Clemmons v. Academy for Educational Development (107 F. Supp. 3d 100, 2015)

MEMORANDUM OPINION

RUDOLPH CONTRERAS, United States District Judge

Denying Plaintiff’s Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment

I. INTRODUCTION

Now before the Court is Plaintiff Dr. Lydia Clemmons’s motion to alter or amend a final judgment of this Court. By way of background, Dr. Clemmons brought suit against her former employer, the Academy for Educational Development (“AED”), after resigning from the company in 2009. Dr. Clemmons alleged that she had experienced a hostile work environment, constructive discharge, and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and the District of Columbia Human Rights Act (“DCHRA”), D.C.Code § 1-2501 et seq., as well as defamation under District of Columbia law. On September 30, 2014, this Court granted AED’s motion for summary judgment as to all claims. Dr. Clemmons now argues that the Court’s judgment is the product of clear error. She asks that the Court vacate its September 2014 judgment and that AED’s motion for summary judgment be denied as to her hostile work environment and retaliation claims. She also asks the Court to grant a series of spoliation inferences that she claims were denied erroneously. Upon consideration of Dr. Clemmons’s motion, the memoranda in support thereof and opposition thereto, the Court will deny the motion to alter or amend judgment.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

During Dr. Clemmons’s period of employment, AED managed two projects in Ghana that addressed HIV prevention for at-risk populations: the Strengthening HIV and AIDS Response Partnership Project (“SHARP”) and the Ghana Sustainable Change Project (“GSCP”). See Def.’s Stmt, of Undisputed Facts ¶ 2, ECF No. 56 (“SOF”). Dr. Clemmons, an African-American woman, served as Chief of Party (“COP”) for SHARP. Her immediate supervisor was initially Michael Kaplan, see id. ¶24, but Cheryl Mayo assumed that role in July 2008, PL’s Stmt, of Disputed Facts ¶ 91, ECF No. 68-1 (“SDF”). At all times, Dr. Clemmons’s second-level supervisor at AED was Frank Beadle de Palomo (“Mr. Beadle”). See SOF If 16.

Jacqui Larsen also worked for AED, serving first as the Deputy COP for GSCP and then as GSCP’s COP beginning in late 2007. See SOF ¶ 6. Ms. Larsen’s direct supervisor was Nancy Nachbar, see id. ¶ 7, who in turn was supervised by Margaret Parlato and Mark Rasmuson, SDF ¶75. Dawn McCown became GSCP’s Deputy COP in January 2009. SOF ¶ 8. Ms. Larsen, Ms. Nachbar, and Ms. McCown are all Caucasian. See SDF ¶ 135.

The United States Agency for International Development (“USAID”) was the principal funder and client for both SHARP and 'GSCP. See 2d Am. Compl. (“SAC”) ¶¶ 8, 15, ECF No. 28. BethAnne Moskov, USAID’s Director for Health, Population and Nutrition, managed the U.S. Government’s health-related funded activities in Ghana, including both SHARP and GSCP, starting in August 2005. See SOF ¶ 9; Moskov Dep. 7:20-8:04, Aug. 19, 2013, ECF No. 68-19. USAID’s Peter Wondergem reported to Ms. Moskov on SHARP’S progress and activities, while Susan Wright reported on GSCP. SOF ¶10.

A. Pre-Complaint Conflict in the Workplace

By all accounts, Dr. Clemmons had a rocky relationship with Ms. Larseri and Ms. McCown of GSCP, and with Ms. Nachbar, who supervised Ms. Larsen and Ms. McCown. Their professional interactions were often unpleasant, marked by criticism and conflict. See SOF ¶¶ 19-21, 26-28 (describing mutual dislike and “increasing tensions and difficulties”); SDF ¶35 (alleging that Ms. Larsen and Ms. McCown sneered, yelled, rejected feedback, and displayed “hostile facial expressions and body language” to Dr. Clemmons); Def.’s Ex. 0-5, ECF No. 5617 (alleging that Dr. Clemmons made “passive aggressive attacks on our work” and “continue[d] to make everything unbearably difficult, complex, changeable, and unpleasant” for GSCP).

