GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis is under fire after a bombshell New York Times report accused her of lavish spending, including expensing a $22,000 first-class flight to Cannes Lions and using the nonprofit’s funds to renovate her home office.
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According to the article, penned by investigative journalist Emily Steel, Ellis’ spending pattern could be in violation of not just the LGBTQ organization’s own policies, but those of the Internal Revenue Service. The Times reported that GLAAD’s internal travel policy recommended that employees fly economy, use public transportation and “be cost conscious.” But after reviewing GLAAD expense reports, employment agreements, tax filings and other paperwork, the Times found that Ellis had expensed first-class flights (including a Delta One trip to Cannes Lions that totaled $21,743), luxury hotels and private car services. The Times alleged that Ellis’ renewal contract also included $20,000 to remodel her home office and $25,000 to rent a summer home in Provincetown, Mass.
These expenses were all in addition to Ellis’ annual pay, which the Times reported to be $441,000 with the possibility to reach between $700,000 and $1.3 million due to various bonuses. But a GLAAD spokesperson, Richard Ferraro, told the Times that reaching the latter amount would be “practically impossible” and that GLAAD approved her compensation package because they were “eager to retain her” due to her success.
The Times reported that former GLAAD chief financial officer Emily Plauché had warned Liz Jenkins, the chairwoman of GLAAD’s board of directors, about excessive spending and believed it was not being properly reported to the IRS. An outside law firm looked into it, the Times wrote, and suggested GLAAD update its travel policy to allow executives to upgrade their flights under special circumstances, which the organization did. Plauché departed GLAAD last summer.
Ferraro denied many of the Times’ claims in the piece and when reached by Variety , underlining that Ellis’ travel arrangements complied with their updated travel policy. He said the 2023 trip to Cannes Lions was to launch GLAAD’s first annual Advertising Visibility Index, which documents the state of LGBTQ representation in advertising. When other companies pulled out of the festival due to backlash to a Pride-themed Bud Light campaign, Ferraro said it was a “last-minute crisis decision” to attend in order to speak to execs about “not turning their backs on the LGBTQ community,” and added that Ellis shared a hotel room with a colleague.
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GLAAD also defended Ellis’ home renovation, telling the Times that at the advice of lawyers and accountants, the org did not report it as income on her tax returns because its purpose was for on-camera appearances and virtual events during the COVID-19 pandemic and it was approved by the board of directors. Ferraro asserted that Ellis’ rental of the summer home in Provincetown was also considered a business expense as it enabled her to advance the mission of GLAAD by meeting with donors and attending events in the LGBTQ hotspot. He said that private car services were used as a security measure after Ellis had received threats and were recommended by an outside security firm and approved by the board. Ferraro also pointed to GLAAD’s criticism of the Times , which the organization has argued in a year-long campaign publishes “inaccurate, biased pieces about transgender people.” The Times acknowledged this criticism in its piece on Ellis and said it stands by its work.
In a statement to the Times, Jenkins said she fully supported Ellis “with respect and appreciation for how she and her team are leading the movement at a time when our community is under attack. We have full confidence that they’re doing so with integrity and that they share the board’s commitment to irrefutably strong governance and business practices.”
Ellis added: “I take my role as GLAAD’s financial steward incredibly seriously, and we’ll continue updating our procedures to keep pace with the organization’s rapid growth.”
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