Oregon Health Authority fires Equity Director after vendor harassment report

Leann Johnson's Equity and Inclusion Division should have investigated harassment allegations against OHA vendor exclusively reported by Oregon Roundup two weeks ago

The Oregon Health Authority fired Leann Johnson, its longtime director of Equity and Inclusion, Friday. Johnson’s division was responsible for investigating sexual harassment claims against OHA vendors. (Photo courtesy The Trauma Therapist Podcast).

Friday, the Oregon Health Authority fired Leann Johnson, its longtime director of equity and inclusion, whose office was at the center of complaints of sexual harassment and self-dealing against an executive of OHA vendor and regulatory partner the Mental Health and Addiction Certification Board of Oregon (MHACBO).

Just over two weeks ago, Oregon Roundup’s exclusive report revealed those complaints were made to an OHA director and State Representative Rob Nosse (D-Portland) in 2022. OHA continued to fund MHACBO, and to increase the relevance of MHACBO certifications under state policy.

Willamette Week and The Lund Report first reported Johnson’s firing Friday.

The Oregon Roundup report detailed allegations made in early 2022 by former MHACBO employee Michael Razavi against Eric Martin, the nonprofit’s Director of Policy and Legislation. Razavi says Martin hired him to work for MHACBO, where Razavi would work for 14 years, and sent him lewd and unwanted sexual text messages and emails. MHACBO documents show the organization subcontracted on OHA-funded projects with a private company partially owned by Martin, which company paid MHACBO board members, and Martin.

In emails from February and March 2022, a supporter of Razavi’s, Angel Prater, emailed with Steve Allen, who was then OHA’s director of Behavioral Health, about the allegations against Martin. Allen left his position in November 2022. Prater emailed Allen:

Eric was not only someone who took advantage of a 22 year old housless, gay, INTOXICATED ( in oregon the law states no concent while intoxicated) and non while identifying vulnerable person he enticed him with payment for sex and then groomed and conditioned him as his 12 step sponsor (power) and his "MACCBO" supervisor (power position bound by ethics) all of which knownly the violations of an excessive amount of codes of ethics he himself participated in creating and over seeing not to mention employment laws such as quicproquo and beyond. All positions of power, abuse of power, sexual misconduct, sexual harrasment bribing with money and more access to supliment his income w more contracted gigs...and so much more!!

(All typos in original email).

Razavi was then employed by OHA behavioral health (he described Allen as “his boss’s boss”). Allen involved Oregon Department of Justice attorney Shannon O’Fallon in the email exchange, and ultimately met with Razavi regarding the allegations. It is unclear whether either OHA or DOJ took any further action based on Razavi’s allegations against Martin. OHA fired Razavi in 2023.

OHA’s Equity and Inclusivity Division’s duties include investigating claims of discrimination and harassment pertaining to OHA employees and vendors. It is unclear whether Allen forwarded Razavi’s complaint to the Equity and Inclusivity Division for investigation, though the subject matter of that complaint was within the Division’s jurisdiction. At the time Allen received the complaint, Leann Johnson served as director of the Equity and Inclusivity, and MHACBO was an OHA vendor.

The Equity and Inclusion Division’s role intersected with MHACBO as well on the matter of licensing peer support specialists, recovering addicts paid to help other addicts recover. The Traditional Health Worker Commission, a part of the Equity and Inclusion Division, has long certified peer support specialists. Over time, the Johnson-led Division gradually increased the regulatory relevance of a similar certification, Certified Recovery Mentor, issued by MHACBO. MHACBO receives revenue, from applicants or the state, when it certifies CRMs.

In a May 15, 2023, memo OHA delivered a significant win for MHACBO: “individuals certified by the Mental Health and Addictions Certification Board of Oregon (MHACBO)” can apply to become an enrolled Oregon Medicaid provider. The move added value to MHACBO’s CRM certification, and placed it on more equal footing with the Equity and Inclusivity Division’s peer support certification. OHA addressed its memo to “Prospective Certified Recovery Mentors,” providing a powerful marketing tool for MHACBO’s CRM certification program.

In January 2023, Rep. Rob Nosse, who chaired and chairs the House Committee on Behavioral Health, introduced a bill, HB 2445, that would have done legislatively what OHA’s memo did administratively. The memo, issued during the 2023 legislative session, while Nosse’s bill was still pending in committee, rendered HB 2445 unnecessary.

When Nosse introduced his bill, he was aware of Razavi’s allegations against MHACBO and Martin. OHA issued its memo over a year after Allen and DOJ attorney O’Fallon had learned of those allegations.

As of publication this morning, I have not received a response to my email to OHA’s spokesman inquiring whether Johnson’s firing was related to Oregon Roundup’s reporting on MHACBO and Martin. I sent the email late Saturday afternoon, and I’m publishing Sunday morning.

Willamette Week reported that the spokesman declined to elaborate on the reason for Johnson’s firing.