District of Columbia
Casa Ruby receiver files complaint against Ruby Corado, former board members
Wanda Alston Foundation seeks restitution, ‘punitive damages’
The Wanda Alston Foundation, which assumed control over the operations of the LGBTQ community services group Casa Ruby in August under a court appointed receivership role, filed its own civil complaint on Dec. 23 in D.C. Superior Court against former Casa Ruby Executive Director Ruby Corado and eight former members of the Casa Ruby board of directors. Ā Ā
News of the Wanda Alston Foundation complaint surfaced at a Jan. 6 D.C. Superior Court status hearing for the pending civil complaint against Casa Ruby and Corado filed by the Office of the D.C. Attorney General this past July and as amended by the office with additional allegations in November.
The attorney generalās complaint, among other things, alleges that Casa Ruby, under Coradoās leadership, violated the cityās Nonprofit Corporations Act in connection with its financial dealings. The amended complaint charges that Corado withdrew more than $400,000 of Casa Ruby funds for unauthorized use in El Salvador.
For unexplained reasons, the Superior Courtās online court records, including the court docket, did not show that the Wanda Alston Foundation had filed its separate complaint against Corado and the board members as of Friday, the day of the court status hearing.
The court docket as of Jan. 6 also did not show that the Wanda Alston Foundation on Dec. 16 filed its Receiverās Third Interim Report, which is highly critical of Corado and the Casa Ruby board. The Washington Blade obtained copies of the interim report and the Wanda Alston Foundation complaint from the courtās media and public affairs director.
The Wanda Alston Foundation complaint identifies each of the eight former board members as defendants and ārespectfully request[s] restitution, compensatory damages, punitive damages, receivership fees and expenses, court costs, attorneysā fees and expenses, and any other relief the court deems necessary and proper.ā
The board of directors āfailed to hold regular meetings and/or maintain official records ā thereby exercising no oversight or governance over the organization,ā the complaint states.
āEver Alfaro, Carlos Gonzales, Consuella Lopez, Jackie Martinez, Hassan Naveed, Jack Quintana-Harrison (sic), Miguel Rivera and Meredith Zotlick were directors of Casa Ruby, Inc.,ā the complaint says. āBy neglecting their duty to provide any oversight and governance, they engaged in a persistent course of conduct that caused tortious injury to the organization,ā the complaint states.
Harrison-Quintana on Saturday declined to comment to the Blade. Lopez and Naveed did not return requests for comment.
In its allegations against Corado, which it says are based on its own investigation since assuming the role as Casa Ruby receiver, the Wanda Alston Foundation complaint uses stronger language than that used in the D.C. attorney generalās complaint.
āMs. Corado drained the organizationās accounts and unjustly enriched herself through multiple cash withdrawals, checks and money orders, wire transactions, online payment services and electronic funds transfers to herself and to other companies that she set up ā embezzling over $800,000 from the organization,ā the complaint states.
Superior Court Judge Danya A. Dayson, who is presiding over the Casa Ruby case, pointed out at the Jan. 6 court hearing that the Wanda Alston Foundation submitted a required court filing called a Motion for Leave asking for permission to file its own complaint against Corado, the Casa Ruby board members and the three individual companies that Corado created that are defendants in the attorney generalās complaint.
Dayson said the parties named in the Wanda Alston Foundation complaints have a right to file an objection to the Motion for Leave, and she set a deadline of Friday, Jan. 13, for filing such an objection. The judge then said if she approves the Motion for Leave by the Wanda Alston Foundation, the deadline for the parties, including Corado and the board members, toĀ file a response to the Wanda Alston Foundationās complaint against them will be March 6.
Dayson said the parties named in the attorney generalās complaint, which include Corado and companies she created, must also file their response to that complaint by March 6.
Corado has denied engaging in any improper financial actions and has insisted the Casa Ruby board approved her actions, including her decision to open a Casa Ruby operation in El Salvador.
