The President and CEO of GLAAD Sarah Kate Ellis is facing criticism following a shocking New York Times report that claimed she had lavished spending, including taking a $22,000 first-class ticket to the Cannes Lions and remodelling her home office with money from the non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organisation.
The investigation that dug into payments between January 2022 and June 2023 claims that Ellis' spending habits might be against Internal Revenue Service regulations in addition to those of the LGBTQ organization. The 52-year-old spending habits also worried the company's former chief financial officer.
According to NYT, GLAAD's internal travel guidelines advised staff to "be cost-conscious," take public transit and book economy flights. However, when examining GLAAD expense reports, employment contracts, tax returns, and additional documentation, the outlet discovered that the CEO had taken more than 30 first-class flights over one and a half years (including a $21,743 Delta One trip to Cannes Lions), spent nearly half a million dollars to rent a seven-bedroom chalet in Switzerland for a week while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, and private transportation services. Further, her renewal contract included $25,000 for the rental of a summer home in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and $20,000 for remodelling her home office which included ivory pillows and a chandler.
A GLAAD representative told NYT that the renovation made the area "suitable" for virtual events and television appearances. All of these costs were on top of Ellis' yearly salary, which was stated to be $441,000. However, because of numerous bonuses, his actual remuneration could have ranged from $700,000 to $1.3 million. Richard Ferraro, a GLAAD spokesman, informed the outlet that GLAAD was "eager to retain her" as a result of her accomplishment and that it would be "practically impossible" to reach the latter sum.
In 2023, GLAAD's then-chief financial officer, Emily Plauche warned Liz Jenkins, the chairwoman of the company's board of directors that the money was not being disclosed properly to the Internal Revenue Service. However, the organization modified its travel regulations following an investigation by a law firm into her concerns.
GLAAD supported the expenditure, and the chair of its board of directors declared that the board "stands firmly behind" Ellis. They stated that the home renovation was done because of her on-camera appearances and virtual events during the Covid-19 pandemic and it was approved by the board of directors. Meanwhile, the rental of the summer home was a business expense to conduct meetings with donors.
The spokesperson also highlighted GLAAD's criticism of NYT, claiming that the newspaper publishes "inaccurate, biased pieces about transgender people" throughout a year-long campaign. In its report, the NYT accepted this criticism and affirmed the quality of its work.
The chairwoman said that she supports 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."