AED attributes the contentious relationships to personality differences between the women that were compounded by the competitive relationship between SHARP and GSCP, both of which vied for attention and resources from USAID. See SOF ¶ 19; Beadle Dep. 216:3- 216:15, Nov. 6, 2013, ECF No. 68-12. A Joint Implementation Plan (“JIP”) was devised in May 2007 with the goal of addressing the “disconnection” between SHARP and GSCP by requiring the two projects to increase collaboration on certain tasks. See PL’s Ex. G-173, ECF No. 68-10; Moskov Dep. 66:20-68:8. “GSCP became responsible for producing all communications materials used and needed by SHARP ... [and] SHARP’S contact with GSCP increased” as a result of the JIP. Shillingi Decl. ¶ 7, PL’s Ex. F-113, ECF No. 68-9. But the plan backfired, ultimately increasing tensions between SHARP and GSCP as SHARP staff expressed concerns about the quality and timeliness of GSCP’s work. See id. at ¶¶ 7-10; Moskov Dep. 67:16-68:17.

Relatedly, AED contends that another root cause of the conflict between Dr. Clemmons and GSCP’s leadership was Dr. Clemmons’s persistent criticism of Ms. Larsen and GSCP, which contributed to the deteriorating relationship between the projects. For example, Dr. Clemmons copied USAID on e-mails noting that data from GSCP was overdue or had “quality-problems,” Def.’s Exs. 0-119-20, ECF No. 56-19, accused GSCP of doing technically unsound “slap-dash work” that required correcting, see Def.’s Ex. 0-116, ECF No. 56-19, and alleged that GSCP Tyould routinely and “deliberately wait until the last minute to spring something on SHARP so as to limit [their] ability and time to provide any inputs,” Pl.’s Ex. F-127, ECF No. 68-9. The GSCP team did not take kindly to being told that their materials “were not suitable” or that there were “problems with the quality of the work produced by the GSCP project.” See Shillingi Deck ¶¶ 10-12, PL’s Ex. F-113. They began to feel that Dr. Clemmons was “very deliberately undermining]” them because nothing they did was “ever satisfactory and more changes [were] always required,” Def.’s Ex. 0-58, ECF No. 56-18, and they claimed that her “passive aggressive attacks on [their] work” made them “miserable,” “tearful,” and “depressed,” Def.’s Ex. 0-5, ECF No. 56-17; see also McCown Dep. 122:3-122:11, Oct. 8, 2013, ECF No. 68-18 (describing “feeling devalued and belittled”). GSCP members also complained about Dr. Clemmons verbally attacking them when providing technical feedback, and about her deliberately undermining GSCP in front of USAID. See Clemmons Dep. 106:18-108:3, Aug. 2, 2013, ECF No. 68-13; Def.’s Ex. 0-58 (describing GSCP staff as feeling undermined and “deeply upset” by Dr. Clemmons).

Dr. Clemmons, on the other hand, maintains that Ms. Larsen and Ms. McCown were responsible for creating a hostile work environment by rejecting her technical feedback on GSCP projects and by criticizing her to others in AED and at USAID. According to Dr. Clemmons, this behavior amounted to workplace mobbing, a “type of bullying”, where “colleagues attack your dignity, integrity and competence over a period of months or years ... [until] more coworkers unquestioningly accept the party line that you are unpleasant and inept and have no place in the organization.” Def.’s Ex. 0-1, ECF No. 56-17 (internal quotation marks omitted). Dr. Clemmons alleges that the mobbing occurred because of her race, and she observed that Ms. Larsen and Ms. McCown did not express the same hostility to feedback from white individuals or African individuals who were not in similar positions of authority. Clemmons Dep. 124:15-22. She also alleges that on one occasion, Ms. Larsen told Dr. Clemmons that she .was “just like a dog ... like a terrier that won’t let go of a bone ... 'like a ... little dog that won’t let go of a pant leg after it sunk its teeth into it, no matter how much you try to shake it off.” PL’s Resp. to Def.’s Interrog. No. 3-2, Def.’s Ex. 0-111, ECF No. 56-19.