In an interview last month in El Salvador, where she now lives, Corado told the Blade the allegations that D.C. officials have made against her amount to āpersecution.ā
At the Jan. 6 status hearing, which was held virtually through the courtās online Webex system, Corado reiterated what she has said in previous court hearings ā that the D.C. government was responsible for Casa Rubyās closing in July 2022 by withholding hundreds of thousands of dollars that Corado says the city owes Casa Ruby for services it provided under city grants.Ā
City officials have disputed those claims, saying the funds were withheld or discontinued because Casa Ruby did not provide the required documentation or reports showing that it performed the work associated with city grants.
Similar to an earlier court hearing in September, Corado at the Jan. 6 hearing told Dayson that she had yet to retain an attorney to represent her. Dayson told Corado that because she is named as a defendant in the attorney generalās complaint and in the complaint filed by the Wanda Alston Foundation, which is listed as a ācross complaint,ā Corado or an attorney representing her must file a response to the complaints.
The judge also pointed out that Corado is listed as the registered agent for three limited liability companies that Corado created to reportedly help Casa Ruby provide services to its clients, including a Casa Ruby pharmacy. Both the attorney generalās complaint and the Wanda Alston Foundation compliant name the three LLC companies as defendants. The judge said Corado would be responsible for arranging for the three LLCs to file a response to the two complaints against them.
In its 12-page Receiverās Third Interim Report filed in court on Dec. 16, the Wanda Alston Foundation said it conducted its own investigation into Casa Rubyās operations using, among other things, detailed financial records it obtained from Ayala, Vado and Associates, an accounting firm that provided accounting services for Casa Ruby for over five years from at least 2016 to 2020. The documents it obtained, the report says, include multiple Casa Ruby bank records and records of cash withdrawals by Corado.
āBased on our review of the accounting firmās records, Casa Ruby, Inc. did not collapse due to the loss of an $800,000 grant from the District of Columbia,ā the report says. āIn 2021, financial records show deposits from multiple revenue streams totaling $5,169,098 to M&T Tailored Business Checking Account,ā the Wanda Alston Foundation report says, noting that a significant stream of income came from private donors.
āThe organization failed because of multiple cash withdrawals and overseas transfers that Ms. Corado made to set herself up for a lavash retirement in El Salvador,ā the report states. āShe made no secret of her intentions ā openly broadcasting them on social media,ā it says. āWhen it was evident that there was no meaningful oversight by the board of directors, she finally dropped all pretenses and started openly looting the organization.ā
Nick Harrison, an attorney representing the Wanda Alston Foundation in its role as the Casa Ruby receiver, told the Blade the Wanda Alston Foundation decided to file its own complaint as an extension of its mission of serving the needs of the LGBTQ community.
āIn our capacity as receiver, the Wanda Alston Foundation has taken legal action in the form of a cross-party complaint and a third-party complaint to attempt to recover some of the financial losses of Casa Ruby,ā Harrison said. He said the Wanda Alston Foundation complaint names Casa Ruby board members as defendants because the board āhad a legal and ethical responsibility to protect the organizationās finances, the vulnerable clients they served, and the community members they employed.ā
In her interview with the Blade from El Salvador in December, Corado said she believes she is being targeted because she always tells the truth and people are being distracted from the truth because of a system that benefits from ālies and defamation.ā
During the Jan. 6 court hearing, Corado said she has received threats against her life since the D.C. attorney general first filed its complaint against her and the Wanda Alston Foundation released derogatory statements against her in the receiverās reports.
āIt really puts my life in danger,ā she said.
Dayson scheduled the next court hearing for the Casa Ruby case on March 17.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker names new CEO for Health System unit
Heather Aaron credited with advancing LGBTQ health for seniors
Whitman-Walker Health, D.C.ās longtime LGBTQ and HIV health services provider, announced on March 26 that it has appointed Heather Aaron, a health care educator and executive for more than 30 years, as the new CEO for Whitman-Walker Health System.
Whitman-Walker Health System, a division of Whitman-Walker, among other things, advances the mission of Whitman-Walker through expanding its financial and fundraising capacity through the Whitman-Walker Foundation; the Whitman-Walker Institute, which conducts HIV-related research; and the Whitman-Walker Health System Real Property Holdings, according to a write-up on the Whitman-Walker website.
