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A longtime member of the Ravinia Festival Association Women’s Board of Directors is suing the music nonprofit and its executives for “wrongful” and “defamatory conduct” after the Board of Trustees expelled her from the labor board for alleged conduct violations.
Glencoe attorney Karen Ettelson, who has volunteered for the nonprofit since 1993, filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court last month, claiming she committed no conduct violations and that the organization’s bylaws do not authorize its Board of Trustees, president or executive. The committee will remove any member of the Women’s Board.
“I’ve been volunteering with this organization for 30 years, and this went away in a matter of days,” Ettelson said. “For the first time in 60 years, they dismissed a member of the Women’s Council.”
Founded in 1962, the Ravinia Women’s Board is a group of volunteers who participate in, promote and fundraise for the Ravinia Festival, where the rolling hills come alive each summer for musical events.
Originally established by the nonprofit’s board of directors, the women’s board was granted independence in 1972 and had its own board of directors, bylaws and treasurer, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is filed against the Ravinia Festival, the executive committee of the Ravinia Board of Trustees, Board of Trustees Chairman Christopher Klein, and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Haydon, and lists eight complaints against the defendants, including defamation, interference with contract, and false light. invasion of privacy, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
“This case is not about me,” Ettelson said. “My case is about the fair, ethical and transparent conduct of investigations. “This is about the rights of volunteers everywhere, especially when it comes to membership, because this can happen to any volunteer at Ravinia.”
Lawyers representing Ettelson said they first tried to resolve the issue with the festival without filing a lawsuit. During that time, Herschman said, they would never get a “meaningful answer” from the nonprofit about what sparked the investigation.
“At this point we actually had to file suit to protect his reputation,” said Herschman Levison Hobfoll attorney Carrie Herschman. “What happened to Karen is absolutely disgusting. She was on the board for over 30 years. She did all these incredible things and was pushed away for no reason. It makes no sense to me.”
In a statement from the Ravinia Festival, the organization said the lawsuit allegations were “unfounded.”
“We conducted a thorough and fair investigation and took action accordingly,” the statement said. “We are committed to cultivating an organizational culture that includes staff, volunteers, and board members who take pride in supporting our mission, values, and standards of common courtesy and mutual respect.”
Last week, a former employee of Ravinia pleaded guilty and was convicted of stealing $230,000 from the organization while he was an employee. The festival organization said the two legal cases were “completely separate and unrelated”.
Thousands of dollars were raised
During her time as a volunteer, Ettelson, 68, served as treasurer of the festival store and co-chair of the annual gala, she said. She has helped raise thousands of dollars for the organization over the decades, among other contributions, she said.
He said volunteering helps him offset the stress of his career as a trial lawyer.
A lover of history, Ettelson researched, wrote and designed an anthology of photographs to document the then-50-year legacy of the Ravinia Women’s Board. By the time “Leading Ladies” was published in 2013, Ettelson said she had become the de facto historian of the Women’s Board, which is comprised of staff and volunteers.
The email stated that on July 26, 2023, Ettelson received an email from Klein requesting that he participate in an investigation into “certain members of the Board of Trustees and Board of Women and their interactions with the Ravinia Festival Store and its employees.”
The email stated that there was alleged behavior that may have violated the organization’s code of ethics and that outside counsel would investigate the behavior.
Ettelson said that while he willingly participated in the interview and investigation, it was “aggressive” and that he felt “bullied.” Ettelson said she was never informed that the investigation was related to a complaint about her conduct until she received a letter from Klein on Sept. 18 suspending her from the Women’s Board.
In the dismissal letter, Ettelson was offered a “peaceful solution” to step down from the board if he transferred all of his digital materials and rights to the Ravinia Festival Association. Ettelson said he took this as an opportunity to resign if he lost the book rights and supporting materials.
Ettelson said she felt after receiving the letter: “I was shocked, devastated, and just heartbroken.” “I do not believe that the board of trustees has such authority.”
The lawsuit alleges that the Ravinia Festival Association bylaws do not give the president of the Board of Trustees, the executive committee, or the Board of Trustees the authority to appoint or remove any member of the Women’s Board.
In an interview with the News-Sun, Ettelson said investigators asked him questions about the two meetings. The first of these was a speech given at a festival store meeting in December 2022; here, Ettelson opposed the idea of staff purchasing trips to Paris for the festival’s gift shop.
Historically, buying trips for the store never included a foreign destination and were usually conducted with a member of the Women’s Board, Ettelson said.
The second interview Ettelson was asked about was with a part-time festival store employee at a Counting Crows concert in June 2023. Ettelson said the conversation with the employee was brief and one of them said it was disheartening that the Women’s Board did not volunteer for this concert. shop now; The other agreed, she said.
“During this entire (interview) they never told me why they wanted to talk to me; They never said anything about misconduct on my part,” Ettelson said. “I was never given the opportunity to defend myself.”
The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants’ investigation of Ettelson was “pretextual,” “grossly inadequate,” and “lacking independent.”
According to the lawsuit, Klein, Haydon and the Executive Committee authorized and oversaw the investigation, while they assigned Perkins Coie to conduct the investigation.
During this time and currently, Richard Sevcik, managing partner of Perkins Coie’s Chicago office, is also a member of the Ravinia Board of Trustees.
The firm also enjoyed recognition, discounts and other benefits as a sponsor of the Ravinia Program for several years, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that in hiring Perkins Coie, the defendants violated the Ravinia Code of Ethics; These rules state that: to maintain decisional independence, the organization “strives to avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest.” economic or personal interest.”
‘Directly targeted’
A member of the Women’s Board, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, said it was “shocking” to witness the elimination of “a dedicated volunteer of 30 years.”
Ettelson’s dismissal, along with the removal of Women’s Board members from their festival store duties, left the woman wondering whether Ravinia’s new leadership wanted to eliminate the Women’s Board.
“I am shocked and disheartened by the decisions (Ravinia leaders) have made recently Going after Ravinia Brewery “I will now go after a 30-year, dedicated volunteer,” said the woman, who has volunteered with the Women’s Board for more than a decade. “I feel like Ravinia has lost a lot of the goodwill that was built in the community.”
The woman added that she had worked frequently with Ettelson on various board projects and could not think of anyone who had done more for the Women’s Board than Ettelson. Volunteer wants Ettelson returned to the Women’s Board and responsibility taken by the organization’s leadership.
“I never saw (Karen) act aggressively towards anyone, and if there was any misunderstanding, she quickly clarified the situation,” the woman said. “I feel like I was directly targeted and I have no idea why.”
In addition to being reinstated as a member of the Women’s Board, Ettelson is seeking a public apology from Klein, Haydon, and the Board of Trustees for “unfounded and defamatory allegations of unfair misconduct.”
Ettelson said he has suffered serious emotional distress since the dismissal and allegations.
“The way they do it, it makes it seem like I did something terrible. I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “It’s very offensive, to be honest. Why would anyone want to volunteer for Ravinia if something like that could happen to them?”
