Redwood Empire Food Bank, ex-CEO, sued by former employee alleging sexual harassment

Redwood Empire Food Bank is being sued by a former senior executive who says ex-CEO David Goodman sexually harassed her during the five years she worked for him at the Santa Rosa nonprofit — and that he wrongfully fired her as a result.

According to the 33-page civil complaint filed Feb. 23 in Sonoma County Superior Court, the employee was the victim of sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, failure to act, retaliation and wrongful termination. It also accuses others within the organization of failing to prevent the “discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, from occurring.”

Read the official complaint here.

The plaintiff, Lisa Cannon, was hired as director of development in November 2018. In January 2019, the food bank’s director of finance and human resources, Paula Handelman, warned Cannon that Goodman became “easily enamored of people and it usually doesn’t last very long, and when he’s done, they will have a target on their back,” according to Cannon’s lawsuit.

Goodman would share with Cannon intimate details about his marriage, spend hours in her office for non-work-related purposes and make lewd comments to her, the complaint also states.

“In or around 2021,” according to the lawsuit, Goodman told Cannon he had obtained a concealed-carry weapon permit and that Cannon could not tell anyone.

“CEO Goodman brought the gun to work for about six months and showed it to Plaintiff about two times before November 2023,” the complaint alleges. “Goodman at some point told Plaintiff that he was looking for a new holster because it was chafing him ‘down there.’"

In June 2021, Handelman said that Goodman being around Cannon so much was “hurting the organization,” the complaint states, and that despite Handelman discussing Goodman’s behavior with him, he was unwilling to change.

The complaint also states that when Cannon told Goodman she would not be spending unusual amounts of time with him, Goodman told her to write a daily report about what she was working on — or hold daily meetings with him to keep him updated on her work.

Cannon’s lawsuit states that on Jan. 12 of this year, Goodman asked her to meet him in his office. He told her their relationship was “harmful to the organization” and that he had no other option but to fire her.

“I can say you resigned if that is better for you and your future,” Goodman said to Cannon, according to the complaint.

“I did not resign so please don’t say that,” she responded. The complaint states Goodman asked what it would take to keep the plaintiff quiet about her termination.

Reached by phone Monday evening, Goodman said he is “not in a position to comment” on the litigation.

In a statement emailed Monday morning to people close to Redwood Empire Food Bank, Board of Directors chair David Berry said the food bank became aware of “some deeply troubling allegations of inappropriate behavior involving Mr. Goodman which has resulted in a lawsuit.” Redwood Empire’s director of programs, Allison Goodwin, will serve as the organization’s interim president and CEO.

The email, obtained by The Press Democrat from multiple sources, also said Goodman resigned from the food bank last week before the board became aware of the lawsuit. Once the board received a copy of the filing, Goodman was placed on administrative leave and subsequently “released” rather than be allowed to resign.

“We are tackling this situation head on and committed to keeping you informed when we are able, given the legal process,” Berry said in his email. “The board will remain focused on ensuring the Redwood Empire Food Bank continues to provide critically important hunger relief to those in need.”

Cannon’s attorney, Candice Clipner, disputed that timeline. She emailed The Press Democrat that the food bank’s board was aware of Cannon’s lawsuit prior to last week.

Cannon’s complaint says she experienced pain and suffering, damage to her reputation and emotional distress as a result of Goodman’s actions. She is seeking unspecified damages.

In an apparent move to bolster Cannon’s case, her complaint details a separate allegation involving Goodman.

In a 2020 phone call with board members from the California Association of Food Banks, one member of that group said she was not comfortable around Goodman and asked that he be removed from the board, the complaint states.

After forming a special committee to investigate the claim, Goodman was removed from that board in spring 2021, according to the lawsuit.

You can reach Staff Writer Sara Edwards at 707-521-5487 or sara.edwards@pressdemocrat. com. On Twitter @sedwards380.