Sen. Tom Wright was banned from women's shelter after allegedly flirting with survivor

Shelby Dunlap and her baby were aboard a short bus fleeing a hurricane from the domestic violence shelter where they had sought refuge.

A local philanthropist was also on board, amid a small group of women from the Beacon Center, Volusia County's only shelter for survivors of domestic violence, she recalled.

"I think he paid for the trip," Dunlap said.

And he was flirtatious, she added, talking about prostitutes in Cuba, topless women on a boat, and offering to fly her to Las Vegas.

Nothing happened. She didn't go to Las Vegas, but the conversation still causes her discomfort.

“It’s kind of embarrassing to say, but whenever you’re going through that, especially I was only, like, 20 years old, but you feel like, OK, there’s this rich guy, like, that could help me out of my problems," she said. "But now I realize, you know, he was a creep."

The philanthropist, she said, was Tom Wright. A year later, he became Florida State Sen. Tom Wright.

When the buses returned, ex-Beacon Center CEO Angie Pye said she witnessed Wright flirting with another survivor after they had exited the vehicle.

“It wasn’t anything egregious,” she said of the encounter. “… It was flirty or grooming type of behavior. So I put a stop to him coming on the property. He got really angry.”

Pye only recently learned about Wright's encounter with Dunlap.

Bearing a grudge?

That propensity for anger was on full display on Sept. 2, when Wright got into a videotaped confrontation with the shelter's interim CEO and was given a trespass warning from Daytona Beach police barring him from the Beacon Center.

Pye, who resigned as CEO on Aug. 31, and others say Wright has made allegations about human trafficking, prostitution and drug use going on at the center. During a state Senate committee hearing, he accused Pye's husband of having a conflict of interest regarding the shelter. All of those claims were false, they said.

Wright, whose district includes portions of Volusia and Brevard counties, did not respond to repeated messages from the News-Journal seeking comment for this story.

But according to a recent Facebook post, Wright did discuss the Beacon Center with a local club, the United Patriots of Volusia County.

"Senator Tom Wright gave a detailed update on what is going on at the Beacon Center, and also answered questions from our attendees," Kim Short the group's education chair posted on Sept. 8. "Much more on this situation exists and details, with evidence, will be revealed over the coming weeks."

Wright's history with the Beacon Center

After the hurricane, which Pye described as Matthew in 2016, but Dunlap said was Irma in 2017, Wright had become a concern to Pye, who had started as CEO of the shelter the year before. He was a volunteer.

“He had free run of the place,” Pye said. “I was uncomfortable with that.”

As a veteran leader of domestic violence shelters, Pye said she had become “extremely protective of women seeking refuge.” Also, she noted, that confidentiality laws are in place to keep shelter residents’ identities from being revealed.

“So Tom had wanted to come on the board of directors. Initially, I thought that was a good fit,” Pye said, adding that board members can’t volunteer so it was another way to ensure he wouldn't have direct contact with shelter residents.

“He came to one meeting and got his feelings hurt about something and he quit the board,” Pye said.

When the path of the hurricane became a problem for Volusia County, Wright provided funding to evacuate some of the women, Pye said, and that wasn't a time to refuse help.

Pye said Wright has attempted to harm the shelter's reputation by saying things that weren't true. She cited as an example a Senate committee hearing on Feb. 16, 2021. A bill sponsor was talking about his proposal for changes to the Department of Children and Families policy. DCF oversees battered women's shelters in the state.

Wright asked a question about whether the bill would shed more light on conflicts of interest of service providers and mentioned a case where the Beacon Center was receiving funds from Lutheran Services and Pye's husband.

"And we have a serious issue," he said. "So I’m just wondering how far we go with this conflict of interest?”

Pye said Wright was wrong: Her husband had indeed worked for Lutheran Services but had nothing to do with authorizing funds that might be forwarded to the Beacon Center.

Mark Dunn, who served on the Beacon Center board for five years until recently, said he had heard about Wright “speaking poorly of the organization and Angie and the staff.” At the time, Dunn was the board president and he didn't intend to turn a blind eye toward any problems raised by the senator.

'He never met with me'

Dunn said he reached out to Wright twice.

“He never met with me," Dunn said. "I wanted to get to the bottom of it, but I didn’t have any success. He never replied.”

Dunn and Pye said the inspector general for DCF investigated the Beacon Center which resulted in no findings.

“We made requests of the documents and we were told we could see it at some point,” Dunn said. “We never received a report and when we asked about it, the IG’s office said there was nothing there.”

Jessica Moore, worked at the shelter from 2015 to 2021, when she left to move to Kentucky.

One day an investigator from the Inspector General’s office of the DCF arrived at the Beacon Center and interviewed staff members on tape.

