GLAAD‘s Sarah Kate Ellis is under fire following an investigation published on Thursday by The New York Times focused on her spending and expenses as the nonprofit’s long-serving president and CEO.
The piece details months of expense reports, lavish travel costs, a rental in popular summer vacation destination Provincetown, Massachusetts, and home renovations paid for by GLAAD, the country’s prominent media watchdog group that campaigns for fair treatment and coverage on behalf of the LGBTQ community.
Per the investigation, written by NYT reporter Emily Steel, Ellis 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; billed back approximately $18,000 to renovate her Long Island home (an upgrade that reportedly included a new chandelier); and took more than 30 first-class flights over an 18-month period. GLAAD reportedly picked up a $60,000 tab (airfare and accommodations) for Ellis and the org’s chief operating officer, Darra Gordon, to attend the Cannes Lions advertising summit in France. Ellis also reportedly receives a salary in the high six figures.
Steel cites sources that claim Ellis’ spending is more aligned with what is considered commonplace at for-profit companies rather than a nonprofit organization and that some of the receipts could be in violation of IRS rules. “It appears she may have fallen into the trap of excess,” Michael West, a lawyer who advises charities at the New York Council of Nonprofits, told the Times.
GLAAD spokesperson Rich Ferraro is quoted defending Ellis by stating that many of her expenses — from travel and renovations to the summer rental — helped advance the organization’s mission or bring her closer to donors. He said the Davos trip was paid for through a donation by the Ariadne Getty Foundation, a longtime supporter of GLAAD.
“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,” Ellis said in a statement. “Our work has never been more urgent, because the LGBTQ community is under increasing attack.”
Ellis, who has held the post since 2014, re-upped with GLAAD in 2022 by signing a new contract that extends through 2027. Per the report, Ellis received a base salary of $441,000, with automatic 5 percent increases per year along with bonuses tied to fundraising. Though she could receive anywhere from $700,000 to $1.3 million per year. GLAAD’s Ferraro told The Hollywood Reporter, “In practice, it is impossible for Ms. Ellis to receive $1 million in a year, and she has not received anything near that on this contract.” The sizable salary is attributed to how Ellis brought the organization back from the brink to becoming a philanthropic force with major sway in media circles and across the cultural landscape. (By 2022, she helped quadruple revenue to $19 million.)
The report also states that GLAAD’s chief financial officer, Emily Plauché, flagged spending concerns to Liz Jenkins, a chairwoman for the organization’s board of directors. In turn, the board hired a law firm to investigate the claims. The firm, Sheppard Mullin, then recommended that GLAAD update its travel policies. Plauché left the organization shortly thereafter.
“The board and I stand firmly behind Sarah Kate 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,” Jenkins said in a statement.
THR reached out to GLAAD for a response to the investigation and a spokesperson lashed out at the Times by addressing the fraught relationship between the two organizations. Since 2023, GLAAD has been a vocal critic of NYT‘s coverage of the LGBTQ community, focused specifically on its reporting of the transgender community. Ellis herself has been quoted with claims that the Times publishes “inaccurate, irresponsible” coverage of the trans community, ink that is then co-opted by conservative lawmakers causing further damage as it relates to access to healthcare and other services.
“It is disappointing but not surprising, especially at a time when LGBTQ violence and anti-LGBTQ legislation are growing, that the Times committed significant resources to spin a negative story about GLAAD by reporter Emily Steel, who last year signed a letter that criticized concerns from GLAAD and other LGBTQ leaders about coverage of transgender people in The New York Times,” GLAAD’s Rich Ferraro tells THR. “The tabloid-esque article excludes much of our critical advocacy work and grossly mischaracterizes the organization, which consistently garners top marks from charity rating organizations. The Times should spend more time and resources bringing its coverage of transgender people up to par.”
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