ANIMAL ADVOCATES: I NEED YOUR HELP! For quite awhile we have advocated for change at the Oahu SPCA. The shelter President Stephanie Ryan has refused to take the necessary steps to save the rescue, and to put the animals first. I am asking YOU, please share this staff meeting far and wide. The more people that know what is going on behind closed doors the more likely Stephanie Ryan will be held accountable for her responsibility in failing this shelter. THESE ANIMALS DESERVE BETTER! Please help us seek accountability from Stephanie Ryan, The Oahu SPCA Board of Directors, and those charged with overseeing and enforcing the rules, laws, and regulations governing Non- Profits and animal welfare here on Oahu. https://youtube/watch?v=nDqU0U_hj34 I invite you all to listen to the above recording. On May 7th, 2014 a staff meeting took place at the OSPCA that was recorded by staff members. All staff members (and President Stephanie Ryan) were aware the meeting was being recorded. During this staff meeting all of the employees brought their concerns and issues up to Mrs. Ryan. The staff members present at this meeting (and whose voices can be heard) are the Operations Manager, the Adoption Coordinator, the Volunteer Coordinator, the Vet Technician, the Vet, and three Kennel Technicians. Since this meeting, all of these employees (except for one) have either been fired, asked to resign, or simply quit. The recording is nearly an hour long, but I encourage you to listen to it. Stephanie Ryan tells lie after lie during this staff meeting and refuses to take responsibility for the condition the shelter is in. One example of her unethical behavior- she admits that she knows and allows an employee, Sarah Smith, to pay herself directly out of the OSPCA PayPal account (around 36 minute mark). People donate to this account believing it is for animal care, (in fact, they have a fundraiser right now that is using this very PayPal account) and are not told that an employee, who lives in the Netherlands, also uses it to withdraw her paycheck. Below are some notes and statements that stood out to me. Numbers at the front of each item indicate the approximate time in the file recording: 2.36 – Mrs. Ryan claims that Sarah Smith has more experience with the animal shelter than she does. When one of the Kennel techs asks about Sarah Smith’s qualifications, Stephanie claims Sarah Smith is a vet tech (false) and has been “trained in the military” (also false). 7.13 - Mrs. Ryan is made aware that Sarah Smith asked the Adoption Coordinator to lie and cover up about a Parvo outbreak at the shelter, which resulted in the death of a puppy. (At this time Stephanie was presented with Facebook chat logs between Sarah and the Adoptions Coordinator). After Stephanie was presented with this information she did not take any disciplinary action against Sarah Smith, instead, she had Sarah take over payroll operations for the OSPCA. 12.32 – Stephanie states that the shelter will be moving in 3-4 months. 14.20 – Stephanie is asked where the new shelter is located. She states that there are two potential locations and that the exact location is being finalized. A follow up question is asked about the location and if its whereabouts will be known next week, Stephanie replies “Yes.” (As of today the shelter still has no known move date or even location. Stephanie has told several employees different locations where the shelter will supposedly be moving. She has also said that land had been donated by a wealthy benefactor, but there is no evidence of this at all.) ***16.19 – Stephanie is asked about the generator, which is in violation of the lease with Aloha Petroleum. She states that an “electrical inspector” came by and inspected it and that the OSPCA “passed” and later she states it was a fire inspector. [A week from this statement, an OSHA inspector would visit the premises and cite this generator and flexible extension cords as a serious violation. These violations are noted in the OSHA citation 976933.]*** 18.13 – Stephanie is asked about the HIOSH complaint from 2013, which was not posted anywhere in the shelter and which no current employees had any knowledge of. Stephanie also states that she will post her reply to the HIOSH complaint the following day. [This never occurred, and the HIOSH complaint has since been removed by Stephanie, which is illegal.] 19.10 – Stephanie claims the HIOSH complaint was posted for employees to read, however the Operations manager refutes her claim and states that he (along with all of the current employees) where not made aware of it. 21.42 – Stephanie states that Dr. Masters will be the new shelter director and that he will start June 7. [This was untrue. Dr. Masters is not the shelter director and is not working for the OSPCA any longer. The OSPCA is still in need of a director.] 28.24 – One of the kennel techs states that multiple paychecks have been returned due to insufficient funds. [All of the other employees experienced this as well]. Stephanie claimed this was because she couldn’t get online and she had to change the account status. 29.06 – Stephanie is asked about the OSPCA’s budget and what funds are specifically earmarked for what purposes. 32.42 – The Operations Manager asks if Dr. Masters (who is supposed to be the new director) has ever had marks against his record. Stephanie says yes. 33.47 – The Operations manager addresses the fact that Sarah Smith pays herself out of the PayPal account that receives donations. Stephanie claims Sarah Smith is an independent contractor and states that Sarah Smith is allowed to pay herself out of the PayPal account because she lives in the Netherlands and it would take too long for a paycheck to reach her. *** 36.30- Operations Manager states that less than two months prior he deposited a check for $40,000 that was donated to the OSPCA, but yet that account does not have money in it and paychecks are now bouncing. 36.58 – Stephanie Ryan claims that the money garnished from the OSPCA’s account in March (near $13,000) was due to a volunteer suing for wages. She later states this was an employee. [Note: Stephanie Ryan and OSPCA were sued by a former Executive Director for 3 months unpaid wages. The court ruled against OSPCA, stating that the evidence showed that the plaintiff did in fact work for OSPCA, was an employee in months immediately prior to and after the three month period for which she was not paid, and there was no credible evidence that she had agreed to work as a volunteer for the time in question. The court awarded the plaintiff all claimed back wages, as well as court costs. Reference case 1RC11-1006121 available on Hawaii Judiciary Hoohiki web site.] 38.36 – Stephanie states that her husband, David Ryan (who is listed as the OSPCA treasurer) was only brought on to help build the shelter and will leave the Board of Directors when the new shelter is complete. ***40.47 – Stephanie is asked about the HIOSH complaint, which mentions extension cords that are run throughout the building to supply electricity. She states that the HIOSH complaint was due to vandalized wires. [This is untrue because the flexible cords are still running along the ground at the shelter and have since been cited by OSHA as a serious violation in OSHA citation 976933]** 42.54- The Operations Manager addresses the fact that most of the donations go towards paying off late fees on bills, lawsuits, etc. and not directly to animal care. 43.25 – Stephanie claims that she told Nancy Bernal, a Board member that the bills were being paid off. This conflicts with what Nancy Bernal told staff members. Nancy stated to multiple staff members that Stephanie told her that the Waipahu Waikele vet bill was paid off in full, which is completely untrue. 45.20- Operations Manager addresses the fact that none of the heartworm positive animals are being treated for their heartworms. Their medical records have never listed any such treatments for heartworms. [Medical records are listed under the files tab] 46.15 – Stephanie states that the audit will be put up on their website. **To date I have been unable to find any link to the audit on the OahuSPCA.org page. ** 52.17- Stephanie claims that Dr. Kaia and Dr. Oko (possible misspelling) would be sponsoring Dr. Masters so that he could operate in Hawaii without a Hawaiian Veterinary license. (This turned out to be false as well. Dr. Lam sponsored Dr. Masters during the June spay/neuter clinic at the OSPCA. Dr. Kaia and Dr. Oko were never asked to sponsor.) **All emails, letters, and documents referenced by employees in this recording are available to view here: https://facebook/groups/218931374946303/files/
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 05:46:47 +0000
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