New Orleans ? The head of a Katrina charity established by former Presidents Bush and Clinton resigned Friday under duress following the exodus of seven members of one of its committees.

In a statement, the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund announced that “in the best interests of the mission of The Fund,” its executive director, Mary Ann Wyrsch, agreed to step down.

Wyrsch will be replaced by Constance Berry Newman, who served as U.S. assistant secretary of state for African Affairs in the Bush administration.

Her resignation comes after the abrupt departure of seven out of nine religious leaders serving on a committee charged with disbursing $20 million to hurricane-damaged churches.