(The Center Square) - Nearly a year after the Tacoma Urban League, a Black community advocacy organization, first placed its CEO on paid administrative leave, the organization has officially cut ties with Desireé Wilkins Finch amid allegations of improper use of funding.
Tacoma Urban League Chief Operating Officer Tasha West-Baker confirmed by phone Wednesday to The Center Square that Wilkins Finch was no longer employed at TUL, but directed any questions about the decision to TUL’s board of directors.
The Center Square reached out to the board but received no response before publication.
The board posted a lengthy statement on its website when Wilkins Finch was first placed on leave.
"The Board takes any concern related to the integrity of our operations seriously. Consistent with our commitment to transparency and accountability, the Board has initiated a confidential, independent, legal third-party investigative review to ensure that all questions are addressed through the proper process," the statement said.
"To protect the integrity of that review and respect all parties involved, we will not be commenting on specific details while it is underway other than to share that Ms. Wilkins Finch’s leave is unrelated to the Tacoma Urban League’s participation in public funding programs or the Community Reinvestment Program."
The Center Square left a voicemail at a number previously known to be connected to Wilkins Finch, but was unable to reach her.
The controversy surrounding her leadership began after UnDivided podcaster Brandi Kruse interviewed a former TUL volunteer who turned whistleblower in 2025, and The Center Square reported on alleged self-dealing going on at TUL.
The concerns regard taxpayer-funded grants provided to communities of color for home ownership programs and other loan assistance.
The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle is facing similar scrutiny with state and federal investigations regarding the reported misuse of taxpayer-funded grant programs.
The whistleblower, Corey Orvold, who is a real estate managing broker, said when accusations against ULMS surfaced, she started asking questions about the Tacoma Urban League, where she was still a volunteer at the time.
“She [Wilkins-Finch] told me that her hands aren't clean, that she was giving her friends money. And so that was what led to my resignation in April of 2025. I started doing my research and figured out, you know, how corrupt everything was,” said Orvold in an Oct. 5 interview with The Center Square upon learning that Wilkins-Finch was no longer with TUL.
Orvold recalled what she uncovered during her research.
“One of the organizations that Desireé had founded, the Tacoma Black Fund, received $1.6 million. And that was money that was supposed to be allocated to community," she said.
"But community members that wanted access to that money had to pay $400 to join the Tacoma Black Fund, and another $50 to also join the Tacoma Urban League,” said Orvold. “And there were a lot of people that got the money that were closely tied to the Tacoma Urban League.”
Orvold noted that the Community Reinvestment Funds program allowed 10% of funds to be allocated to administrative costs, but said TUL kept much more than that.
“The News Tribune broke the story back in March and they said that Desireé’s organization kept like $225,000 for admin. So that's far more than the 10%,” said Orvold.
Because of what Orvold uncovered, lawmakers pressed for legislation during the 2026 session to ensure that any funds distributed by Commerce to the Tacoma Urban League or other organizations providing grants were not being provided to anyone connected to TUL staff or other close connections.
The bill that ended up passing, House Bill 2523, requires the Office of Equity as well as the Department of Commerce to review and update the Community Reinvestment Plan every five years requiring the distribution of funds. It also creates a work group to develop a transition plan for joint administration of the CRP by the Office of Equity and Commerce.
Orvold told The Center Square while she was encouraged to see the bill pass, "there could be loopholes that could be exploited by the same bad apples."
“I want to make sure that this is top of mind and I'm going to use my voice because I've seen, even a year later, the community members are still picking up the pieces," she said.
She said those still affiliated with TUL and related community organizations reach out to her about their concerns, but are afraid to go public.
“Where I'm frustrated is that there were no whistleblower protections. And trying to find actual victims that will speak out," she said.
"I know that in the last legislative session, they were talking about getting those whistleblower protections, but it never happened.”
