HARRISBURG — The director of a food assistance program for mothers and young children resigned from the Shapiro administration last week, alleging she experienced “significant and ongoing workplace challenges.”
Those included excessive oversight and micromanagement, “circumstances that [she] experienced as discriminatory,” limited leadership support, and suggestions that, as a Black woman, she “needed to take ‘baby steps’ and could not do certain things [she] believed were necessary to effectively lead the program.”
Sally Zubairu-Cofield, who had led the office since her appointment in 2022, detailed her allegations in a Sept. 21 resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by Spotlight PA. She said she faced “barriers” that limited her ability to lead the Department of Health’s Bureau of Women, Infants and Children.
“I also experienced repeated situations in which I felt I was expected to accept limitations on my leadership that were not applied consistently to other bureau directors,” Zubairu-Cofield said in the letter.
Zubairu-Cofield confirmed to Spotlight PA that she exited her role, but declined an interview request for this story.
In the letter, she said that early in her tenure she faced “multiple allegations and investigations that I understood were subsequently determined to be unfounded.” (She did not detail what the allegations were.) Zubairu-Cofield said she was told by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, which oversees collective bargaining laws for public and some private employees, not to discuss the allegations. (The board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
Zubairu-Cofield said she repeatedly raised concerns about the issues she faced. The letter does not identify to whom Zubairu-Cofield complained, nor name anyone as part of the allegations.
Responding to emailed questions, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said the office referred Zubairu-Cofield's allegations to the Bureau of Equal Employment Opportunity Investigations under the Office of Administration.
"Following the recent resignation of the Pennsylvania WIC director, other DOH staff will be leading the program until the role is permanently filled,” the Department of Health’s statement read. “WIC offices remain fully operational and services to participants will continue without interruption.”
The Office of Administration said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that it “reviews all matters referred to it for investigation and takes appropriate action in accordance with policy,” but it did not confirm whether it received the Department of Health’s referral.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children is a federal food assistance initiative. The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Bureau of WIC, which Zubairu-Cofield helmed, administers it here. States distribute federal grants to local organizations that provide foods, healthcare referrals, and nutrition education for low-income women and children.
People eligible for the program include women who are pregnant or gave birth in the past six months (12 months if breastfeeding) and children under the age of five. As of August, WIC organizers estimated roughly 175,000 Pennsylvanians were enrolled in the program — down from 184,000 last year.
Zubairu-Cofield’s interest in WIC was personal. She had a negative experience at a local agency in Maryland when she was pregnant at 19 years old, according to a profile of her published by the Pittsburgh-based Jewish Healthcare Foundation. After graduating from nursing school, she began working at a Maryland WIC agency.
"The way I was treated at WIC made a difference in my entire being. I made it my mission that no one would ever feel like that again. I walked through these doors determined to immediately make a difference.” Zubairu-Cofield told the foundation. “I saw people who looked like me, and I knew that is where I needed to be and where I was supposed to be.”
In her resignation letter, Zubairu-Cofield said she relocated to Pennsylvania “and left behind all of what was familiar to me because I believed deeply in the opportunity to lead and strengthen WIC and to serve the families who depend on it.”
She is now stepping away, she wrote, because the “cumulative impact of these circumstances has taken a serious toll on my well-being,” and she is prioritizing her health and dignity.
“My resignation should not be interpreted as a withdrawal of the concerns I have previously raised,” Zubairu-Cofield said. “I believe the issues I experienced during my tenure deserve appropriate consideration and documentation, and I reserve all rights concerning those matters.”
Rosie Lapowsky, a spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro, said in a statement that the governor’s office first learned of Zubairu-Cofield's “situation” after she resigned.
“The Shapiro Administration is committed to ensuring safe, respectful workplaces across the Commonwealth,” Lapowsky said. “It expects any allegations of misconduct to be reviewed promptly, thoroughly, and in accordance with established policies.”
BEFORE YOU GO… If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. This story was funded in part thanks to the support of the Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund. Learn more about how we are supported here.