An Urban Alchemy supervisor launched a campaign of sexual harassment against two female staffers at the San Francisco nonprofit, two recent lawsuits allege.
Urban Alchemy provides security services in the city’s troubled Tenderloin neighborhood. It is known for hiring people with criminal histories, contending that people who have spent time in jail or on the streets are well equipped to compassionately de-escalate potentially violent situations.
Tracey Webb, who supervised the two women during 2023 at multiple facilities, including homeless shelters in the city, is alleged to have ejaculated on plaintiff Carrie Myles, licked her and fondled her in multiple incidents, a lawsuit filed Friday claims.
Myles was convicted in 2017 of trafficking a 14-year-old Oakland girl to Las Vegas. Myles' lawsuit does not say when she left Urban Alchemy but says she no longer works there.
In a separate lawsuit filed in December 2023, plaintiff Lynette Broussard—a convicted bank robber—said Webb propositioned her for “intimate contact” and asked that she visit his office, where he had a cot. He asked if she was happy in her marriage to another woman, gave her unwanted hugs and repeatedly asked her out, the suit claims. After complaining to human resources about Webb’s conduct, she was moved to another facility and had her pay cut, she claims. She eventually resigned after taking medical leave.
Myles’ lawsuit claims Webb was moved to a worksite in Oregon after she complained about his behavior in January. Urban Alchemy has not confirmed Webb’s transfer. The nonprofit was selected to run Portland’s Safe Rest Village Program in May 2023.
Attempts to reach Webb directly were unsuccessful. Through a public relations firm, Urban Alchemy strongly denied the claims in Broussard’s lawsuit.
"The claims made in this lawsuit are baseless and cynical, and we are confident there is no truth to them. Anyone can say anything they want in a legal complaint, and there isn’t a large organization on earth that isn’t subject to its fair share of meritless claims by individuals with one motive or another,” Urban Alchemy’s chief of government and community affairs, Kirkpatrick Tyler, said via the PR firm.
“We just became aware of [Myles’] complaint, since it was filed mere hours ago, and so we can't comment on it at this time," Tyler said in a separate statement.
It is unclear whether the acts alleged by Myles, some of which, if substantiated, could be criminal, were reported to police. Both Myles and Broussard are represented by the same lawyer, Daniel Henderson. He declined to comment Sunday.
Both lawsuits seek unspecified damages for sexual harassment, discrimination and wrongful termination under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act.
‘This can just stay between us’
Myles’ suit claims the campaign of abuse began in September 2023 with unwanted long hugs. Webb allegedly told her, “You smell so good,” and said her breasts were “so soft I want to see them in person.”
“You know you can progress with me in this company very fast just with my references,” Webb allegedly told a disgusted Myles. “Don’t you want to make more money? I can help you out with housing. We are both grown. This can just stay between us.”
The suit claims Webb put his hands on Myles’ genitals during an office visit and made crude remarks. She told him to stop and said she had a boyfriend and that she knew Webb’s girlfriend. Webb asked her not to judge him, the suit claims.
Webb further badgered Myles by asking for her panties and asking her to spend “one day with me” in exchange for getting paid while she was not working, the suit adds.
December saw the alleged incidents escalate, Myles claims in the suit. In one incident, Webb pinned Myles against his office door, pulled her pants down and thrust his genitals between her legs before eventually ejaculating, she said.
At one point during the encounter, he penetrated her with his finger, the suit claims. As Myles tried to fight him off, he whispered to her, “Shh, they are going to hear you.” As Myles cried, she said, Webb told her to go clean up in a bathroom and added that he wanted her to come to his house that night. “That’s not gonna happen,” Myles said.
Days later, Myles told a supervisor after she had been summoned to meet Webb, “I am going to go to Tracey’s office. If I take too long, come looking for me; I don’t want to be in there too long.” The supervisor allegedly chuckled. “Oh, he is trying to push up on you?” she says he said. “He does this to all the [workers]. He is a big trick.”
In an alleged encounter in another office, Myles said Webb exposed himself and demanded she perform oral sex, begging her to lift up her shirt. He allegedly told her: “If you want me to help you out with your pay, I need you to do what I need.” He then grabbed and pulled her toward his genitals before ejaculating on her hand, the suit says.
Myles’ lawsuit claims Webb’s behavior was an open secret at Urban Alchemy and that after alerting another supervisor about Webb’s conduct, she was told Webb had harassed three other employees, which resulted in them being fired or relocated when they complained, adding that the supervisors “sweep things under the rug here.”