Healdsburg Councilwoman's Pandemic Recovery 'Nonprofit' Filed for Dissolution After Bankrolling Her 6-Figure Salary
Councilwoman Ariel Kelley earned nearly $276k in 2022 as CEO of Operation Reboot, a nonprofit that supposedly supplied business recovery assistance following the COVID-19 pandemic
Per her LinkedIn profile, Healdsburg Councilwoman Ariel Kelley served as the Chief Executive Officer for Operation Reboot, Seattle’s Rainier Valley, from May 2021 to December 2023.
The 501(c)(3) nonprofit claimed to support small businesses in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Per the 2022 Form 990, Operation Reboot CEO Ariel Kelley felt justified as local businesses shuttered in accepting $249k in reportable compensation with approximately $27k in benefits.
Per the 2023 Form 990, Kelley’s salary was $162k with $8k in annual benefits for the fiscal year.
On February 29 2024, the following Letter to the Editor was published in The Healdsburg Tribune as submitted by Mr. Jon B. Eisenberg, Healdsburg:
Campaign Noise
Last week’s Healdsburg Tribune (Feb. 22, “Campaign for Assembly Gets Down and Dirty”) reported that Ariel Kelley’s sister, Shoshana Ungerleider, and “hedge fund manager Chris Hansen” have contributed $200,000 and $60,000, respectively, to a SuperPAC supporting Kelley’s State Assembly campaign. That SuperPAC is behind hit pieces portraying Kelley’s rival Rusty Hicks—sporting an L.A. Dodgers cap—as a “carpetbagger” from Los Angeles.
It is understandable that Kelley’s sister would invest a small fortune in her candidacy, but one has to wonder about the connection between Hansen and Kelley. The answer can be found in the tax returns for a nonprofit called “Operation Reboot dba Pillar,” which are available online.
Hansen doesn’t just run a $2.8 billion hedge fund. He is also president of Operation Reboot dba Pillar, whose most recent tax return lists Kelley as its Chief Executive Officer at an annual salary and benefits totaling $276,793. Hansen is Kelley’s boss.
Hansen funded Operation Reboot dba Pillar for the purpose of making grants to assist Covid-distressed small businesses in reopening. But all of those grants have gone to businesses in Seattle, which is Hansen’s home town. Those businesses are located in neighborhoods surrounding Seattle’s “SODO” district, where Hansen has extensive property holdings across multiple acres. None of those grants have gone to businesses in California, much less in the Assembly district that Kelley seeks to represent.
It seems fair to ask Kelley why she chose to leave her position as executive director of Corazón Healdsburg, where she served Healdsburg’s Latino residents at an annual salary of $106,816, to increase that income nearly threefold running a nonprofit created to prop up businesses in Hansen’s stomping grounds 800 miles away. Perhaps she’s secretly a fan of the Seattle Mariners baseball team, which plays its home games in the SODO District.
As of last weekend, Kelley and her SuperPAC have together raised more than $1 million, with more than half that amount coming from Kelley personally, her sister and other family members, Hansen and Santa Rosa real estate mogul Bill Gallaher. Meanwhile, Hicks and his SuperPAC have together raised nearly $1.4 million. Look for a lot more ugliness from those two before Election Day.
Me? I’ve already voted for Chris Rogers.
The Election to Terminate documentation was submitted by Operation Reboot to the California Secretary of State on March 1, 2023.
On July 19, 2024, Operation Reboot received a letter from Attorney General Rob Bonta regarding their request for dissolution
Operation Reboot’s annual Form 990 stated that grantees were selected from a pool of applicants and approved by the board of directors.
The 2023 Form 990 indicated that approximately $115 in grant funds were awarded to small businesses. This was less than CEO Kelley’s salary of approximately $162k.
The 2022 Form 990 indicated that 22 individual recipients were selected for grant awards, totaling approximately $880k. The names of those individuals do not appear to be public record.
Councilwoman Kelley has been under investigation with the Fair Political Practices Commission since September 2024 due to her financial interests in the universal basic income program.
Healdsburg Councilwoman Ariel Kelley Contracted with Her Own 'Nonprofit' to Administer $250k in Universal Basic Income Funds to the Latino Community - Did Anyone Get Paid Besides Kelley?
On September 7 2021, the City of Healdsburg’s Council decided to move forward with a Pilot Program for Universal Basic Income. Councilmember Kelley participated and voted on the proposed resolutions. The minutes stated:
Does Councilwoman Kelley truly care about her constituents, or does she weaponize our tax dollars to create fake jobs for herself? I encourage Councilwoman Kelley to turn to Jesus, but she does not appear to believe in Christ.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
-Timothy 6:10