In a press release announcing the appointment, Whitman-Walker Health System Board Chair Ann Bonham called Aaron a ādynamic and collaborative leader that will help us to realize the vision and full potential of our health system ā¦ building revenue and growth opportunities that will further Whitman-Walkerās care, advocacy, education, and research goals in partnership with Naseema Shafi, CEO of Whitman-Walker Health.ā
The Whitman-Walker Health System CEO position became open in April 2023 when former Health System CEO Dr. Ryan Moran left the position to become Deputy Secretary of Health and Healthcare Finance for the State of Maryland. Whitman-Walker named Cindy Lewin, a healthcare specialist with nonprofit organizations, as interim CEO while it conducted a national search for a permanent CEO.
āHeather has spent her entire career in health care, making a difference for the communities where she has served as Health Care Executive and Educator for more than thirty years,ā the Whitman-Walker announcement of her appointment says. āShe has worked tirelessly to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion in all her work,ā it says, adding that her work experience includes services for members of the LGBTQ community and people with HIV/AIDS.
āIn Connecticut, she operated the only continuum of care model which included a nursing home, independent living apartments and case management in one centralized community,ā the announcement continues. āThe care model was specifically designed for people living with HIV and AIDS,ā it says.
āIām thrilled to be joining the Whitman-Walker family in service to the community,ā Aaron said in the announcement press release. āI look forward to getting to know staff, patients, and engaging with D.C. in a meaningful way,ā she said.
District of Columbia
Howard University, Gilead working to encourage HIV prevention
āA strategic, community-centered approach to address systemic disparitiesā
Howard University earlier this month hosted an event to support efforts in the Washington, D.C. area to spread HIV/AIDS awareness.
The event highlighted a collaboration between Howard University and Gilead Sciences’ new Setting the P.A.C.EĀ (Prevention ā Arts and Advocacy ā Community ā Education)Ā initiative, which addresses HIV prevention, health equity and anti-stigma efforts for both cisgender and transgender Black women and girls.Ā
āBy taking a strategic, community-centered approach to address systemic disparities and improve overall health outcomes, Gilead continues its commitment to advancing health equity for Black cisgender and transgender women and girls in the U.S. who continue to be disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic,ā said Deborah H. Telman, executive vice president of Corporate Affairs and General Counsel, Gilead Sciences.
Gilead’s Setting the P.A.C.E. Initiative is a three-year, $10 million commitment to increase HIV prevention, anti-stigma and health equity efforts for Black cisgender and transgender women and girls in the United States. Howard is one of Setting the P.A.C.E.ās grantees and through the program, it conducts HIV prevention training and informational resources, arts and advocacy, community and nonprofit capacity building, and education.
In 2021, Black women accounted for 53% of new HIV diagnoses among women aged 16 and older in the United States, despite comprising only 14% of the women living in the country, according to the Centers for Diseases Control & Prevention. Additionally, Black transgender women are likelier to be diagnosed with HIV and are likelier, more than their peers, to go undiagnosed and untreated.
Through Setting the P.A.C.E., high-impact organizations and projects working to improve the HIV landscape receive specialized help that assists them in tackling barriers to equitable HIV health outcomes, and in receiving funding to support a variety of impactful projects to expand programs that provide culturally responsive HIV care training and leverage arts and media to engage local communities and address stigma.
Because of the urgency of HIV awareness in the Black queer community, more than 75% of the organizations selected for P.A.C.E grants are led by Black women. Funding is directed toward initiatives spearheaded by Black women.
āGileadās Setting the P.A.C.E. initiative will help empower organizations to expand custom programs tailored toward fighting stigma and expanding access to HIV care in their communities,ā said Telman.
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member proposes LGBTQ senior housing in Ward 2
Calls on mayor to include funding for project in FY 2025 budget
D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) is calling on Mayor Muriel Bowser to include $22.9 million in the cityās Fiscal Year 2025 budget to establish what Pinto calls the cityās āfirst affordable housing for LGBTQQIA+ seniors in Ward 2.ā
In a Feb. 27 letter to Bowser proposing specific amounts of city funding on a wide range of issues, including the Councilās recently passed crime bill, Pinto told Bowser the need for affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors is pressing.