To illustrate the mobbing at issue, Dr. Clemmons points first to the fact that Mr. Kaplan’s view of her changed from supportive in October 2007 to unsupportive in February 2008, allegedly as a result of the workplace mobbing. See PL’s Opp’n to Def.’s Mot. Summ. J. at 23, ECF No. 68. In October 2007, Dr. Clemmons “expressed [her] concerns about the human resources available within GSCP to actually implement the joint plan,” first in a meeting with GSCP on October 8, and then in an email she sent that same day to both Mr. 'Kaplan- and Mr. Rasmuson. Def.’s Ex. 0-115, ECF Nol 56-19. Dr. Clemmons asserts that Ms. Larsen then made

a baseless complaint about her behavior at the October meeting to Ms. Párlato, who in turn called Mr. Kaplan to complain about Dr. Clemmons “denounc[ing] GSCP to Bethanne Moskov of USAID.” Clemmons Decl. ¶ 1, Pl.’s Ex. B, ECF No. 68-5. Mr. Kaplan responded immediately to support Dr. Clemmons by calling Ms. Moskov and confirming that the accusation- that Dr. Clemmons had denounced GSCP to USAID was unfounded. See id.

By February 2008, however, Dr. Clemmons had lost Mr. Kaplan’s support. Dr. Clemmons’s subordinate had requested a modification in benefits, Mr. Kaplan denied the request, and the subordinate complained to Dr. Clemmons that Mr. Kaplan was “discriminating against her because of national origin and race.” See PL’s Resp. to Defi’s Interrog. Nos. 16,181, Def.’s Ex. O-lll. Dr. Clemmons raised her subordinate’s discrimination complaint against Mr. Kaplan with human resources (“HR”), and her relationship with Mr. Kaplan changed shortly after that. Id. Dr. Clemmons recalls that Mr. Kaplan went from defending her from GSCP’s criticisms to agreeing with GSCP that she was “disingenuous, manipulative, and not direct.” See Defi’s Ex. 0-8 at 52-53, ECF No. 56-17 (internal quotation marks omitted). When she asked for . an explanation, Mr. Kaplan stated that Dr. Clemmons had “told [Mr. Kaplan that she] would stand down, respect his authority and not intervene further [in the benefits matter], but in fact, [she] did go further,” ultimately raising the issue with HR and Mr. Beadle. Id. On February 18, 2008, Dr. Clemmons complained to Mr. Beadle about the incident with Mr. Kaplan, saying that she had been criticized unfairly “as a result of my raising the [employee’s] benefits [issue] with HR and with you.” Id. Mr. Kaplan withdrew from his role as Dr. Clemmons’s supervisor that same month. See PL’s Resp. to Defi’s Interrog. No. 19, Def.’s Ex. 0-111.

Dr. Clemmons next alleges that over the course of numerous calls, emails, and meetings, Ms. Larsen was hostile, impatient, and rude. Clemmons Dep. 108:17-111:1. Specifically, Ms. Larsen repeatedly interrupted Dr. Clemmons, spoke over her, and dismissed or ignored Dr. Clemmons’s comments and suggestions. See id. at 119:17-120:1. Dr. Clemmons’s feedback to GSCP was greeted with sneering facial expressions, or “a small giggle or a note written down on a piece of paper and slid over to a colleague while [Dr. Clemmons] was speaking.” Id. at 108:17-22. Additionally, although both GSCP and SHARP staff repeatedly were told not to discuss the other project in front of USAID unless representatives from both projects were in attendance, Dr. Clemmons felt that the message was “underscored with [her],” and not communicated “with the same level of emphasis” to GSCP and Ms. Larsen. Id. at 232:16-234:20; but see Def.’s Ex. 0-'26, ECF No. 56-18 (email from Dr. Clemmons stating that both she and Ms. Larsen had received the same “strong guidance” on the subject).

