About 30 people were expected to attend the meeting between Sen. Bernie Sanders and former staffers. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Politics Sanders faces former staffers about sexual harassment on 2016 campaign Facilitators said the meeting was only the first step in a process to improve campaign culture.

Sen. Bernie Sanders met Wednesday with a group of former staffers who have raised concerns about allegations of sexual harassment and violence during his 2016 presidential campaign and have urged him to make reforms if he runs again next year.

The Vermont independent did not respond to a reporter’s questions as he entered the meeting through a private door at a hotel in Washington.


The former aides sought a meeting with Sanders to “discuss the issue of sexual violence and harassment on the 2016 campaign, for the purpose of planning to mitigate the issue in the upcoming presidential cycle,” according to a copy of a letter first reported by POLITICO. About 30 people were expected to attend.

Three people facilitated the meeting: Pamela Coukos, co-founder of Working IDEAL, a company that consults corporations and other organizations on workplace inclusion, fair pay and diversity; Jenny Yang, a Working IDEAL strategic partner and a former chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; and Rene Redwood, CEO of Redwood Enterprise, a professional advisory firm.

The facilitators said that Wednesday was only the first step in a process to create practical ways for improving the campaign’s culture. They said they planned to conduct more fact-finding with other people from the 2016 campaign, and hoped not only to create a blueprint for Sanders but also to produce something that can be shared publicly for all campaigns.

Last Thursday, Sanders apologized to women who said they were sexually harassed while working on his presidential campaign.

A campaign official said that among those at the meeting on Wednesday were Jeff Weaver, Sanders’ 2016 campaign manager; Caryn Compton, the senator’s chief of staff; deputy chief of staff Ari-Rabin Havt; Arianna Jones, a top communications aide; and Shannon Jackson, manager of Sanders’ 2018 Senate reelection campaign.

“It went as well as it could have,” said a person who was there but declined to comment further.

Before the meeting, some former employees said they had received invitations as late as Monday and faced other logistical difficulties.

Sanders wasn't made available after the meeting for questions from the media. Asked later about the meeting by a CNN reporter, Sanders said that it was “private” and that he would not talk about it.

The senator’s wife, Jane Sanders, also attended.