A San Francisco department head who was recently put on paid leave over questions about her agency’s spending alleged in a new lawsuit that she was pushed out after raising concerns about sexual misconduct at a foster care program.
Kimberly Ellis, a former rising star in the state Democratic Party, was suspended March 20 as director of the Department on the Status of Women. In her suit, filed Monday in San Francisco Superior Court, she claims that her colleague Joe Macaluso oversaw “alarming” misconduct at a foster care program he managed, and she faced retaliation for reporting the incidents.
“Kimberly Ellis is a nationally respected public servant who was targeted for doing the right thing — reporting misconduct, standing up for vulnerable communities, and refusing to abandon her values,” her attorney, Ron Arena, said a statement to The Standard. “We believe the City’s actions were unlawful and deeply harmful, and we look forward to pursuing justice through the legal process. Out of respect for that process, we will not be commenting further at this time.”
The city and county of San Francisco and Macaluso, a longtime deputy of Ellis who served as campaign spokesperson during her 2017 bid for the state’s Democratic Party chair, are named as defendants. In addition to claims of retaliation, Ellis’ lawsuit alleges that Macaluso misused contract authority and attempted to steer department jobs toward friends.
According to Ellis, a 15-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in the city-run, state-funded foster care program when unpermitted male guests were allowed in. Other incidents involved substance abuse, she said. Ellis claims in the lawsuit that Macaluso, was put on paid leave in November, even though she advocated for his termination.
Ellis said she warned the city of Macaluso’s actions, including sending an attorney a recording of a November meeting in which concerns about the foster care program were discussed among stakeholders. Two days after Macaluso’s suspension, Ellis said, she learned of an ethics probe against her, which she claims originated from a whistleblower complaint filed by Macaluso.
Jen Kwart, a spokesperson for the city attorney, said in a statement, “It is deeply disappointing that Ms. Ellis would blatantly lie in court documents to distract from the investigation into her misconduct. The city attorney has thoroughly investigated the allegations in her complaint, and they are baseless.”
The city attorney’s office said the alleged sexual assault has been reported to the state.
“But Ms. Ellis learned of the alleged sexual assault on Nov. 12, 2024, and never reported it to state authorities, nor did she ensure that her staff or the service providers funded by her department reported it,” wrote Kwart. “An employee of the Department on the Status of Women reported the incident to the state funding agency on Feb. 10, 2025, after being contacted as part of the city attorney’s office’s investigation.”
Ellis is under investigation for unreported political work and unusual spending related to a department conference in 2024. On Tuesday, the Standard reported $30,000 in an apparent overpayment to the conference organizer, Shift Happens, which has previous financial links to Ellis.
The one-day conference cost more than $600,000 and featured massage therapists and a fashion show. Department staff, including Macaluso, stayed multiple nights at a hotel, according to invoices obtained by The Standard. One individual on the department’s oversight commission received a $1,000 speaking honorarium.
Ellis’ lawsuit calls the allegations of improper spending and unreported income “utterly baseless.”
Ellis and Macaluso did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The lawsuit says Ellis was told to resign Jan. 7 and, if she did so, the ethics allegations would be “buried.” The suit claims she was told that if she didn’t resign, the allegations would be made public. In a Jan. 16 meeting, Ellis said, she was asked by Carol Isen, the city’s human resources director, and Staci Slaughter, chief of staff to Mayor Daniel Lurie, to step down, but she refused.
Ellis says a doctor placed her on medical leave March 19, the day before she was suspended.
In an apparently unrelated incident, Ellis said she was told to destroy records within her department related to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives after the November 2024 election. Since then, President Donald Trump has targeted the concept of DEI, and dozens of corporations have rolled back programming.
“The City Attorneys’ office characterized this purge as ‘good digital hygiene,’” the suit states.
Former Mayor London Breed appointed Ellis in 2020 to lead the eight-person Department on the Status of Women. Since then, the department has seen significant turnover, with 24 employees leaving.
Former employees interviewed by The Standard said Ellis created a workplace culture of “surveillance, fear, and bullying” and tried to suppress concerns about department spending.
Ellis has recently faced questions about blending city contracts and personal relationships. The Standard discovered $85,000 in city contracts to her “dear friend” Christina Harbridge, a behavior coach. The city has no record of Ellis disclosing this relationship.
Ellis also initially failed to disclose that she earned income from a political nonprofit in 2023, a violation of city rules. An amended economic disclosure form filed in December 2024 shows that Ellis’ consulting firm received $19,350 in payments from the progressive political group PowerPAC, whose nonprofit affiliate received funding from her department.