Sasha Suda filed a lawsuit against the Philadelphia Art Museum on Monday, claiming she was wrongfully fired as its CEO last week following a coordinated effort by several board members who sought to undermine her.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas, claims Suda's termination was orchestrated by a "small, corrupt and unethical faction" of the board of trustees that was "intent on preserving the status quo." It accuses the board of multiple breaches of contract and paints a picture of dysfunction within the museum's upper leadership. It adds that her firing did not have a "valid basis."
MORE: Parker says Market East plan is open to input. Residents, scarred by Sixers arena fight, aren't buying it.
"The Museum was riddled with drama, infighting and dysfunction at all levels," the suit says. "Members of the Board interfered with staffing, programming, exhibition planning and even the smallest details of administration."
Suda, 45, who is being represented by New York-based attorney Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, claimed the board has a reputation for frequently overstepping the boundaries of its duties, and accused members of berating, cursing and shouting at staffers.
The suit specifically details Suda's tensions with board chair Ellen Caplan and her predecessor, Leslie Ann Miller.
Suda claims Miller repeatedly undermined her leadership and character, citing an incident in which Miller screamed and cursed at her in a museum office after Suda confronted her over "toxic" behavior.
Caplan's "inexperience, insecurity and poor judgment" enabled the museum's dysfunctional atmosphere, the lawsuit claims. Her rocky relationship with Suda came to a head last winter after Caplan pushed for lobbyist Melissa Heller to become a board member. Suda found Heller to be "abrasive," the suit claims, adding that Heller berated staffers at a City Council event at the museum, bringing multiple workers to tears.
"When Suda arrived, she described the scene as 'trauma central,'" the suit says. "After the event, Caplan and Heller spent close to an hour bullying the Museum's Chief of Staff and disparaging staff and leadership."
The Art Museum acknowledged the lawsuit Monday in a statement, but did not address its claims.
"The Art Museum is aware of the recently filed compliant against the museum, and we believe it is without merit," an Art Museum spokesperson said in an email. "We will not be providing further comment at this time."
The board had hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into Suda, including a $39,000 salary increase over two years, the Inquirer reported Monday, before the news of the lawsuit broke. Suda earned a salary of $728,945 in 2023, plus another $30,306 in additional compensation. The firm recommended Suda's termination.
Suda's lawyer, Luke Nikas called that investigation into question, claiming it falsely implicated Suda as financially irresponsible to justify her removal.
"A small cabal of trustees commissioned a sham investigation to create a pretext for Ms. Suda's termination," Nikas said in an emailed statement. "Ms. Suda fought for and believed in a museum that would serve Philadelphia and its people, not the egos of a handful of trustees. She is proud of her work and looks forward to presenting the truth."
Suda claims the board broke the terms of her contract by only offering her six months of severance, but she says she was obligated to two years. Suda, who lives in Gladwyne and also is a Canadian citizen, claims her termination put her Green Card proceedings in jeopardy.
"(The Museum) proposed a severance package beginning in January, after her scheduled Green Card interview, with the intention of leaving Suda without a source of income to qualify for the document," the suit says. "This would give Suda 60 days to leave the country where she resides with her family and where her children attend elementary school."
Suda is seeking compensatory damages and injunctive relief. She has requested a jury trial.
Suda began her role in September 2022, having been hired to expand the museum's cultural programming and investments in diversity initiatives. At the time, the museum was mired in a labor dispute with its newly-unionized staffers. The workers reached a three-year contract, their first collective bargaining agreement, less than one month into her tenure. It ended a 19-day strike.
Earlier this fall, Sudaled a rebranding that tweaked the museum's name from Philadelphia Museum of Art to Philadelphia Art Museum, included a new logo and promised expanded musical programming and new partnerships with community organizations.
She was fired Nov. 4 "for cause." The museum did not disclose the specific reasons for her termination.
"As this is an internal matter, we are limited in what we can say," the museum said last week."The Board of Trustees is focused on fulfilling the museum's mission as we enter our 150th year. We are not providing further comment at this time."
Louis Marchesano, the museum's deputy director of curatorial affairs and conservation, is handling day-to-day operations until an interim director is named.