San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins is being accused of nepotism after she quietly promoted a close friend to her chief of staff despite her being trained as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with no legal experience and holding down a second job.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins is facing accusations of nepotism after she quietly promoted a close friend to her chief of staff despite her having no legal experience and holding down a second job. Monifa Willis, who also works as an assistant nursing professor at the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, where she reportedly earns a $100,000 salary, was initially hired by the DA's office in 2022 to run the agency's Victim's Services Division. She took on her new position as chief of staff in March.
The appointment has raised concerns about the hiring of a friend for a prominent role in a large office. The position pays around $289,000 annually. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Jenkins said she was proud to have Willis as her chief of staff and said her hiring was not a conflict of interest. It's the first time in the office's history that the role has been filled by someone who isn't a lawyer.
San Francisco DA Accused of Nepotism for Promoting Friend to Chief of Staff with No Legal Experience
"As a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Monifa brings an unparalleled wealth of experience and expertise in providing trauma-informed care to victims of crime and people impacted by the criminal justice system," Jenkins said. "In her role as Chief of Staff, Monifa oversees the Victim Services Division, the policy team, grants, special projects and programming."
Willis will also launch new programs and initiatives focused on crime prevention and intervention efforts, Jenkins said. Willis became a registered nurse and, after earning her master’s degree at UCSF in 2014, became certified as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, according to her biography on the UCSF website.
San Francisco DA Accused of Nepotism for Promoting Friend to Chief of Staff with No Legal Experience
Ryan Khojasteh, a former prosecutor who is running to unseat Jenkins, his former boss, said Willis' initial hiring was nepotism, compounded by the fact that she doesn't have a law license.
"She is not qualified to be the number two position in a criminal law office," he told Fox News Digital. "It's actually baffling to me that Jenkins thought this was even remotely a good idea."
San Francisco DA Accused of Nepotism for Promoting Friend to Chief of Staff with No Legal Experience
Jenkins’ office said the chief of staff position is exempt and does not require a law degree, and that Willis meets the qualifications for that job. The chief of staff position requires four years of managerial experience in a supervisory role in a legal, legislative or clinical social environment, according to the job qualifications. In addition, the chief of staff doesn't oversee the prosecutors, which is done by the chief assistant district attorney.
Jenkins and Willis have known each other since high school, where they were track-and-field teammates, according to a 2022 Mission Local report. The pair have gone to dinner, rented a car, attended a football game and visited a waxing salon together, according to public Venmo accounts dating back to 2021, The San Francisco Standard reported.
San Francisco DA Accused of Nepotism for Promoting Friend to Chief of Staff with No Legal Experience
Since becoming Jenkins' chief of staff, Willis has continued to work as a professor at UCSF. Employees in the DA's office are not allowed to engage in any outside activity that would take time away from their duties at work on a regular basis, according to a DA policy. At the time of her appointment as chief of the Victim Services Division, Willis filed a secondary employment form, the DA's office told Fox News Digital.
The office verbally approved the request for her second job. She agreed to change her course time but did not immediately file an updated secondary employment form. She filed an updated secondary employment form on 7/25/2024, as soon as this oversight came to her attention," the DA's office said.
San Francisco DA Accused of Nepotism for Promoting Friend to Chief of Staff with No Legal Experience
Willis' secondary employment with UCSF isn't an issue, the agency said. "She teaches one class on Wednesday evenings during UCSF’s Fall, Winter and Spring quarters," the DA's office said. "She does not teach in the Summer. Her teaching responsibilities do not impact her ability to perform any of her job duties at the District Attorney’s Office."
Lexa Grayner worked under Jenkins before moving across the Bay Area to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office. "This is just one more incident that validates what we've known all along about Brooke Jenkins," Grayner told Fox News Digital. "She is not someone we can trust. She is making decisions for her own political career at the jeopardy of criminal justice in San Francisco."
San Francisco DA Accused of Nepotism for Promoting Friend to Chief of Staff with No Legal Experience
Jenkins’ office did not respond to requests for comment about Grayner’s departure.
Willis' part-time job as a college professor also raised questions about her accessibility. Fox News Digital has reached out to Willis.
The San Francisco Ethics Commission, which is responsible for the administration and enforcement of ethics standards across city government agencies, declined to comment on the matter. Jenkins was appointed as DA, a position once held by Vice President Kamala Harris, by San Francisco Mayor London Breed in 2022 following the successful recall of Chesa Boudin, for whom she actively campaigned. She was elected in her own right months later.
Upon taking office, Jenkins purged several staffers, including Khojasteh. During Jenkins' tenure, multiple people have departed the DA's office, which has been destabilized, Khojasteh said. The DA’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
"What Jenkins has done is reward her friends and her allies at the expense of a well-run and functioning office," Khojasteh said.
