ATHENS, Ohio — In June, the Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program’s once-director sued the nonprofit she formerly helmed.
Jen Seifert, who served as SAOP executive director for six years, alleges that people affiliated with SAOP spread false statements about her and interfered with her business relationships.
“Because of SAOP’s false statements and threats, Seifert has lost at least seven different contracts, totaling more than $4 million, and has lost business relationships with other organizations who have ceased working with her based on the actions of SAOP’s Board Members,” says Seifert’s lawsuit, filed June 17 in the Athens County Court of Common Pleas.
SAOP has denied the allegations in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit brought by Seifert and her consulting company Progress Appalachia, comes less than a year after Seifert was terminated from SAOP in July 2024. Seifert’s termination followed a period of internal upheaval at SAOP related to the organization’s publicly funded transformation to focus more on housing.
Seifert alleges in her lawsuit that in the month she was fired, then-SAOP contractor Zach Reizes “made false statements about Seifert including, but not limited to, that she was under criminal investigation by the State of Ohio for embezzlement and fraud.”
Reizes, who is named in the lawsuit in his individual capacity, allegedly made those statements at a meeting attended by board members and representatives of other organizations, including the Ohio Criminal Justice Services Division of the Department of Public Safety and the Governor’s Office of Appalachia.
Reizes declined to comment on anything related to Seifert’s lawsuit.
The July 2024 meeting was “attended by other organizations Seifert works with in her consulting role” at Progress Appalachia, the lawsuit says.
An OCJS representative told the Independent that the employee who attended the meeting in question is no longer employed by OCJS, so OCJS cannot speak to what happened at the meeting.
“That said, we are not aware of any criminal investigation,” the representative added. “We have provided grant funding for SAOP, but we have never worked with Progress Appalachia.”
The Governor’s Office of Appalachia did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
After the July 2024 meeting, Reizes and SAOP board members “continued to make false statements about Seifert to third parties,” Seifert’s lawsuit says. Specifically, “Reizes told Robin Harris, member of the Gallia-Jackson-Meigs [Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Board], that Seifert was engaged in unethical conduct,” Seifert alleges.
Harris denies that such a conversation took place.
“At no time did anyone talk to me about Jen Seifert except to say that she was leaving,” Harris told the Independent in an email. “There were no comments about her ethics or any other behavior.”
“I have no knowledge of Jen Seifert or that she has a consulting firm,” Harris added.
The lawsuit also says that Reizes and SAOP board members threatened organizations Seifert was working with as a consultant “that if they continue to work with Seifert in any capacity, SAOP will cut off funding to those organizations.” The lawsuit lists the nonprofit Square One in Gallia County, and the 3D printing company Vitruvian as examples.
Virtruvian founder Chris Sentz declined to comment on the allegations raised in pending litigation, but said, “I’m happy to share that Vitruvian continues to work with SAOP to advance the vision of building a tech-enabled workforce and delivering 3D printed housing to Southeast Ohio.”
In contrast, Square One filed its own lawsuit against SAOP in February, alleging that SAOP informed the nonprofit it would “not honor the signed contract” for Square One to oversee a shelter, drop-in center, counseling center, and more for SAOP clients.
SAOP said in legal filings that it did not violate the terms of its contract with Square One but withdrew from the agreement appropriately. The Gallia County Court of Common Pleas is currently considering SAOP’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Square One’s lawsuit does not mention Seifert. However, Square One’s attorney, Charles Tyler Sr., told the Independent he is aware of the allegations in Seifert’s lawsuit. He said he believes SAOP withdrew from their contract with Square One because of false beliefs about Seifert’s involvement with Square One, though he lacks evidence for that claim at this point.
SAOP Executive Director Madison Trace declined to comment on either of the lawsuits facing the nonprofit.
SAOP’s response
In its response, SAOP raises numerous defenses to Seifert’s lawsuit. The response was brought by SAOP and the current and former board members named in Seifert’s lawsuit, but not by Reizes.
The defendants argue that any harm Seifert and her company suffered was “proximately caused by the negligence of the Plaintiffs to such a degree that the claims are barred” –– meaning that Seifert’s own actions contributed to the harm she and her company experienced. Seifert and her company “failed to mitigate and/or minimize damages,” according to the defendants.
Additionally, while defendants deny the specific allegations Seifert raised in her lawsuit, they also argue in their response that any statements they did make about Seifert were “true, privileged, were of public concern, and/or expressed the opinion of the speaker(s).” They also argue that any statements they did make were within their First Amendment rights and “justified and/or privileged.”
In addition, the defendants argue that the harm suffered by Seifert and her company was the result of “independent acts” of third parties outside the defendants’ control and “resulted from independent, intervening and/or superseding causes.”
“Answering Defendants at all times acted reasonably, in good faith, based upon probable cause and without actual or implied malice,” the answer states.
Seifert directed the Independent to contact a communications consultant for her comment on the lawsuit. The consultant provided a statement attributed to Seifert reading, “Because this matter involves ongoing legal proceedings, I cannot comment specifically about this lawsuit. Importantly, my focus remains on creating meaningful impact across Appalachian communities through strategic development and collaborative action.”
The docket for Seifert’s lawsuit does not currently include a date for trial.
Disclosure: Jen Seifert served on the board of Southeast Ohio Independent News, which publishes the Athens County Independent, from its inception in August 2022 through January 2023. The author of this story, Dani Kington, and the Independent’s editor, Corinne Colbert, worked with her directly.
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