Kimberly Ellis, head of San Francisco’s Department on the Status of Women, was placed on administrative leave Thursday morning pending a city probe into the department’s activities.
Sources said Ellis has been under review by the city attorney’s office since before Mayor Daniel Lurie was inaugurated in January, and her leave is related to a conference her department hosted, called “Shift Happens,” and other issues. Late last year, Ellis filed an amended economic disclosure statement that showed she made between $20,000 and $200,000 in previously unreported outside income.
Ellis has been in charge of the department for more than four years. The department was created in 1994 and is tasked as the “watch dog” monitoring inequalities that affect women and girls in the city.
“We are engaged in an ongoing investigation into this matter,” said Jen Kwart, a spokesperson for the city attorney. “We are working with the mayor and city administrator to support our employees and ensure they can continue the important work of the commission and the department.”
Ellis was appointed to lead the Department on the Status of Women in 2020 under former Mayor London Breed. Her background is mainly in progressive politics: She was executive director at Emerge California, which trains and promotes women candidates for political office and counts Breed, Rep. Lateefah Simon, Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, and other officials among its alumnae. She is a longtime Democratic Party activist who launched two failed bids for state party chair.
Ellis’ department worked with an organization called IGNITE National on the Shift Happens conference, described as a women’s policy summit, which was held in April 2024 at Moscone Center. The one-day summit featured a fashion show, sessions on abortion rights and political organizing, and guest speakers such as First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. The department paid IGNITE, a political organization focused on empowering women, roughly $700,000 to organize the conference, according to records provided to The Standard.
Expenses included a $90,000 catering tab, $120,000 for video production, $25,000 for exhibitions and educational materials, and $70,000 for administrative expenses. Asked to provide details on spending, a spokesperson for the department claimed it “never requested nor received from IGNITE any additional (vendor) attachments or invoices,” which appeared to violate terms of the contract, according to records reviewed by The Standard.
The department hosted a prior version of the Shift Happens conference in 2023, contracting with the African American Arts and Culture Complex to organize the event.
In a written statement, Ellis said she intends to “prove that the allegations against me are baseless.” She alleged that she is being retaliated against for reporting misconduct at a foster care program.
“My leadership has been defined by a steadfast commitment to justice, fairness, equality, transparency, and accountability, including during my tenure at the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women,” Ellis said.
A former staffer at Ellis’ department described a culture in which the violence prevention services the agency traditionally engaged in were cast aside in favor of more overtly political activities, similar to the work she undertook at Emerge.
“I’m surprised it’s happening now and didn’t happen sooner,” the source said of Ellis being placed on leave.
The staffer added that Ellis also talked openly about taking a cut of funds that had already been allocated by the department’s budget and giving this money to groups of her own choosing. The department has a budget of approximately $12 million in the current fiscal year, roughly $10 million is allocated for grants to outside organizations.
Ellis amended her economic disclosure statement for 2023 in December of last year — eight months after her initial filing — to note that she received between $10,000 and $100,000 in income from a group called Power PAC and Rhodesia Ransom’s state Senate campaign. City records show that between 2022 and 2024, Ellis’ department paid out $125,000 to Power PAC, which describes itself as a nonprofit advocacy and political organization that has worked to increase voter turnout and support progressive candidates of color. Ransom, an assemblymember from Tracy, paid $21,750 to Ellis’ consulting firm, Southern Belle Strategies.
The mayor’s office said City Administrator Carmen Chu will have custodial oversight of the Department on the Status of Women in Ellis’ absence. Linda Yeung, a human resources official, will take over day-to-day operations.
“Our administration has the highest expectations for city employees,” said Han Zou, spokesperson for Lurie. “This individual has been placed on leave pending investigation.”