She flagged a grant she believed skipped vetting. Days later, her "credibility" was in question
A former American Red Cross executive director claims she was forced out of her job after raising concerns about how a city grant was accepted, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
Elise Levine, who joined the American National Red Cross in July 2021 and rose to executive director of the Northern Valleys Chapter, took her case to the US District Court for the Central District of California on April 23, 2026. Her suit, Levine v. American National Red Cross Blood Services, et al., No. 8:26-cv-00969, accuses the nonprofit of retaliating against her under California's whistleblower law after she flagged what she believed to be a breakdown in the organization's internal controls.
The filing traces the trouble back to early August 2024. Levine says she discovered that a monetary grant from the City of Inglewood to a local chapter had been accepted without going through the Red Cross's required vetting process, which normally includes a review by the organization's Center for Excellence. She suspected, according to the complaint, that the chief executive had signed off on the money directly.
Levine says she did what employees are trained to do. She raised her concerns with the government relations director, who in turn directed her to the Corporate Ombuds. The Ombuds, the filing states, told her to investigate further. She interviewed colleagues, including another executive director, who she says then complained about her inquiry to the chief executive.
Within days, Levine alleges, the atmosphere changed. A performance review landed on her desk questioning her "credibility," a word she says had never come up in nearly four years on the job. She claims her supervisor warned her that colleagues were starting to see her as resembling a former employee who had filed a whistleblower suit against the organization, a comparison Levine took as a warning shot.
From there, the complaint describes a steady narrowing of her role: exclusion from projects, the loss of government liaison and lobbying duties, an early recall from hurricane relief work, and removal from a Washington advocacy trip. In January 2025, she received a formal write-up for alleged insubordination tied to her handling of legislator meetings during the Los Angeles wildfires, even though, she says, she was following her supervisor's own instructions.
The HR piece is where the story sharpens. In February 2025, Levine says, she sat down with a human resources representative to lodge a formal retaliation complaint. The only remedy offered, she claims, was a transfer to another region, which she says would have stranded her donor relationships and government network. On March 4, 2025, she resigned, alleging constructive discharge. The same day, she says, HR declined to attend her mid-year review, which lasted eight minutes. Two days later, her last day was moved up, cutting her notice period short.
Levine is seeking general, special, and punitive damages, and has asked for a jury trial. The allegations have not been tested in court, the Red Cross has not yet filed a response, and no judge has ruled on the claims.