Moore said the investigator wouldn’t divulge the source of the complaint, but some of the questions she asked led her to believe Wright was behind it.

A DCF representative said the agency was working on a response to a public records request for that investigation into the Beacon Center. She did not provide a comment about why DCF and Wright were at the shelter on Sept. 2.

Dunn, one of the board members who resigned, said he became concerned about the Beacon Center board‘s governance process and leadership over the past three or four months.

“I voiced that on more than one occasion. It got to the point I felt like I was no longer being heard,” he said. Dunn resigned on Sept. 1, one day after Pye’s resignation and the day before the Wright confrontation.

Dunn said he wouldn't say Pye's performance was perfect, adding all CEOs are going to make mistakes. But, he said: “Since my time on the board, I’ve never had a concern with Angie."

Board president optimistic about the future

Board President Carmen Ruiz, did not submit to an interview with the News-Journal, but did release a statement. She has shared her story of being a domestic abuse survivor. She acknowledged the loss of some board members but said 11 remain, while more applicants are under consideration.

"We are building a board to take the organization to the next level and look forward to announcing our new Board of Directors at upcoming events. We are appreciative (of) previous board members for their service."

Ruiz's statement urges the public to remain confident that the Beacon Center board "is working tirelessly with the appropriate agencies to ensure we remain open and provide domestic violence services for families seeking safety in Volusia County."

The statement pledges to build community trust through transparency and accountability and notes that the board is engaging with the DCF and the Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence to ensure certification and funding.

"Over the years, there has been a loss of community trust and it is now our task to make sure those relationships and expectations are met by our new leadership," the statement reads. "These were already topics of discussions prior to resignations."

Asked to clarify where she was hearing about a loss of community trust, Ruiz stated: "For some time, there were concerns among leaders in the social services sector about the lack of collaboration with other community organizations who could have provided critical services and supports to Beacon Center clients and victims in the community."

Ruiz was also directly contacted by at least one dissatisfied former shelter resident.

The domestic violence survivor, who asked that her name not be used because she is fearful of retaliation, said the Beacon Center didn't deliver on its promises.

During her two-month stay, the survivor said she was promised help, such as transportation to doctor's appointments and for her child to remain in the same school, but was told funding was no longer available.

She found bullying among residents was at times allowed and conflicts sometimes escalated when staff didn't address them. When the survivor attempted to defend herself or others, she was blamed for the conflict and was kicked out.

"They set you up for failure," the resident said.

Survivor: Pye was 'guardian angel'

While some former shelter residents expressed concerns about conflicts, times when little food was available and unfair treatment by staff, others say Pye made great improvements during her tenure and led a staff that cared for them.

Leah Gunion, who stayed at the shelter for about a month in 2019, was profiled in a 2020 USA Today story as an abuse victim whose children were taken by DCF and placed in foster care because she temporarily lost consciousness after being choked by an ex-boyfriend, leaving her 1- and 2-year-old sons without supervision.

Gunion didn't see Pye in the shelter often, but whenever she was going to court or meeting with DCF, "she was always right there by my side, like a guardian angel."

Dunlap, the woman who said Wright was flirting with her on the bus, said Pye was the only person she trusted to say she had become addicted to drugs. Pye helped her get into rehab and was there for Dunlap when she completed the program.

When Dunlap's abuser continued to stalk her, Pye helped her move out of state, where she lives safely with her two children. Dunlap said she's been sober for nearly four years, works three jobs to make ends meet and cares for her children by herself.

"The whole place turned my life around," Dunlap said.

Valerie Brooks resigned as program manager just days before Pye, saying the turmoil she blamed on Ruiz and Wright has harmed the Volusia County community.

"I cannot fathom how our board president, as a woman, can with a clear conscience take efforts to destroy another woman who has done nothing wrong," Brooks wrote, referring to Pye. "The board president has effectively removed a powerful advocate that has the ability to facilitate change within this hard community."

Secret meeting alleged

Pye said Wright secretly met with Carmen Ruiz, the Beacon Center's board president and another board member, on June 7.

Pye provided an email Ruiz had sent stating Ruiz had been seeking a meeting with the senator "so that we can try and repair whatever issue we have." The email states that a time and date had not been set and goes on to ask its recipients not to share that fact with the full board as "we have enough in front of them."

"From that point forward, I was in a hostile environment," Pye said. "Every time I turned around, there was some sort of problem."

Ruiz shared an email she sent Pye on Aug. 24, accusing the CEO of encouraging a campaign of harassment against her and her business.

In an emailed response to questions from the News-Journal, she denied there was a private meeting but noted "board members are often in networking and community events or lunch where there are elected officials."

In reference to Ruiz's assessment that the community had lost trust in the Beacon Center, Pye said there was no such discussion after the June 7 meeting she said Ruiz had with Wright. Ruiz started talking about "perception issues," and even began working on a perception survey.

