(CNN) Southern Poverty Law Center President Richard Cohen is stepping down from the nonprofit activist group, less than two weeks after co-founder Morris Dees was fired.

"After more than 30 years at the Southern Poverty Law Center, I've decided to step down," Cohen said in a statement Saturday. "Other legacy civil rights organizations have transitioned to a new generation of leaders, and I believe that we should, too."

Cohen's resignation follows the March 13 ouster of Dees , a co-founder of the Alabama-based SPLC that is known for tracking civil rights and hate crimes in the United States.

"We've heard from our staff that we need to do a better job of making sure that our workplace embodies the values we espouse -- truth, justice, equity, and inclusion," Cohen said his statement.

"We're going to do that, and we have brought in Michelle Obama's former Chief of Staff, Tina Tchen, to help us do it."

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