The Digital NEST tech nonprofit settled a sexual harassment lawsuit centered on allegations against Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Gabriel Medina, according to court documents. A former employee filed the 2020 court action that involved incidents before Medina was elected to the public school oversight board.
The former employee—The Pajaronian withholds names of people who report sexual assaults—accused the Watsonville-based 501(c)(3) of enabling an alcohol-fueled sexualized workplace and of failing to adequately address Medina’s alleged sexual misconduct.
As Digital NEST’s assistant program director and digital arts and technology manager, Medina was the accuser’s supervisor. The accuser says the nonprofit later retaliated against him after he complained. In a response filed by the San Jose law firm Hopkins & Carley, Digital NEST denied the conduct and said the plaintiff engaged in conduct that could have resulted in his termination.
According to the lawsuit, Medina referred to himself as the “gay Trump” at a September 2018 wine-tasting event and said, “I grab guys by the balls.”
In October of that same year, Medina told coworkers about a trip to New York, in which “he had a man snort cocaine off of his penis in the men’s restroom then received oral fellatio from that man.”
The accuser said he found Medina’s comments “vulgar and offensive” but did not complain because supervisors were present and he believed doing so would be futile.
Later, at an April 19, 2019, employee retreat, employees drank mimosas at breakfast before participating in a scavenger hunt that ended at the home of then-Deputy Director Steve Bean.
Bean no longer works for Digital Nest. He could not be reached for comment.
The accuser alleged that an apparently intoxicated Medina arrived and continued drinking, despite Bean’s warning that they were at a work event and should moderate their consumption.
The complaint alleges that Medina made sexual comments about another male employee, grabbed and slapped the co-worker’s “glutes” and later pressed his pelvis against another male employee from behind.
The former employee said he believed that Digital NEST did not adequately address his concerns and eventually asked him to resign.
He sued the nonprofit in Santa Cruz County Superior Court in May 2020, alleging hostile work environment, retaliation, failure to prevent unlawful conduct and constructive wrongful termination.
Allegations denied
Digital NEST denied the accusations. Founder and CEO Jacob Martinez declined to comment for this story. He was not named in the allegations.
The accuser also opted not to provide comments, citing a nondisclosure provision in the settlement.
His attorney, Santos Gomez, similarly said he was bound by the agreement not to discuss the case. Gomez said only that his office does not file lawsuits unless it believes the cases have merit.
Court records show the parties agreed to settle in late 2021, and the case was subsequently dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
Sources familiar with the matter said the payout was in the six figures.
A successful nonprofit
Founded in 2014, Digital NEST (Nurturing Entrepreneurial Skills with Technology) was created to offer a range of technology classes to young people aged 12-24 and prepare them for an evolving job market.
The topics range from video and sound production to computer programming.
The nonprofit had $384,094 in revenues and $248,277 in expenses in 2014, according to public filings. Its budget grew to $4.7 million by 2024.
The organization’s mission is to provide “equal access to technology and resources.” Martinez has said he wants members to enter the job market with several industry contacts under their belts, along with real-world experience.
The organization expanded rapidly, with support from Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Packard Foundation, the Gilroy Foundation and others. In addition to Watsonville, it also operates in Gilroy, Modesto and Stockton. Martinez said about 4,800 young people have come through its five centers.
A recent Pajaronian story featured a former student who has found success as a software engineer.
Allegations of harassment
The accuser was hired in July 2018 to work with Latino youth. His immediate supervisor was Medina.
The lawsuit alleged that Digital NEST “maintained an environment of alcoholism and unprofessionalism” and described several incidents involving Medina.
The most extensive allegations stemmed from the April 19, 2019, retreat.
During the employee retreat, the accuser alleged that Medina approached him as he tried to avoid Medina.
According to the complaint, Medina put an arm around the accuser’s chest and his right hand on his face. The accuser said he then felt Medina’s fingers moving toward his lips. When he tried to avoid the contact, the complaint states, Medina laughed and stumbled away.
The accuser later complained to Bean, who told him that other employees had also complained and that an investigation would be conducted, according to the lawsuit. The complaint alleged, however, that Digital NEST subsequently minimized what happened.
