The former top executive of the Humane Society of Ventura County is suing the organization, saying he was fired after he insisted on an investigation into an accusation of sexual harassment against the chair of the board.
Tim Blaylock was hired by the Humane Society in October 2024. He was an experienced nonprofit executive in Ventura County, including a dozen years as CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme.
At the Humane Society, Blaylock joined an organization in transition. He took over for an executive director who had left the job after two years. Before that, the nonprofit had been run for decades by its shelter director. Four new members of the board of directors joined in 2024, and two more came on board the next
year.
One of the people who joined the board in 2024, at about the same time Blaylock was hired, was Ron Schmidt. A former economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Schmidt had moved to Ventura in the spring of 2024 from Maui, where he had been board chair of the Maui Humane Society, according to Schmidt's bio on the Humane Society of Ventura County website. Schmidt became chair of the Humane Society of Ventura County board in February 2025.
An accusation of harassment
On June 14, 2025, the Humane Society held its annual “Birthday Bash” fundraising dinner, at its headquarters in Ojai. The Humane Society had started the Birthday Bash tradition two years earlier and the 2025 event, marking the organization’s 93rd birthday, was the biggest one yet.
The party drew 350 guests and raised more than $100,000, according to an article in the Humane Society’s summer 2025 newsletter. Kimberly Hunt, an anchor at ABC 10News San Diego, was the master of ceremonies. The bash had a dinner, a live and silent auction, musical performances and a program featuring animals adopted from the shelter. Some of the shelter dogs wore little tuxedos on their harnesses.
According to Blaylock's lawsuit, during the Birthday Bash fundraiser, Schmidt grabbed a female Humane Society employee by the arm and told her she was "smoking hot."
The woman filed a complaint with the Humane Society's human resources department. When Blaylock found out about the complaint he asked for an outside attorney to investigate the matter, "to protect both the interests of the young woman and the board chair," Blaylock's lawsuit states.
Schmidt declined to comment, through a spokesperson for the Humane Society of Ventura County. The organization declined to make any other board members or employees available for an interview regarding the lawsuit. Blaylock also declined an interview request.
Schmidt is not a defendant in the lawsuit, which names only the organization. The Humane Society of Ventura County has not yet responded in court.
Former exec claims wrongful termination
The lawsuit says that shortly after Blaylock asked for an outside investigation, Schmidt informed Blaylock and the vice chair of the board that he would resign if the incident was reported to the full board of directors.
Blaylock was then placed on administrative leave while the investigation was pending, his lawsuit states.
According to Blaylock's lawsuit, while he was on leave, he "was required to meet with an investigator who would not be clear" about why he was on leave or under investigation. The lawsuit says that Blaylock "was never told during the investigation what exactly were the complaints or claims made against him, nor was he ever asked to provide any witnesses or evidence to the investigator to rebut any claims."
A week later, Schmidt and the vice chair of the board told Blaylock the Humane Society was terminating his employment, Blaylock's lawsuit states. The two board members told Blaylock "that he had not engaged in any illegal or unethical conduct," the suit says.
The suit does not address whether the investigation into Schmidt's alleged harassment or the investigation around Blaylock's leave were ever completed.
Blaylock filed his lawsuit on Sept. 8 in Ventura County Superior Court. It alleges that the Humane Society of Ventura County violated California law in three ways: by retaliating against Blaylock for insisting on an investigation into the harassment complaint; by failing to prevent violations of the state's fair employment law; and by terminating him "because he opposed unlawful sexual harassment."
Blaylock is seeking lost salary and benefits and other damages plus interest, and attorney's fees and other costs to bring the suit.
A year under a new leader
The Humane Society replaced Blaylock with Daniel Roselle, who became executive directorin October 2025. His tenure so far has been eventful.
In his first six months, the Humane Society of Ventura County cut its staff from about 45 to 35 employees, through a combination of attrition and layoffs. It shut down the department that investigated animal abuse and neglect and began to phase out its horse shelter, to be replaced by a foster program in which volunteers will care for horses and other large animals on their own properties.
The Humane Society is also planning two major expansions in 2027: a new low-cost veterinary clinic in Oxnard and new kennels at its headquarters in Ojai.
The layoffs and cuts were not always popular. A former employee and a former board member both questioned the Humane Society's leadershipin interviews with The Star in April, particularly the decisions to eliminate the humane officers and the on-site horse shelter.
Roselle said the changes were necessary so that the organization can make better use of donor funds and take care of more animals with the resources it has.
One of Roselle's goals for the Humane Society was to reduce the amount of time animals spend in the shelter before they're adopted. In that area, it seems the organization is succeeding.
According to data provided by the Humane Society, in the first eight months of 2026, the nonprofit placed 223 dogs in permanent homes, up from 157 over the same period of 2025. Half of adopted dogs find a home within 14 days, compared to 24 days last year.
Tony Biasotti is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tbiasotti@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation's Fund to Support Local Journalism. The foundation plays no role in story selection. The Star retains full editorial control.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ex-exec of Ventura County Humane Society sues for wrongful termination
