One of the two women who an investigation found was sexually harassed by the former CEO of Silicon Valley’s largest water agency publicly identified herself Tuesday, telling the agency’s board it failed to hold him accountable by continuing to allow him to remain on the payroll.
At a packed meeting of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Velia Mariscal, an executive assistant at the agency, came forward and said she is the woman identified in the investigation as “complainant 1.”
“No woman or employee should have to choose between their livelihood and their well-being,” Mariscal told the board during a dramatic public comment session. “We come to work to do our jobs and support our families. I understand that speaking here today may place a larger target on my back. But continuing to remain silent is no longer an option. I have done nothing wrong. I simply reported misconduct. And I am no longer afraid.”
The district, a government agency based in San Jose, provides drinking water and flood protection to 2 million people.
Former CEO Rick Callender, 55, led the district since 2020 and continues to serve as president of the California-Hawaii NAACP State Conference. He had been on paid administrative leave since December 2024, when the allegations first surfaced.
On Feb. 20, after a 10-month investigation by an outside law firm concluded Callender had sexually harassed two female staff members and retaliated against a third who he had been accused of harassing in 2008, the district’s elected board voted 6-1 to approve a separation agreement with him.
Under the agreement, Callender, who had threatened to sue the district for racial discrimination, denied any wrongdoing, agreed not to sue the district, helped draft a public statement in which board chair Tony Estremera praised his tenure for its “integrity, transparency, and mission-driven leadership” and agreed to resign as CEO on March 1.
The board agreed to continue to pay Callender his $512,866 annual salary plus $7,200 yearly car allowance and other benefits for another year, while he works as a “special advisor” to Estremera with no defined work requirements, hours or deliverables.
In an email to employees March 4, Estremera said that the deal “was in exchange for avoiding years of litigation and distraction — and millions upon millions in legal fees.”
On Tuesday, however, Mariscal and more than two dozen people, including many of the union leaders representing the water district’s 880 employees, told the board that it had acted irresponsibly.
“I now know why women choose to leave their jobs quietly,” Mariscal said Tuesday. “I have turned in years of evidence with inappropriate comments and images from my harasser. It wasn’t enough. He remains on the Valley Water payroll.”
The investigation found that Callender repeatedly confronted Mariscal — in person and in messages — about her and other employees’ sexual or romantic activities and their appearance, as well as comments insinuating sexual interest in her despite knowing she was in a long-term relationship.
In one case, he sent her a photo of his clothed lap, focusing on his crotch. In another instance, he sent her a photo of a woman in a bikini, the investigative report found. In one instance, he asked if she had ever “been with” an African American man and spoke about his own personal life and exploits.
The investigation report by Cerritos-based law firm Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo concluded that “a reasonable person standing in (Mariscal’s) shoes would have found (her) work environment to be hostile or abusive and replete with overtures or unwelcome interactions based on sex.” It also noted that “Callender subjected (Mariscal) to harassment and a hostile work environment.”
A group called “Friends of Rick Callender” sent an email to some employees in recent days, again denying he had done anything wrong. That note stated, “he may not be perfect, and he may have been too casual with employees, but he is definitely not the person the report describes.”
The email included a letter from Callender’s attorney, Lori Costanzo of San Jose, threatening to sue employee unions at the district and board member Rebecca Eisenberg, with whom Callender clashed regularly, and who was the only director who voted against the settlement agreement, for “claims involving defamation, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, false light, retaliation, discrimination, and civil conspiracy.”
During Tuesday’s board meeting, attended by more than 150 people, roughly two dozen speakers criticized Callender and the board. Some asked that his advisory job be terminated or that board members resign. Nobody spoke in his defense.
Heidi Williams, far right, president of Women of Water Employee Recourse Group, speaks in a packed board room during public comment against ex-CEO Rick Callender at the Santa Clara Valley Water District board meeting at the Water District headquarters in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Last week the board voted to pay its departing CEO $520,000 to resign and continue working as a “special advisor” for another year following an investigation that found he sexually harassed staff members. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Several speakers referenced a key 4-3 board vote in 2020 to promote Callender from a government relations and media supervisor at the district to CEO, despite the fact he had been sued for sexual harassment in 2008 by a female district employee and the district’s HR department had recommended he be fired. In that vote, all the male directors, Estremera, Dick Santos, John Varela, and Gary Kremen, voted for Callender, while the female directors, Nai Hsueh, Linda Lezotte and Barbara Keegan supported other candidates, including Felicia Marcus, who is the former chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board and former regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“The men on the board who gave Mr. Callender a green light to continue his behavior when you handed him the position of the CEO, knowing full good and well that the allegations had been sustained and we had recommended termination 18 years ago, the behavior from that point forward rests with you,” said Debra Dake, a longtime district employee. “It is beyond blame. It is nothing short of shameful.”