Medina responds
In an interview with the Pajaronian, Medina disputed significant portions of the accuser’s account while acknowledging that alcohol affected his behavior at the retreat.
Medina said employees had been drinking during the event and that he became intoxicated. He described himself as affectionate when drinking and said he remembered hugging people, but said he did not remember grabbing anyone’s buttocks or engaging in the other sexual touching alleged in the lawsuit.
“I don’t remember grabbing anybody’s glutes,” Medina said.
Asked specifically about allegations of sexual touching described in the complaint, Medina said, “I do not remember any of that.”
Medina said he was going through a difficult period at the time and was using alcohol to cope. He said the incident became a turning point, after which he went to therapy and eventually stopped drinking.
He also said he apologized to the accuser.
“If you felt like that, I already gave him my full apology,” Medina said. “Those were never my intentions.”
Asked about the allegation that he called himself the “gay Trump” and said he grabbed men by the genitals, Medina said he did not remember making the remark but added, “I’m always joking. So if it was said, I’m pretty sure it was a joking banter.”
Complaint and investigation
According to the lawsuit, Digital NEST placed Medina on administrative leave while an investigation was underway. The organization also arranged for the accuser to see a psychologist at its expense.
Medina returned to work May 9, 2019 after Bean said there were several tasks that Medina needed to return to the office to finish, according to the complaint.
The accuser alleged that because the two worked in the same office, he worried about being left alone with Medina and feared retaliation or another confrontation.
The complaint also describes a series of restorative justice meetings involving the accuser, Medina and other employees. The complainant alleged that the process made him feel pressured to forgive Medina and that his concerns were not adequately addressed.
At one meeting, according to the lawsuit, Medina acknowledged behaving inappropriately and attributed his behavior to drinking and blacking out. “I don’t know, I guess I was horny that night,” he joked.
Staff members laughed at that, the complaint says, and none of the facilitators interrupted to correct the remark.
The complaint says the accuser “felt disgusted, angered and paralyzed” by Medina’s behavior.
Medina told the Pajaronian that he does not remember many of the actions attributed to him.
“I don’t recognize the person that you all are telling me,” he said.
Retaliation alleged
The accuser alleged that after he complained about Medina, Digital NEST increasingly focused on his job performance and recruitment numbers.
He said he was uncomfortable recruiting young people into programs in which they might interact with Medina. The complaint states that he told the organization he did not want to recommend programs to parents and minors because he could not guarantee they would be free of harassment.
Medina disputed the suggestion that the accuser’s recruitment performance was scrutinized because of his complaint.
He said the accuser was generally a strong recruiter and “fantastic” with students but struggled with outreach to some groups, including the LGBTQ+ community.
“He was great at recruiting and going out to like sports events and clubs,” Medina said. “Other than that, he was fantastic.”
Medina said he turned supervision of the accuser over to others after the incident because he did not want him to believe that subsequent criticism amounted to retaliation.
The accuser formally resigned in October 2019 after being asked to do so. He later alleged that the circumstances amounted to constructive wrongful termination.
Digital NEST denies allegations
Digital NEST issued a general denial when it formally responded to the lawsuit in July 2020, disputing “each and every allegation” and denying that the former employee suffered damages for which the organization was legally responsible.
The response did not give Digital NEST’s account of the underlying incidents or specifically respond to each allegation against Medina. Instead, the organization raised 17 affirmative defenses.
Among other things, Digital NEST said that it took reasonable steps to prevent and correct harassment and retaliation and that the plaintiff failed to take advantage of available preventive or corrective measures. It also maintained that employment decisions involving him were based on legitimate, nondiscriminatory and nonretaliatory reasons.
Digital NEST further argued that the accuser’s own conduct may have contributed to his claimed damages, and it raised several procedural defenses. The court never ruled on those allegations or defenses because the case was settled and dismissed.
The settlement ended the litigation without a trial or adjudicating the truthfulness of the allegations.
Defense attorneys Ernest Malaspina and Jennifer Coleman did not respond to a request for comment.
