Employees of the West North Avenue Development Authority have dire concerns about the agency’s leadership and treatment of employees, alleging that Executive Director Chad Williams helms the agency like a “dictator,” according to the findings of an investigation obtained by Baltimore Beat.
The 25-page “organizational assessment” — based on an investigation launched after the Beat in April revealed former employees’ allegations of misconduct against Williams dating back to 2023, including stalking and harassment — goes to great lengths to balance praise for WNADA under Williams’s leadership with numerous concerns outlined by employees of threats to their “psychological safety.”
“While some employees report positive peer relationships and a shared sense of mission, others describe the atmosphere as tense and unpredictable, often citing fear of involuntary termination,” a line in the second paragraph of the report reads.
The report highlights satisfied employees and comments about the importance of the agency’s work, but makes sudden shifts to observations such as “significant concerns exist regarding psychological safety, morale, and workplace consistency.”
“While there are pockets of effective collaboration and positive working relationships, these are undermined by concerns about micromanagement, favoritism, opaque decision-making, and lapses in professional conduct,” the report states.
Employees detailed issues with “siloed operations” that hindered collaboration; a perceived lack of human resources and use of informal hiring processes; discretionary spending that seemed to clash with the mission of the organization; limited trust in leadership and low morale leading to retention issues; and unprofessional behavior such as inappropriate jokes about race and age and “public admonishments.”
The report also notes that since the Beat’s investigation was published in April, leadership had failed to directly acknowledge the matter with employees, which “intensified concerns about transparency and accountability, and further strained staff confidence.”
The investigation was conducted by Daniel Leonard, former director of Equal Employment Opportunity and Fair Practices at the Maryland Department of Commerce, according to a source who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation.
Leonard has not responded to requests for comment.
The report adds that two employees are actively seeking employment elsewhere, with the remaining employees offering mixed feedback about the work environment.
Some said working at WNADA is so hostile that they had to walk on eggshells, with Williams having a history of making numerous remarks about race, gender, and age that disturbed some employees. Some also questioned the transparency and fairness of the agency’s grant-awarding process under his leadership.
“Some employees view Williams as authoritarian, with one describing him as having ‘dictator’ tendencies and a resistance to employee questions about their roles,” the investigation states.
“Another noted that his confidence can ‘come across as arrogant,’ citing a statement attributed to Williams in which he claimed he was selected for the role because ‘Baltimore couldn’t find anyone with his skills.’ These mixed perceptions suggest a leadership style that some interpret as confident and effective, while others see it as overly controlling and dismissive.”
“Another noted that his confidence can ‘come across as arrogant,’ citing a statement attributed to Williams in which he claimed he was selected for the role because ‘Baltimore couldn’t find anyone with his skills.’”
Several people interviewed for the report characterized emails sent by Williams as “borderline hostile” and “demanding,” not just to people within the organization but to external partners. Employees also said Williams would email and call late at night, “contributing to ambiguity around work-life boundaries.”
Williams’ interpersonal behavior came up many times in the report. Several people viewed him as targeting employees, singling out one employee in particular to publicly admonish them and tell them to look for another job.
Williams, in his interview for the report, criticized this employee’s performance despite their work being described as satisfactory in their most recent performance evaluation. This employee and four others told the investigator that they believed the employee was being targeted by Williams.
Several employees also noted a lack of a formal hiring process, with one new employee appearing to have been hired by Williams based on a review of the candidate’s LinkedIn profile and a conversation. The agency apparently does not list its openings on the state’s employment website, which employees viewed as “an intentional effort to limit the pool of State employee applications, raising potential equity and compliance issues.”
A number of employees also told the investigator that they didn’t have faith in the agency being able to resolve problems internally, with one employee saying “I would just leave before reporting a problem.”
Employees were also concerned about the way Williams spent the agency’s money and the lack of oversight of his spending.
The employees pointed out the frequent use of consultants who they viewed as not necessary for the organization’s mission, like one interior designer who was hired for office enhancements. They were also concerned about the amount of money the agency spent on retreat venues and the agency’s reluctance to use “cost-effective state-mandated resources … which are typically used by state agencies to control expenditures.”
Notably, the agency hired a private security firm for the “personal protection of Mr. Williams, a decision seen by some as disproportionate and not aligned with broader organizational needs.”
Notably, the agency hired a private security firm for the “personal protection of Mr. Williams, a decision seen by some as disproportionate and not aligned with broader organizational needs.”
Williams’s leadership was viewed as inconsistent, “ranging from supportive to dismissive or even humiliating, particularly in public settings.”
“One staff member described interacting with ‘different versions’ of Williams depending on the day,” the report reads.
He is viewed as “highly controlling” and as someone who played favorites.
“Multiple employees observed differential treatment, with certain staff receiving preferential treatment in assignments and approvals. For example, the same suggestion made by two individuals may receive different responses based on who presents it.”
He once told an employee that one of their colleagues disliked them, which the employee perceived as manipulative and divisive.
Williams, who is described in the report as emphasizing his connections with board members and legislators, is viewed as having “unchecked power,” with employees feeling like they have no access to higher leadership and that Williams has no oversight.
On numerous occasions, the investigation attributes the growth of several problems to revelations in the Beat’s reporting, which was described by several employees as “the elephant in the room” due to its lack of direct internal acknowledgment.
