A chief executive running a Southern California homelessness and domestic violence non-profit reportedly received more than $1.6 million in compensation over two years while residing thousands of miles away in Hawaii.

The earnings for Carol Adelkoff, who has led the 1736 Family Crisis Center since 1984, significantly surpass those of executive directors running similar or much larger organizations in the region, according to tax records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.

Federal tax filings show Adelkoff earned $742,181 in 2024. The prior year, she received $907,923, which included a $495,000 bonus that exceeded her base salary. Before 2023, her annual base pay had hovered around $405,000.

Responding to inquiries about the compensation, Adelkoff said the elevated numbers were driven by a payout for unused vacation days accumulated during her four-decade tenure at the organization.

“It was simply a matter of reducing accrued vacation liability on the books and paying it out,” Adelkoff said, adding that “the salary didn’t jump like that.”

Kerry Garvis Wright, an attorney representing the center, confirmed in a letter that the non-profit’s board worked with financial and legal advisors to reduce the accrued liability before Adelkoff’s retirement, according to the Los Angeles Times. Wright noted that the 2024 tax filings were being amended to clarify that $329,243 of her pay stemmed from vacation distribution.

Wright explained that the expanding geographic scale and operational complexity of the non-profit made taking time off difficult for the chief executive.

“As a result, over the course of the decades she served the organization, her vacation pay accrued substantially,” Wright wrote.

The payouts have raised concerns among non-profit governance and accounting experts.

Outside analysts said that while vacation cash-outs were common when an employee departed an organization, substantial payouts to active executives were highly unusual. Standard practice among California non-profits typically caps accrued vacation time to 1.5 times an employee’s annual allotment.

“It’s an unusual benefit,” Marc Owens, a lawyer who previously directed the IRS division regulating non-profits, told the publication. “The amount is stunningly large.”

Brian Mittendorf, an accounting expert at Ohio State University who reviewed the filings, questioned the precedent.

“The bigger question is, was it appropriate for a person to be able to accrue that much money and suddenly get it paid out?” Mittendorf told the newspaper.

Laurie Styron, CEO of the watchdog group CharityWatch, described the arrangement as “highly unusual” and questioned how the board reached its decision.

The 1736 Family Crisis Center relies almost entirely on public funding, with 94 percent of its revenue originating from government grants. Since 2021, it has secured at least $25 million from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. Overall revenue for the non-profit stood at $13 million in 2023, down from a peak of $18 million in 2021.

Despite operating approximately 16 facilities across Los Angeles and Orange counties, Adelkoff has maintained her primary residence on the Big Island of Hawaii for at least 11 years, according to property records and court testimony. Property records show she acquired the residence in 2002 after selling a home in Los Angeles County.

Adelkoff declined to confirm her state of residency to reporters, citing security precautions related to working with domestic violence survivors.

Wright stated that the board explicitly requested Adelkoff remain as CEO following her relocation in 2002, writing, “The organization has clearly thrived under her caring leadership.”

Governance structures at the organization have also drawn attention. Five of the board’s members have served for more than 14 years, a tenure duration that governance experts caution can compromise board independence.

Additionally, Board President Ron Troupe has collected an annual salary ranging from $30,000 to $97,500 since 2005 despite not being an operational employee, a rarity among non-profit boards, which typically consist of unpaid volunteers.

“The board’s No. 1 rule is to oversee the organization and it’s hard to do that if the decisions you make directly affect your pay,” Styron told the Los Angeles Times.

Troupe declined to share board meeting minutes or compensation studies, stating that internal board documentation was private.

The Independent has contacted the 1736 Family Crisis Center for comment.