Disability Scoop: Autism Speaks executive paid more than $600,000 in 2008

From the intro to a story in Disability Scoop:

Autism Speaks took in more than $69 million last year, over $600,000 of which was paid to a single executive, recently released tax filings indicate.

The organization’s chief science officer, Geri Dawson, received $669,751 in total compensation in 2008 including $269,721 in relocation expenses to move her family from Washington to North Carolina, according to Autism Speaks’ tax filing.

Dawson’s base salary was $373,360, more than any of the organization’s 257 other employees, including Autism Speaks president Mark Roithmayr. Employee compensation accounted for more than a quarter of Autism Speaks’ income for the year.

“Dr. Dawson’s compensation is in the mid-range for executives with similar positions in the nonprofit health sector,” Autism Speaks representatives said in a statement. They went on to explain Dawson’s cross-country moving expenses by saying that her presence on the east coast makes her more accessible to Autism Speaks offices, three of its science divisions and government health agencies in Washington, D.C.

The move also allowed Dawson to take a position at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.