Former Humboldt County coordinator claims retaliation after harassment report

A former Humboldt County economic development coordinator says the county fired her after she reported sexual harassment, and the county’s own investigation allegedly confirmed her complaint was valid the next day.

The claim comes from Dianna Rios, who spent nearly four years in the job helping run county efforts tied to business recruitment and air service. County and local profile pages listed Rios as the county’s Economic Development Coordinator, linked to GOHumCo and Humboldt Rising, in a role inside a division that says it works to attract and support new businesses, strengthen startups and workforce development, and coordinate regional economic initiatives.

The allegation reaches beyond a single personnel dispute because the work involved the county’s Aviation Department and airport business development. Humboldt County says its Aviation Department operates six airports and airfields that support emergency airlifts, disaster relief, wildfire response, package delivery, and private and commercial aviation. Those functions make the office a practical part of the county’s economic strategy, not just a transportation unit.

Rios’s claim, which was placed on the agenda for a May 2026 Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meeting as one of several legal claims from a former employee, alleges retaliation after she reported harassment, along with invasion of privacy and related claims. The filing includes many redactions. The most consequential detail is the timeline: Rios says the county terminated her before its investigation was complete, then found her complaint valid the next day.

That sequence raises questions about who knew what inside county government, when supervisors or managers were informed, and whether the county followed its own harassment and whistleblower procedures. For a public employer, the issue is not only whether misconduct occurred, but whether a worker who raised it was protected or punished.

The county’s aviation operations have already been under close scrutiny. In 2025, the Humboldt County Grand Jury said the Department of Aviation should continue promoting economic development through Project SOAR, short for Sourcing Opportunities for Airport Revenues. The report said the county should keep developing non-aeronautical land parcels and pursue new air service to Seattle and other northern destinations.

That backdrop makes the retaliation claim more significant for county operations. County news said Aviation Director Justin Hopman resigned effective Friday, March 27, 2026, adding another leadership change in a department central to Eureka and McKinleyville airport activity, including California Redwood Coast-Humboldt County Airport in McKinleyville. For Humboldt County, the case now sits at the intersection of workplace accountability, airport governance, and the credibility of its broader economic development push.