Spokesperson called New York Times report ‘grossly misleading’
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
UPDATE: Statement from William Waybourn:
“As the former managing director of GLAAD, I find this embarrassing. GLAAD has lost its compass at precisely the wrong time. Vito Russo, the founder of GLAAD would be pissed.”
CHRISTOPHER KANE | Washington Blade
Reprinted here courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis is under fire for excessive spending following a report in the New York Times on Thursday, Aug. 1, which suggested the first class airfare, hotel accommodations and car services booked by the organization’s chief executive for business travel far outpace the expenses of leaders of similarly sized nonprofits.
Quoting legal, nonprofit and ethics experts, the article suggests Ellis and GLAAD’s actions may also have violated IRS rules, including their decision to not declare spending on Ellis’s home office renovation as income on her personal tax forms.
When Ellis joined in 2014, the article notes, GLAAD was in dire financial straits. Elevating the group’s public profile and expanding its purview, Ellis had quintupled its revenue to $19 million by 2022.
“Major donors have included media and tech companies such as Netflix, Google and the Walt Disney Company; philanthropists like Ariadne Getty; and the New York City Council,” the Times wrote. “In 2022, the billionaire MacKenzie Scott donated $10 million.”
GLAAD’s chief communications officer, Rich Ferraro, said the board took Ellis’s performance into consideration when deciding her compensation, as under her leadership the advocacy group had started punching above its weight.
In a statement to the Advocate, Ferraro called the article “deeply misleading,” specifically disputing claims about Ellis’s annual compensation and denying that she ever took home “anything near” $1 million per year.
The organization has tussled with the Times in the past over the paper’s coverage of transgender issues. The Times, meanwhile, told the Advocate the paper stands by its reporting and noted GLAAD did not challenge any facts in the story.
Andy Lane, who has held senior roles in LGBTQ philanthropy, wrote on Facebook “GLAAD is a fraud, and has been as long as I’ve been in the business. For shame: And … girl, bye. Long overdue.”