
The National Student Clearing House is what colleges typically use for degree verification. A request for Lee’s degree information through the Clearing House only shows that Lee attended WSU for a year in the 1990s. There is no mention of a degree.
Emory University did not respond to a request for Lee’s credentials but told the online news website Karlstack that no record exists for Lee in their ThD program.
Lee herself said her degrees do exist and that she has documents to prove it but wouldn’t share them. She also wouldn’t confirm whether she only attended WSU for a year.
GraceMed issued a statement Friday in response to questions about Lee’s college background, saying “Venus Lee has confirmed that she has no credentials under the names of Venus, Lee, Thatcher, or Thomas, which is all she is willing to confirm.”
GraceMed did not specify if Lee has degrees under a different name.
Lee still insists the degrees exist — but will not allow anyone to read them. She also declined to appear on camera.
We reached out to GraceMed board members to ask how they plan to address this situation, and whether any action will be taken against Lee. None have returned our calls or messages.
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