San Francisco DA Names Longtime Friend With No Law License as Chief of Staff While She Keeps UCSF Teaching Job

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins quietly elevated a longtime friend with no law license to chief of staff in March, a post that pays nearly $300,000 a year. The appointee, Monifa Willis, is a nursing professor who also continues to earn more than $100,000 annually from part-time work at UCSF, according to a report by The San Francisco Standard.

Willis joined the District Attorney's Office in 2022 to lead its Victim Services Division. She had also served as chief executive of a marijuana dispensary called New Life CA, which has since closed.

City ethics rules require officials to disclose close personal relationships and bar the hiring of direct family members. The appointment has nonetheless prompted questions about why a friend with few of the usual credentials, and a demanding second job, was chosen for the role.

A former Victim Services employee who worked under Willis, and who spoke anonymously for fear of professional backlash, said Willis was given the post because she knew the DA and had limited knowledge of victims' rights law. "Stuff fell through the cracks all the time because she was too busy doing two jobs," the former employee said, adding that they had seen Willis teaching online classes during work hours. A former senior administrator in the office also questioned how someone with no legal license, and only two years in Victim Services, could run such an organization.

Ryan Khojasteh, who is challenging Jenkins for district attorney, called the choice a sign of bad judgment and favoritism. "Nepotism erodes public trust," he said in an email, promising that assignments in his administration would be based on merit, experience and competence.

Jenkins' office said the hire presents no conflict of interest and that Willis was chosen for her experience inside and outside the office. Jenkins said in a statement she was proud to have Willis as chief of staff and had known her for years. The office also called allegations of mismanagement in Victim Services unsubstantiated, describing Willis as "outstanding" and noting that no complaints about her leadership were filed with human resources.

Willis and Jenkins have known each other since they ran on the same high school track team in Union City, according to a 2022 Mission Local story. Their public Venmo records dating to 2021 show they went to dinner, rented a car, attended a football game and visited a waxing salon together. The relationship should have been disclosed under city ethics rules but was not; Jenkins' office said the specific rule does not apply to this hire. Failing to file carries no penalty, though Proposition D, taking effect in October, allows penalties in some circumstances.

The chief of staff is appointed by the DA, who sets the duties, and the job is not advertised. In this case there were no other applicants. San Francisco's position requires four years of managerial experience in a legal, legislative or clinical social environment but not a law license. In Contra Costa County, by contrast, the job requires a license and 10 years of legal experience. The post does not involve managing daily court proceedings, which are handled by Assistant District Attorney Ana Gonzalez.

Outside employment is another point of scrutiny. Department policy bars outside activity that regularly causes absences or interferes with city duties. According to human resources and the DA, Willis did not file a request for outside employment as chief of staff, though the department requires pre-approval. The office said it verbally approved the arrangement when she was first hired and that she filed a new form on July 25; she did list the job on her financial disclosure. The office said she teaches one class on Wednesday evenings in UCSF's fall, winter and spring quarters, and that it does not affect her work.

David Campos, who served as former DA Chesa Boudin's chief of staff from 2020 to 2022, said he could not imagine holding a second job in that role. "It's a job that requires all of your time and energy," he said.