‘Bleed Blue’ Bronco says Boise State fired her for reporting age discrimination

A former Boise State University administrator says she was fired for reporting age discrimination against two colleagues and an inappropriate workplace relationship.

Lisa Gardner is suing the school, its former President Marlene Tromp, two administrators and the Boise State University Foundation.

Gardner, a self-proclaimed “Bleed Blue” Bronco, graduated from the university in 1995 and later went on to work at the Boise State Alumni Association, eventually becoming executive director of alumni relations, a job she held for nearly a decade before she was fired in December. She says it was her “dream job.”

She alleges in the lawsuit filed in April that she was retaliated against for reporting age discrimination against the colleagues and an affair between a senior official and a subordinate.

Boise State denied each of the allegations in its response filed in court.

The lawsuit says that, in her last few years on the job, Gardner repeatedly advocated for two other employees over 40 years old who had not received promotions or pay increases that younger female employees had received. In summer 2024, she relayed her concerns to Boise State’s human resources department. Gardner also shared that she suspected a senior official of having an intimate, romantic or sexual relationship with a younger female employee who had recently received a promotion.

Her lawsuit also says the same official, who is not directly identified, had another such relationship with a former chair of the foundation, who also was not identified. The foundation, a private nonprofit, did not respond to a request for comment.

Gardner said she became aware in fall 2024 that two of her coworkers had independently filed formal charges of age discrimination against David Johnston, associate vice president for alumni and constituent engagement; and Matthew Ewing, the former CEO of the Boise State University Foundation, who left in October for a job at Indiana University. Johnston was Gardner’s direct supervisor from November 2022 until she was fired in December.

Boise State opened an investigation into the charges. Gardner says she fully cooperated with the investigation and provided documentation that supported the suspected instances of discrimination, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says Ewing was fired from the foundation on Oct. 31, and that Argia Beristain was appointed to replace him in the interim. Beristain was permanently appointed CEO in March, according to a news release.

On Nov. 11, Beristain called Gardner into a previously unscheduled meeting, with Johnston and a deputy chief human resources officer in attendance. There, Johnston told Gardner that her employment would end on Dec. 16. He said Boise State and the foundation had decided to eliminate her job and create a new executive director position that would be filled after a national search.

Gardner said the news was a “complete surprise.” In the lawsuit, she said she had no reason to suspect her job was being eliminated and said her job performance was consistently rated as “exemplary” by supervisors.

The lawsuit accuses Boise State, its foundation, Tromp, Beristain and Johnston of retaliating against Gardner for whistleblowing, in violation of the Idaho Protection of Public Employees Act. Gardner also claims the defendants intentionally inflicted severe emotional distress. She’s suing for lost wages, damages for emotional distress and legal fees.

Boise State sought to dismiss portions of the complaint for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”

Fourth District Judge Jason Scott in Boise ruled July 9 that Gardner’s retaliation claim can’t proceed against Tromp, Beristain or Johnston as individuals, and he dismissed parts of her emotional distress claim. But he allowed her case to proceed and gave her the option to amend the lawsuit to revise the emotional distress claims.

Gardner made $128,107 a year as executive director of Alumni Relations, according to the Transparent Idaho website. Before suing, she had filed a $2.5 million tort claim against Boise State, Idaho Education News reported.

Attempts to reach Ewing for comment were unsuccessful. Gardner’s attorney, Brady Hall, declined to comment.