The vice president of the nation’s key trade group for real estate appraisals has agreed to step away from his duties, after a New York Times investigation exposed allegations from women that he had groped them without their consent.
A statement posted on LinkedIn on Monday said the vice president, Craig Steinley, would immediately withdraw from making public appearances as an officer of the Appraisal Institute. The statement, which was posted by the group’s president, did not say that Mr. Steinley, 64, had resigned.
Multiple women said they had been harassed or subject to inappropriate conduct by Mr. Steinley, and The Times revealed that the Appraisal Institute paid $412,000 to a former employee to privately settle her sexual harassment claim against him and the organization.
Mr. Steinley denied the accusations in written responses through his lawyer, Craig Capilla. “Mr. Steinley wholly denies any allegations of any unwanted touching or harassment. It simply did not occur,” Mr. Capilla wrote in an email.
In an interview on Monday, Mr. Capilla stressed that Mr. Steinley had not forfeited his position. “He has not resigned,” he said. “This is still an ongoing issue. I don’t think final decisions have been made.”
Representatives for the Appraisal Institute did not respond to emails and calls on Monday requesting further clarification about Mr. Steinley’s status.
But on Monday, Paula Konikoff, the Appraisal Institute’s president, posted the statement about his departure from public appearances. She said in the statement that Mr. Steinley “makes this choice out of consideration for and in the interest of not being a distraction to the important and ongoing work of the organization.”
The 28-member board of directors at the organization, Ms. Konikoff added, has formed a task force in response to the Times investigation. That task force, she wrote, will work with outside legal counsel “to guide an effort to consider policies, procedures, protocols and actions” before considering “what steps to take.”
It was unclear whether Mr. Steinley will continue to collect a salary. The vice president of the Appraisal Institute, which is a nonprofit trade group, makes around $100,000 a year, according to its most recent tax records.
The Appraisal Institute has 16,000 members and wields considerable influence over how the worth of residential and commercial property throughout the United States is determined. It produces a variety of the testing materials used to help train and certify both residential and commercial real estate appraisers. (Another female former employee, Alissa Akins, is suing the Appraisal Institute for wrongful termination, claiming the Appraisal Institute fired her from her position as director of education and publications after she exposed potential errors in testing materials.)
The private sexual harassment settlement to a former employee was made in May 2024. Last week, in another legal claim, Cindy Chance, the group’s former chief executive, said that Mr. Steinley grabbed her buttocks without her consent, made lewd comments about her body and referred to her as his “girlfriend.” She has filed a lawsuit in Illinois state court against both Mr. Steinley and the Chicago-based Appraisal Institute.
Mr. Steinley, an appraiser who is based in South Dakota, is described by his colleagues as charismatic and flirtatious. He has held a number of appraisal board positions and executive appointments and is currently in his second term as the group’s vice president.
Many members responded to Ms. Konikoff’s LinkedIn post with frustration and anger.
Claire Aufrance, an appraiser in North Carolina who served on the Appraisal Institute’s national board from 2019 to 2022, called for Mr. Steinley’s “immediate resignation or termination.”
“It’s time for Craig to step down or be removed for the good of the Appraisal Institute,” she said. “The board’s continued inaction in the face of repeated member and staff complaints and concerns is verging on complicity, if we are not already there.”
Within hours of the Times investigation being published a petition began circulating on Change.org calling for Mr. Steinley’s removal. As of Monday afternoon, it had at least 260 signatures.
Debra Kamin reports on real estate, covering what it means to buy, sell and own a home in America today.
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