SF human rights boss Sheryl Davis paid celebrities on taxpayer dime

Busted San Francisco Human Rights Commission chief Sheryl Davis funneled taxpayer cash through her partner’s nonprofit to pay celebs — even dropping thousands on books promoting herself and famous pals, according to an affidavit.

Davis was arrested Monday for a “pervasive pattern of self-dealing” while she was head of the Dream Keeper Initiative — a $120 million plan to assist black residents created after the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.

The human rights boss had a $350,000-per-year pay packet as head of the Human Rights Commission — but allegedly used her partner James Spingola’s nonprofit, Collective Impact, as a “slush fund” to pay for celeb-studded events and to help hawk her children’s book, “Free to Sing.”

Davis often split costs with the nonprofit to pay for restaurant buyouts, musical acts and other splurges, prosecutors say.

The Human Rights Commission paid a $10,000 speaker fee in May 2023 to Sonya Curry, the mother of NBA star Steph Curry, and booked a $4,810.50 afterparty at International Smoke, a San Francisco restaurant operated by Ayesha Curry, the basketball champ’s wife, and celeb chef Michael Mina.

The May 2023 event, called “Fierce Love & Joy,” was billed as a “critical dialogue” intended to create a “safe space for our young people,” according to an Instagram post featuring Curry alongside educator Dee-1 and civil rights advocate Areva Martin.

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Davis also “directed” Collective Impact to purchase copies of Curry’s book, “Fierce Love: A Memoir of Family, Faith and Purpose” — charging $5,554.62 to another city department, the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families, for that expense, per the affidavit.

Collective Impact, which received nearly $8.5 million in Dream Keeper Initiative grants between 2021 and 2024, allegedly paid more than $30,000, including hotel, for the songstress Goapele to perform at two events — including $5,000 to perform a launch party for Davis’ children’s book in January 2023.

Davis arranged the sale of 1,500 copies of her book to San Francisco Public Library — earning up to $100,000 from book sales from her publisher, Book Baby, in 2024, according to an economic disclosure filing.

Her department paid at least $6,000 to the firm Varner PR to promote her book, among other expenses, and shipped “more than 205 pounds” of unspecified books to a hotel in New Orleans during the Essence Festival of Culture, according to a prior audit.

The nonprofit also spent thousands hiring other performers for Human Rights Commission events — a $5000 honorarium for R&B artist Ledisi, around $25,000 for rapper and producer D-Nice, and more than $25,000 for fees and hotel for crooner Emily King, according to the affidavit.

Other high-end fetes included a $20,539 “banquet buyout event” featuring the journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, best known for The 1619 Project, and a $5,000 buyout of International Smoke in October 2022.

Davis is also accused of paying for VIP party tickets, first-class flights upgrades and even her son’s UCLA tuition using public funds.

She signed contracts with a nonprofit called Homeless Children’s Network worth more than $3.5 million, which subsequently paid Davis’ son $140,000 for “contract research” services.

Davis “misappropriated City funds for her own personal use or the use of someone else,” prosecutors concluded.

“For example, she paid thousands of dollars for galas and sponsorships of events unrelated to HRC and paid someone’s rent with HRC money.”

She also frequently tapped a communications and branding firm called PJS Consultants as she sought to build her profile as an author, per the affidavit.

Davis resigned from her job at the Human Rights Commission in 2024 amid allegations of misspending.

The department has since installed new leadership and launched reforms, including internal processes to avoid conflicts of interest.

Mayor Daniel Lurie last year proposed merging the Human Rights Commission with another scandal-ridden agency, the Department on the Status of Women, to form a new body called the Agency on Human Rights.