Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 11, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 11 Shannon O'Brien* 2024 annual payrate: $173,943* Term: September 2022 - September 2024 Appointed by: State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg Notes: A former state treasurer from 1999-2003 and a 2002 candidate for governor, O'Brien was suspended by Goldberg in September 2023 after being accused of being racially-insensitive comments and mistreating then executive director Shawn Collins. O'Brien denied the allegations but was fired in September 2024. Bruce Stebbins 2024 annual payrate: $147,413 Term: December 2020 to present Appointed by: Then governor Charlie Baker, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, and then attorney general Maura Healey Notes: A former commissioner of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Stebbins was named acting chair of the CCC by Goldberg on Sept. 12. Nurys Camargo 2024 annual payrate: $147,413 Term: December 2020 to present Appointed by: Then governor Charlie Baker, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, and then attorney general Maura Healey Notes: Former regional director of external affairs for New England at AT&T Ava Callender Concepcion 2024 annual payrate: $147,413 Term: January 2021 to present Appointed by: Then attorney general Maura Healey Notes: Former director of government affairs and external partnerships at the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office Kimberly Roy 2024 annual payrate: $147,413 Term: July 2021 to present Appointed by: Then governor Charlie Baker Notes: Former communications director and director of external affairs for the Worcester County Sheriff's Office Cannabis Control Commission leadership involve dueling accusations of workplace misconduct hinging on each employee's characterization of the interactions in question, complicating their resolution. Regardless of the merits of each accusation, even employees on opposite sides of such cases agree CCC's response to their complaints has been ineffectual and protracted, with claims going un- addressed for nearly a year. Others were provided shiing explanations for delays, and even for suspensions. at inconsistency has fueled the divi- sion of the agency's 140 or so employees into bitter factions, contributing to a tox- ic culture in which employees say chaos and missed deadlines are the norm. In response to a WBJ request for comment, CCC Press Secretary Neal Mc- Namara said the agency's policy is to not comment on specific personnel matters. CCC "seeks to maintain a fair, equi- table workplace, and takes complaints and allegations raised by employees seriously," McNamara said. e agency "has a duty to ... take the necessary time to investigate complaints in fairness to all parties involved." He added "public discussions of inter- nal personnel matters may be harmful to the internal investigatory process." Reign of terror CCC's outside law firm in August hired an additional outside investigator solely to probe complaints by current and former employees against Hil- ton-Creek, according to emails provided to WBJ by the employees. Hilton-Creek, a U.S. Army veteran, is accused of fostering a hostile and retal- iatory work environment, according to four people familiar with the complaints and documents obtained by WBJ. When Hilton-Creek was appointed in October 2023 as acting executive director a mere two months aer being hired as chief people officer, it marked the start of a reign of terror that shattered already-waning morale, said one former employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity. at former worker recount- ed employees crying in their offices following harsh exchanges with their new boss, describing an environment in which innocuous clarifying questions were treated as insubordination. e four CCC commissioners who lead the agency were aware of complaints about Hilton-Creek, some of them as early as November 2023, but failed to take concrete steps to address them until August, according to CCC emails. Employees say attempts to report Hilton-Creek's behavior were complicated by her dual role as the agency's acting ex- ecutive and its top HR official, a status that bumped her salary to $195,000, putting her on track to earn the most of any agency employee in 2024. e employees faulted CCC's lack of clear procedures for han- dling such cases. When the investigator, Spring- field-based employment and labor attorney Ed Mitnick, began contacting accusers in September, he quickly found himself inundated. "I am up to my eyeballs with various complaints from an increasing number of present and former employees making allegations pertaining to Debbie Hil- ton-Creek," Mitnick wrote in an email to Dube, the CCC business operations manager, who provided the email to WBJ. Mitnick said he had a growing file of documentation submitted by accusers. Dube, a CCC manager who start- ed at the agency in 2020 when it had 40 employees, said she is making her complaints public despite the risk to her career because she believes the agency is incapable of resolving them without public pressure. Before September, employees who inquired about the status of their alle- gations against Hilton-Creek said they were given varying explanations for the inaction as months passed. One former worker was told their report against Hil- ton-Creek would be investigated only if a sufficient number of other workers also complained in exit interviews. In June, Dube received an email from the human resources department saying there was no timeline for resolving her six-month-old complaint against Hilton-Creek because the agency's other outside investigator at the time was busy with a more urgent task: identifying the source of leaks to the press. "e investigator will be handling multiple issues for the agency, which have all been categorized and assigned a priority," the email said to Dube, who provided it to WBJ. "Currently, the inves- tigator's priority is the leaks within the agency … I will reach out to you when your complaints are next in line." During a tense June meeting, commis- sioners voted 3-1 to strip Hilton-Creek of her power over other departments. en-chair Callender Callender Concep- cion said publicly the move would ease Hilton-Creek's workload so she could prioritize the HR matters she said re- Debbie Hilton Creek, CCC acting executive director Meghan Dube, CCC's business operations manager, said the scale of the problems at the agency led to her speaking publicly about her experiences there. Continued on page 12 PHOTO | EDD COTE * Fired on Sept. 9, payrate based off total 2024 pay, including leave buy back pay received by O'Brien following her termination Source: Massachusetts Office of the Comptroller statewide spending database, other state websites

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