There's good news and bad news at Sebastopol Center for the Arts
The good news is SebArts snagged an NEA grant and Director Serafina Palendech is getting her MA in Amsterdam. The bad news is a former employee has filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination
The last time I talked to Sebastopol Center for the Arts Director Serafina Palandech, she was bubbling with good news. It was early May, and they were getting ready for Art at the Source open studios and about to have a pop-up exhibit for their artist-in-residence, ceramicist Ping Zhong. (Go here and scroll down to see that story.)
Better yet, Zhong’s residency was paid for by an NEA grant that SebArts had despaired of ever getting.
A surprise grant
“I wrote a grant for a residency program back in 2024. We got our first NEA grant, but when Trump took office, DOGE clawed back a lot of the funding to the NEA,” Palandech said.
For months, SebArts didn’t hear a peep from the NEA, and they assumed their grant had been cut like so many others. Charlie Pendergast and Kevin Connor, longtime patrons of SebArts who have since moved out of state, heard about this and stepped up.
“So they donated the money for the residency program, which was so cool. Then, long story short, the NEA ended up giving us the money,” Palandech said. “Three days before the end of the year, I got an email, and it was like, ‘File your year-end report if you’re going to get your money. So I filed a year-end report, and they sent us the money,” she said.
Pendergast and Connor’s donation served as the matching funds the grant required.
And that wasn’t Palandech’s only big news…
Palandech starting a year-long program in Amsterdam
Palandech left in June for a year-long program in Amsterdam. She is still the director of Sebastopol Center for the Arts, but SebArt’s Creative Director Michelle Feileacan is stepping up to run the day-to-day operations while Palandech’s in Europe.
“I have an incredible opportunity to go study in Amsterdam for a year. I’m going to get my Masters in Museum Studies and Arts and Culture—like an extension of what I’m doing now. I love what I’m doing so much. I want to learn more and bring more back here,” she said. “The board has been really supportive. They see it as a great opportunity for all of us. This program will both help me to help SebArts to be successful, but it’s also a great opportunity for me and my family to get to do something like this.”
Palandech, who has family in Spain and who has spent a lot of time in Europe, said, “I’ve always believed in cross-cultural exposure, bringing in new voices and learnings across different countries, which is so needed right now. ”
Feileacan is also eager to take on her new responsibilities.
“Over the past two and a half years, I’ve been fortunate to take on an ever-growing role at SebArts, and I’m excited to step into this expanded position,” Feileacan wrote to the Sebastopol Times. “I’ll be overseeing our day-to-day operations while working closely with Serafina to help carry our vision forward. SebArts has become a place that means so much to me, and I’m grateful to continue working alongside Serafina and our amazing staff to create meaningful exhibitions, events, and educational programs.”
So that’s the good news. The bad news is that two days after Palandech and I spoke in May, SebArts former program director, Luna Sorrenti, filed suit against the art center for wrongful termination.
Former Program Manager sues SebArts
(For transparency's sake, I will note that I worked with the complainant briefly at SebArts when I did social media for the center’s Open Studios programs five years ago.)
Luna Sorrenti, the former program director of SebARTS, has filed a 13-count lawsuit in Sonoma County Superior Court against the Sebastopol Center for the Arts; its outside HR consultant, Leap Solutions; and 50 unidentified “Does” (as in John/Jane Doe). The complaint, filed May 11, 2026, seeks damages for what Sorrenti describes as years of mistreatment and a rushed, retaliatory exit.
Sorrenti began working at SebArts in an administrative role in 2021 but was promoted to program manager (2023) and eventually program director, earning $64,480 annually. Her duties included event production, youth and arts programming, communications, and logistics for major initiatives, including the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival.
According to the lawsuit, “Defendant created and knowingly permitted working conditions that became intolerable. Plaintiff experienced chronic stress, panic attacks, stomach issues, burnout, inability to function during severe episodes, and other physical and emotional symptoms.”
Sorrenti said that when she repeatedly complained about workplace conditions—described in the lawsuit as “lack of support, intimidation, unsafe dynamics, undermining of her authority, legal and safety issues, and the need for external human resources support”—her complaints were treated as reasons to build a disciplinary case against her.
Sorrenti said the issue came to a head on March 26 of this year, when SebArts agreed to rent space for an event associated with a person in Sebastopol, who, according to the lawsuit, was “associated with financial fraud allegations, a restraining order, accusations of sexual violence, nonpayment, angry refusal to pay, and a domestic violence charge.”
“There was quite a bit leading up to that point, but that was pretty much the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Sorrenti said. According to the suit, as a result of the disagreement over this rental, “On March 30, 2026, Plaintiff suffered a debilitating panic attack that left her barely able to speak or move.”
Sorrenti said she had long urged the center to hire an HR firm to deal with issues in its workplace culture. SebArts obliged, hiring Leap Solutions, but according to Sorrenti, that didn’t help.
“I was pretty much that first person that was working with them to let them know what I was experiencing, and a few weeks had passed since I had made that report…we just never heard back about it again, so then after enough time had passed, and there wasn’t any change or attempt to follow up, it just made things a lot more difficult for me.”
According to the lawsuit, “Plaintiff (i.e., Sorrenti) requested a peaceful transition. She did not simply walk away. She proposed working remotely during April except for on-site needs related to the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, requested three months of severance/exit pay starting from May 1 so she could heal, and offered to assist with onboarding, delegation of responsibilities, and written protocols.”
Instead, Sorrenti said she was put on administrative leave starting on April 1 and offered $7,500 in severance.
“I was abruptly locked out without any notice, and then my health care was cut off—and that was after being devoted [to SebArts] for about five years of my life,” she said.
The lawsuit includes the following claims:
1. Constructive Wrongful Termination in Violation of Public Policy ; 2. Retaliation in Violation of Labor Code Section 1102.5; 3. Retaliation and Interference in Violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act; 4. Failure to Prevent Retaliation, Harassment, and Discrimination; 5. Failure to Engage in the Good Faith Interactive Process; 6. Failure to Provide Reasonable Accommodation; 7. Failure to Pay All Wages Due Upon Separation, Labor Code Sections 201, 202, and 203; 8. Failure to Pay Accrued Vacation, Paid Time Off, and Earned Compensation; 9. Unlawful Non-Compete and Restraint of Trade, Business and Professions Code Section 16600 et seq.; 10. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress; 11. Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress; 12. Unfair Business Practices.
Sorrenti is seeking compensatory damages for lost wages (including unpaid wages, accrued vacation, paid time off), lost benefits, and lost earning capacity; as well as damages for emotional distress; injunctive relief voiding the non-compete clause, attorneys’ fees, and a jury trial.
As is common in such cases, the Sebastopol Center for the Arts has not responded publicly to Sorrenti’s lawsuit. Palandech responded to our request for comment with this brief text:
“I am not available to speak about it except to say: The Sebastopol Center for the Arts is surprised that Ms. Sorrenti filed a lawsuit, and it is the intention of SebArts to respond honestly and forthrightly to her allegations. We can make no further comment as this matter is in litigation involving a personnel matter.”