Katie Mueller, president of the engineers union at the district, affiliated with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, agreed.
“Those who voted to hire our former CEO had full knowledge there was a previous sexual harassment investigation involving him,” she said. “That decision to place him in a position of power failed all of us.”
One woman whose firm was hired to conduct an employee diversity survey at the district in 2021 said employees reported “the CEO creates a toxic work environment,” and “he treats women poorly and demoralizes them.” But Callender, the agency’s top lawyers and human resources officials discounted it, said Danielle DeRuiter-Williams, co-founder of the Justice Collective, the Oakland-based company.
DeRuiter-Williams, who is Black, pushed back on Callender’s claims of racial bias in the latest investigation.
“To invoke principles of racial injustice, as Mr. Callender’s lawyer has said that this is a targeted attack based on stereotypes about black men, that’s deplorable,” she said. “You cannot use and invoke racial justice to shield a predator from accountability. Everyone who knew and did nothing is to blame, but none more than Mr. Callender himself.”
After nearly two hours of public testimony, only one board member spoke. Estremera noted that the district is being run by interim CEO Melanie Richardson and said the board will involve employees and unions in the search for a permanent CEO.
“Thank you all for expressing yourselves,” said Estremera, whose final term after 30 years on the board expires this year. “We hear your anger and disappointment. We get it.”
“The three complainants, we’re sorry for what they went through,” he added. “We can talk about it, but action going forward is what will make a difference.”
Velia Mariscal, an executive assistant with the Santa Clara Valley Water District, hugs a supporter after speaking about ex-CEO Rick Callender at a board meeting at the Water District headquarters in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Last week the board voted to pay its departing CEO $520,000 to resign and continue working as a “special advisor” for another year following an investigation that found he sexually harassed staff members. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
More than 150 employees and their supporters stand in a packed board room during a meeting of the Santa Clara Valley Water District board at the water district’s headquarters in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. On Feb. 20 the board voted to pay Rick Callender $520,000 to resign as the agency’s CEO and continue working as a “special advisor” for another year following an investigation that found he sexually harassed staff members. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
More than 150 employees and their supporters stand in a packed board room during a meeting of the Santa Clara Valley Water District board at the water district’s headquarters in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. On Feb. 20 the board voted to pay Rick Callender $520,000 to resign as the agency’s CEO and continue working as a “special advisor” for another year following an investigation that found he sexually harassed staff members. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara Valley Water District board chair Tony Estremera listens to public comment about ex-CEO Rick Callender at the Water District headquarters in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Last week the board voted to pay its departing CEO $520,000 to resign and continue working as a “special advisor” for another year following an investigation that found he sexually harassed staff members. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara Valley Water District board chair Tony Estremera points at board director Rebecca Eisenberg after she stood and applauded a caller during public comment against ex-CEO Rick Callender at the Water District headquarters in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Last week the board voted to pay its departing CEO $520,000 to resign and continue working as a “special advisor” for another year following an investigation that found he sexually harassed staff members. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
The Santa Clara Valley Water District board listen to public comment about ex-CEO Rick Callender during their meeting at the Water District headquarters in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Last week the board voted to pay its departing CEO $520,000 to resign and continue working as a “special advisor” for another year following an investigation that found he sexually harassed staff members. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
More than 150 employees and their supporters stand in a packed board room during a meeting of the Santa Clara Valley Water District board at the water district’s headquarters in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. On Feb. 20 the board voted to pay Rick Callender $520,000 to resign as the agency’s CEO and continue working as a “special advisor” for another year following an investigation that found he sexually harassed staff members. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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Velia Mariscal, an executive assistant with the Santa Clara Valley Water District, hugs a supporter after speaking about ex-CEO Rick Callender at a board meeting at the Water District headquarters in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Last week the board voted to pay its departing CEO $520,000 to resign and continue working as a “special advisor” for another year following an investigation that found he sexually harassed staff members. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)