Pye said she objected to the perception survey, calling it "a fishing expedition."

Dispute goes public

The story about the Beacon Center turmoil blew up when video surfaced of a Sept. 2 confrontation. Wright was there to tour the shelter with officials from DCF.

Ruiz noted in a text, the senator has been a supporter of local nonprofits and he offered to help the Beacon Center.

"Senator Wright reached out once the community started finding out about (Pye's) resignation," Ruiz said. "He asked how he could help and coordinated the busses and lunch to make sure the women were not on premises so we could identify repairs and facility issues."

Jessica Rivers, who was temporarily the center's interim CEO, saw Wright attempting to board a bus where he might be able to identify domestic abuse victims. Laws require their identities to be protected.

"Excuse me, sir, you may not board the bus full of survivors and their children," she said, according to a Daytona Beach police report.

He stepped off the bus, put his right hand on her shoulder and said something, then started to walk away before turning around, moving toward Rivers and barking in her face.

Wright later told Daytona Beach police Rivers was yelling at him and he was trying to explain he wasn't going on the bus.

Rivers told police she wanted Wright to receive a trespass warning and he was advised "he was no longer allowed on the property until further notice," the report states.

In a previous story about the incident, Wright responded to a request for comment with a text, which read, in part: "This is the thanks I get for trying to help DCF in The Beacon Center, and yet nobody but nobody today other than Carmen stood up for me and said no that isn't what happened. So I can't stand up for you all anymore either and I wish you all the best."

Rivers, who had been a volunteer coordinator and an administrative assistant prior to that, resigned three days later, writing: "This was never my plan. In fact I had a great deal of hope to retire from this organization. I found my passion and my voice at Beacon Center. It absolutely breaks my heart that I am feeling forced to leave."

She wrote everything changed on Sept. 2, that she lost the belief that Beacon Center advocates had each others' backs.

"I learned the hard way that when it comes to power and money, I'm nothing and a nobody to any of them because I don't have 'power' and that kind of money to throw around," Rivers wrote.

Ruiz "has engaged in activities to intimidate and defame me," Rivers wrote, adding that she fears for her safety and is "emotionally distraught" that her integrity and morals were questioned.

In response, Ruiz didn't acknowledge questioning Rivers' integrity.

Rivers was left in charge by Pye without additional compensation, Ruiz said.

Pye and Rivers dispute that account.

Pye had contacted the Florida Domestic Violence Collaborative − which provides training and technical assistance to shelters −.to seek help through the transition to a new CEO.

Linda Parker, president and CEO of Women In Distress of Broward County Inc., appointed Rivers interim CEO at 5:05 p.m. Aug. 30, a couple of hours after Pye had resigned, Rivers said.

And Parker was at the Beacon Center on Sept. 3, the day after the confrontation between Rivers and Wright.

"We were there to help support the center and evaluate the needs of the center as they transition from the previous CEO," Parker said in an email.

Ruiz said the collaborative "identified a leader," and the board then voted to approve Emma Sanders for the interim CEO role.

"As the board, we need someone who has strong direct service, operations and as well as community engagement experience, which Emma Sanders possesses," Ruiz wrote, adding Sanders is composed and has a calming but firm presence.

Ruiz said her interactions with Rivers have been limited to event planning and tours.

"I have not engaged with her nor discussed anything about her outside of conversations about the organization as that was the policy previous leadership had set in place," Ruiz wrote.

Another confrontation

Moore, a former Beacon Center program manager, said the Sept. 2 confrontation wasn’t the first time Wright got into a shelter staffer’s face.

Wright had been volunteering prior to Pye’s arrival but hadn't been vetted, Moore said, adding he was “a guy with lots of money and he wanted to help.”

According to a state Senate financial disclosure report, Wright stated his net worth at just under $36 million.

Shortly after Pye started as CEO in 2016, Wright had a Christmas party and invited Pye, Moore, and another Beacon Center employee.

“My son had a basketball game, so I didn’t go to the party,” Moore said. Pye and the other Beacon Center invitee also didn’t make it, Moore said.

Later, when Moore saw Wright next outside the Beacon Center, he was delivering some CDs he intended to give the shelter residents for the holiday. Wright asked Moore why none of the Beacon Center employees made it to his party.

She explained about her son’s basketball game, and how family trumped other social activities.

“He got in my face, yelling at me. I had some of the CDs in my hands and he ripped them out of my hands,” she said. It shocked her and once he moved to a different part of the building, Moore called Pye to tell her.

“She had me have him leave,” Moore said.

Moore said Pye’s resignation is an injustice caused by Wright.

“I’m tired of people having no accountability just because you have money,” she said. “He needs to be held accountable.”

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This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Sen. Tom Wright was previously barred from domestic-violence shelter