JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Action News Jax\u2019s Ben Becker is uncovering a potential conflict of interest involving Kids Hope Alliance CEO Dr. Saralyn Grass, who is responsible for managing tens of millions in taxpayer dollars meant to support children and families.<\/p>\n
Grass is under scrutiny after Becker learned that she and her husband quietly launched a private consulting company earlier this year.<\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <\/b><\/a><\/p>\n In May, Grass co-founded Verdant Synergies<\/b><\/a>, a firm that, according to its website, helps nonprofits, small businesses, and educational organizations with services like fundraising strategy, nonprofit management, and grant writing, including the very types of services organizations may use when applying for funding from city agencies like KHA.<\/p>\n No paperwork, no notice<\/b><\/p>\n City policy requires all employees, especially those in leadership positions, to file secondary employment disclosure forms when they take on outside work. <\/p>\n But according to a city spokesperson, Grass filed her disclosure Tuesday afternoon, which came after Becker made a public records request on Monday. <\/p>\n Becker has also learned through sources that the KHA board had not been previously informed of Grass\u2019s outside employment.<\/p>\n As CEO of KHA, Grass oversees funding for a range of children\u2019s services in Jacksonville from after-school programs and early learning initiatives to youth job training. The agency is a major player in shaping the city\u2019s future by supporting programs that directly impact vulnerable families.<\/p>\n But her dual role is raising ethical questions.<\/p>\n What is Verdant Synergies?<\/b><\/p>\n Verdant Synergies, co-founded by Grass and her husband Gabe Grass, Ed.S., promotes itself as a consultancy designed to help organizations \u201cgrow with clarity and purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n Its services include:<\/p>\n With its mission mirroring Grass\u2019s public work, the question isn\u2019t just whether a conflict has occurred, but whether one could occur in the future, especially if Verdant Synergies begins working with organizations that receive, or want to receive, KHA funding.<\/p>\n Grass responds to the board<\/b><\/p>\n In a disclosure to the City on Tuesday afternoon, Grass wrote, \u201cI currently perform expert witness services on a limited basis outside of my role with Kids Hope Alliance, which has been disclosed and approved by the City since 2023 in accordance with policy.\u201d<\/p>\n She continues, \u201cMy husband and I have now created an LLC, called Verdant Synergies, where I continue to do this work. Therefore, this is a continuation of my previously approved employment disclosure work. We have a website, which outlines my role as an expert witness consultant and my husband\u2019s role, as he does other services such as grant writing, etc. We formed an LLC rather than me continuing to be a sole proprietor for tax purposes and because he is now doing some consulting in other areas as well.\u201d<\/p>\n It should be noted in the Sunbiz business registration with the State of Florida that was filed in May, Grass is listed as the President and Registered Agent of the company. <\/p>\n Reaction from the top<\/b><\/p>\n Becker reached out to the City of Jacksonville for comment — the city is KHA\u2019s primary funder at nearly $60 million dollars — and a spokesperson said: <\/p>\n \u201cIt is city policy to disclose secondary employment through a review and approval form, which Dr. Grass submitted today. It will go through a review process with Employee Services from here.\u201d<\/p>\n This includes being sent to the ethics office for review.<\/p>\n KHA Board Chair Marsha Oliver declined comment. <\/p>\n Becker obtained an email that was sent from Grass to Oliver on the Friday that laid out what appears to be a developing professional rift.<\/p>\n It led to Oliver grilling Grass during Monday\u2019s board meeting on topics that included:<\/p>\n A pattern of scrutiny<\/b><\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time the Kids Hope Alliance has come under fire.<\/p>\n Back in 2020<\/b><\/a>, an Inspector General report revealed a sex scandal, alleged mismanagement, and lack of oversight at Kids Hope Alliance under then-CEO Joe Peppers, who was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a woman who later filed a sexual harassment complaint. <\/p>\n In 2018, Peppers also claimed in emails that he was pressured by former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry\u2019s administration to allocate $350,000 in grant money to select organizations.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next?<\/b><\/p>\n The KHA board is scheduled to hold its next meeting on October 22.<\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n [SIGN UP: <\/b>Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a>] <\/b><\/p>\n Click here<\/b><\/a> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and <\/b>click here<\/b><\/a> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/b><\/p>\n Action News Jax Top Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Action News Jax\u2019s Ben Becker is uncovering a potential conflict of interest involving Kids Hope…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":285305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[7320,5229,7323,3188,723,7324,7310,7327,146972,146973,146976,7325,146974,7326,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,146975,7322,7321],"class_list":{"0":"post-285304","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-action-news-jax","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-cbs47","11":"tag-fl","12":"tag-florida","13":"tag-fox30","14":"tag-jacksonville","15":"tag-jacksonville-fl","16":"tag-kids-hope-alliance","17":"tag-kids-hope-alliance-jacksonville-fl","18":"tag-marsha-oliver","19":"tag-northeast-florida","20":"tag-saralyn-grass","21":"tag-southeast-georgia","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-usa","28":"tag-verdant-synergies","29":"tag-wfox","30":"tag-wjax"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115336056939681036","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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