In addition to the complaints about workplace misconduct, the Beat’s investigation unearthed that Williams had been hired despite previously being the subject of a federal investigation over his handling of sexual harassment complaints at a Nevada housing authority, accused of sexual harassment at Nevada and D.C. workplaces, and was responsible for the Nevada agency paying a $110,000 settlement after Williams was accused of age discrimination against a former employee.
Some WNADA employees reported Williams’ inappropriate comments about younger employees being better suited for technological tasks, which one employee described as “stupid” in light of the previous age discrimination settlement.
The Beat’s story also reported that Williams was convicted of domestic violence charges while actively leading WNADA.
The report reduces Williams’ history of sexual misconduct to “difficulties.”
The Beat’s story also reported that Williams was convicted of domestic violence charges while actively leading WNADA.
The report reduces Williams’ history of sexual misconduct to “difficulties.”
“There is a clear call for more transparent internal communication, leadership accountability, and a strategic approach to reputational recovery. Addressing these concerns is essential to restoring organizational focus and trust,” the report reads.
The report does not call for Williams’ firing, which multiple former employees have demanded.
The existence of the investigation was confirmed by State Delegate Marlon Amprey, a non-voting member of the agency’s 20-person board, in late June. He declined to provide its findings, though he said it may be released to the public after discussion among board members.
“I was taken aback by some of the allegations that were brought forward,” Amprey said at the time. “I take these allegations very seriously.”
Amprey emphasized that the investigation was not a criminal or civil case against Williams but rather a deep dive into workplace culture in general. Despite this, much of the report focused on Williams’ behavior.
Gov. Wes Moore’s office and Amprey declined to comment on the contents of the investigation when reached on Aug. 4. Glenn Isaac Smith, a local minister and board member, also declined to comment.
None of the remaining board members, including Mayor Brandon Scott, responded to requests for comment about the investigation for this article by the time of publication. They have refused to publicly acknowledge the issue since the Beat first broke the story in April.
In response to the investigation’s findings, the report recommends changes such as executive leadership coaching, retaining a dedicated equal employment opportunity officer, and “conduct mandatory training on professional behavior, anti-discrimination, and inclusive workplace practices, and Sexual Harassment Prevention.”
While it’s unclear when the report was completed, the concerns it highlights date back years.
WNADA is a state agency created in 2021 by bills sponsored by Amprey and Sen. Antonio Hayes, both West Baltimore Democrats, to revitalize the West North Avenue corridor, which has seen decades of disinvestment.
Williams became the authority’s founding executive director in 2022, tasked with building the agency from the ground up, creating a redevelopment plan for West North Avenue, and overseeing millions of dollars in funding.
Williams’ alleged misconduct came to light after multiple women spoke to the Beat about how he reportedly harassed, stalked, and retaliated against employees since at least 2023.
Those employees accused Williams of targeting and humiliating women on the job, allegedly stalking one woman, and manipulating the grant process to favor certain entities.
Former WNADA employee Keyonna Penick, who joined the agency in 2023 and was fired in March after almost 18 years working for the state because of alleged performance issues, was the first former employee to publicly call for Williams’ firing in an April 7 email sent to board members, current employees, and news outlets, recounting experiences she had and witnessed during her tenure at WNADA.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge my own silence in the past. There were times when I saw the writing on the wall but convinced myself it wasn’t my fight. I needed my job. I justified my inaction, just as many of us do when survival takes precedence over principle. I won’t make that mistake again,” Penick wrote in the email.
Penick and three other former WNADA employees, all of whom are Black women with decades of experience in housing, government and related jobs, told the Beat that Williams frequently engaged in inappropriate conduct on the job. One woman filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and another woman is pursuing legal action.
Even before the Beat’s investigation published on April 25, Williams had communicated with board members about a meeting to acquire “legal advice” about two former employees, according to emails obtained by the Beat through a Public Information Act request.
In the April 10 email, Williams refers to Anthony Jenkins, a WNADA board member and president of Coppin State University.
“Dr. Jenkins requests a quorum call to hold a meeting on Tuesday, April 14 to receive a debrief from our agency’s assigned DBM Sr. HR Analyst, Maryland Assistant Attorney General/General Counsel, and Executive Director to discuss “personnel matters” 3-305(b)(1) and to receive “legal advice” 3-305(b)(7) regarding two former employees,” Williams wrote in an April 10 email.
Before joining WNADA, Williams was accused of sexual harassment “while serving as a board member for The Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington in Washington, D.C.,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The accusation cost him his seat, but Williams has said that an investigation launched by the nonprofit coalition eventually discredited the claims,” the outlet reported.
Six years later in Las Vegas, sexual harassment and age discrimination complaints against Williams — then executive director of the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority — led to more than $125,000 in settlements with two women, the Review-Journal reported.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also investigated the authority’s handling of sexual misconduct complaints against Theodore Tulle, the chief operating officer, under Williams’ tenure, the outlet reported. In February 2021, six months before the Review-Journal reported the news of the federal investigation, Williams was placed on administrative leave until his contract expired that June.
More recently, court records show Williams was charged with misdemeanor and felony battery charges in Las Vegas after being arrested on New Year’s Day 2023 for “punching a sleeping woman, throwing her to the ground and kicking her in the ribs and face,” the Review-Journal reported. A 911 caller nearby reported hearing a woman crying and yelling “stop” inside the house, according to the article. The woman was bruised and had dried blood on her face when police arrived. The woman told police Williams stopped her from calling 911.
Court records show he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge in March of this year, after initially pleading not guilty to all the charges. The other charges were later dropped.
WNADA’s next board meeting is at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at Coppin State University.