A former employee of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) is calling for the resignation and the revocation of the medical license of the department's director, Dr. Kathleen Brady, in a department-wide open letter that alleges drug trafficking, harassment and a hostile workplace inside the city's health agency.

The allegations were made public by Ernest Owens, an award-winning journalist and CBS Philly News contributor, who shared the news on his Instagram account. According to that post, Ervin Malik Simmons, a former Community Engagement and Marketing Coordinator within PDPH's Division of HIV Health (DHH), sent the six-page letter to the entire department, detailing an alleged toxic work environment marked by drug trafficking and multiple forms of abuse that culminated, he says, in his wrongful termination after he raised concerns.

Simmons says he was employed by the department from May 2026 until October 1, 2026, when he was terminated. He describes the firing as retaliatory, saying it came after he requested accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a statute that prohibits employers from retaliating against workers for requesting such accommodations. He says he endured workplace harassment and personal turmoil stemming from a romantic relationship with a colleague that spilled into his professional life, and that it all unfolded under Brady's leadership, which he says failed to act in a way that left him feeling protected.

According to Simmons, the department carried a reputation for a hostile work environment that a colleague warned him about on his first day. He also says management is ill-equipped in its diversity training and efforts, which affects how employee issues are handled and even how staff are able to do their jobs. He says marketing campaigns intended to reach minority demographics — specifically Black and brown individuals and people who identify as LGBTQ+ — were helmed primarily by cisgender white women, creating a disconnect in messaging. When he offered feedback or proposed ideas he believed were more effective, he says he was pulled from certain marketing projects altogether.

Simmons further alleges undertones of racism and sexual misconduct within the department. In one portion of the letter, he says a fair-skinned Latino colleague named Pablo Souble referred to Afro-Brazilians as "Chocolates," and said they all have large penises.

He says matters grew worse when he began dating Antonio "Toni" McFadden, a field coordinator within the department. Simmons says he immediately disclosed the relationship to a co-worker, who relayed the information to Brady. Per Simmons, the relationship was volatile and abusive: he says he was subjected to intimate partner violence, was introduced to cocaine use, and witnessed McFadden abuse drugs and use drugs as an incentive to clients.

The gravest allegation concerns McFadden's recruitment methods. Simmons claims McFadden told him he had worked out an arrangement with a drug dealer who would accept the $50 gift cards that research participants receive for taking part in studies managed by McFadden and the department, as payment for cocaine. According to Simmons, McFadden would then tell participants that if they enrolled in the research study, they could use the gift card to buy cocaine from his dealer. He also claims McFadden informed him that he had sexual relationships with some of the research study participants. Incentives like these are a routine part of public health research, used to thank participants for their time — which is why an alleged diversion of them, if substantiated, would raise questions about the oversight of how such studies are run.

Simmons says cocaine and other drug use are contributing factors in behaviors that affect people who are later diagnosed with HIV, which he says is why McFadden's alleged methods alarmed him. He says he tried to warn Brady and human resources about McFadden, but his warnings were dismissed. He says there was a brief investigation into his abuse claims against McFadden that he was not kept abreast of, and that he was reportedly told whatever occurred between him and McFadden outside the workplace was not relevant to their jobs or the investigation.

After ending the relationship, Simmons says he sought help and was diagnosed with PTSD, and eventually requested an ADA accommodation to be free of McFadden's alleged ongoing abuse and harassment in the office. Instead, he says, he was terminated.

The allegations amount to another potential call to action for Philadelphia Mayor Cerrelle Parker. Residents were excited when Parker made history as the city's 100th mayor and the first woman to hold the office, but she has come under severe criticism since her inauguration in January 2024. Some of the biggest pushback from residents involves her administration's approach to existing DEI efforts, tax increase proposals, and a return-to-office mandate for city workers. There have also been internal complaints from former employees, some of whom have filed federal lawsuits against the city and Mayor Parker. How the city responds — whether through the department, the mayor's office, or a formal review of the letter's claims — is the immediate question, and for now the allegations remain account of one former employee.