āHaving faced decades of workplace and healthcare discrimination and been barred for most of their lives from marrying or having children, our LGBTQQIA+ seniors are more likely to face financial and health challenges and need housing and social supports as they age,ā Pinto states in her letter.
āAs the Council-funded task force meets to identify a site for a Ward 2 Senior Center, we should endeavor to locate a building that serves a dual purpose: a Ward 2 Senior Center as well as LGBTQQIA+ senior housing,ā Pinto states. DHCD [D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development] should leverage federal Community Development Block Grants funding to produce at least 80 affordable units for low-and-moderate-income seniors and provide meals and other supportive services,ā she wrote.
Pinto was referring to legislation passed by the D.C. Council and signed by the mayor creating a Wards 2 and 3 Senior Wellness Center Feasibility and Planning Task Force, which is assigned to āadvise and guideā the mayor, the Council, and other city government agencies in the development of senior wellness centers in Wards 2 and 3.
The task force, whose members are appointed by the mayor and the Council, has already met twice and has discussed one possible building in the Dupont Circle area that could be considered for a seniors wellness center and residence for seniors, according to John Fanning, a member of the staff of D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-Large). Bonds serves as chair of the Councilās Committee on Executive Administration and Labor, which oversees city programs pertaining to senior citizens.
Fanning, who is gay and a longtime D.C. LGBTQ rights advocate, and gay D.C. civic activist and former Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Mike Silverstein, are among those who have been appointed to the senior wellness center task force.
Silverstein said LGBTQ community members in the Dupont Circle area are suggesting the task force and the mayor consider arranging for the city to purchase a building owned by Baltimoreās Johns Hopkins University at 1740 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., for the senior facility.
The university used the building for many years for its various educational programs before it moved its programs and offices into a newly renovated building on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., near the U.S. Capitol.
āSince the mayorās budget hasnāt been released yet, thereās no telling whether thereās dedicated funding included for the purchase of this property,ā Fanning told the Washington Blade.
A spokesperson for Johns Hopkins Universityās D.C. office couldnāt immediately be reached to determine the price the university is asking for the building, which it announced last year it was planning to sell. The D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue states on its website that the 8-story building has been assessed for 2024 at a value of $35,894,220.
āCouncil member Pintoās request to the mayor is a vitally important first step toward establishment of LGBT+ affirmative housing in the historic epicenter of our community,ā Silverstein told the Blade. āThe need is clear, as so many of our seniors are struggling to age in place with soaring rents and inflation eating away at savings or just dealing with the effects of social isolation that comes with the loss of a partner or close friends,ā Silverstein said.
āThereās no question the Districtās budget is very tight and this project as envisioned would be a very heavy lift,ā Silverstein added. āBut just putting this request on the table and perhaps setting up a task force to seek a way forward is a giant step forward,ā he said.
Silverstein noted that a city-funded senior housing facility under existing law would have to be open to all city seniors, not just LGBTQ seniors, but he said it would be āLGBT+ affirmative,ā making it an important and welcoming place for LGBTQ seniors.
News surfaced this week that Bowser, who had planned to release her budget proposal to the Council this week, needed more time to finalize the budget and it would be released sometime later.
Mayoral spokesperson Daniel Gleick told the Blade last week that ideas like the Pinto LGBTQ-supportive housing proposal would be part of the budget process discussions by the mayor and the Council in the coming weeks.
Pintoās proposal for an LGBTQ-supportive senior housing facility in Ward 2 comes six months after Mayor Bowser and other city officials participated in a groundbreaking ceremony launching the construction of Maryās House for Older Adults, which is expected to be the cityās first home for LGBTQ seniors. The Maryās House facility, which is located in the cityās Fort Dupont neighborhood in Ward 7, will include 15 single-occupancy residential apartments, compared to the 80 apartments that Pintoās proposal calls for.
LGBTQ rights advocates nevertheless have called the Maryās House Project, which is receiving city funds as well as support from private donors, an important project organized and founded by longtime LGBTQ community advocate Imani Woody, who is expected to operate the facility when it opens.
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