In April 2008, Dr. Clemmons says that she told Mr. Beadle that she suspected that some of her problems with Ms. Larsen and Ms. McCown “were tied to racist attitudes,” but that she knew certain behavior could be taken different ways and so she wanted him to speak with them to see what he thought. See Clemmons Dep. 118:15-120:22; 126:12-127:13. Mr. Beadle disputes Dr. Clemmons’s assertion that she ever mentioned race as a possible cause of the SHARP-GSCP conflict, noting that both Dr. Clemmons and Ms. Larsen made similar complaints about the other’s rudeness, lack of respect, and a lack of professionalism. Beadle Dep. 101:11-17, 114:18-20. Nevertheless, Mr. Beadle met with Dr. Clemmons and Ms. Larsen, first individually and then together, in an effort to understand and improve the working relationship between the two women. Id. at 99:13-103:9. The joint meeting concluded with Mr. Beadle’s recommendations as to how they could communicate to reduce conflict, and Dr. Clemmons and Ms. Larsen agreed to try to work together professionally going forward. See id. at 110:12-111:15; Clemmons Dep. 240:5-243:9.

On July 13, 2008, however, Ms. Nachbar emailed her supervisors and Mr. Beadle about Dr. Clemmons’s conduct during a joint SHARP-GSCP meeting with USAID. See Def.’s Ex. 05, ECF No. 56-17; Def.’s Ex. 0-56, ECF No. 56-18. Because Ms. Nachbar did not attend the meeting, the information provided in her emails was derived from a conversation with Ms. Larsen. See Nachbar Dep. 154:18-155:13, May 24, 2013, ECF No. 68-20. Ms. Nachbar wrote that Dr. Clemmons was “out of control and attempts to manage her have failed.” Def.’s Ex. 0-5. She claimed that Dr. Clemmons had lied at the joint meeting by saying she had not seen GSCP’s materials prior to the meeting, and that she was undermining the work of GSCP and AED in Ghana by producing a lengthy list of criticism of GSCP’s materials. See id.; Def.’s. 0-56. Additionally, Ms. Nachbar asserted that USAID representative Susan Wright told the GSCP staff after the meeting that “she was sorry they had to endure the experience ... [and Dr. Clemmons] had made herself look very silly and almost sad.” Def.’s Ex. 0-5. Ms. Nachbar concluded her email to her supervisors by stating that while she believed Dr. Clemmons “should be removed ... if that’s not going to happen, there need to be consequences.” Id. Her email to Mr. Beadle similarly stated that her “own belief is that [Dr. Clemmons’s] behavior warrants dismissal, but at a minimum, there should be consequences.” Def.’s Ex. 0-56.

After receiving the email, Mr. Beadle contacted Dr. Clemmons to inform her about Ms. Nachbar’s account of the joint meeting, and he personally initiated an investigation into the accusations of unprofessional conduct. See Def.’s Ex. 0-76, EOF No. 56-18. Mr. Beadle spoke with meeting attendees from SHARP, GSCP, and USAID, and reviewed relevant documents, see Defl’s Ex. 0-57, ECF No. 56-18; Beadle Dep. 227:3-19. In her conversation with Mr. Beadle, Dr. Clemmons did not tell him that she believed the July 2008 email was attributable to racism. Clemmons Dep. 320:1-15; Beadle Dep. 227:20-228:4.

At the end of his investigation, Mr. Beadle concluded that the allegations of unprofessional conduct in Ms. Nachbar’s email were meritless. Accordingly, on July 16, 2008, he sent an email to Ms. Nachbar criticizing her judgment and stating that she should have listened to both sides before sending the email. See Def.’s Ex. 0-58 (“For you, with Jacqui’s ammunition, to have jumped to a public lynching of Lydia and the SHARP team without having listened to all sides was not the best of judgment.”). AED limited Ms. Nachbar’s visibility with senior management and denied her desirable roles within the organization. See Beadle Dep. 153:5-155:6.

Mr. Beadle communicated the results of the investigation to Dr. Clemmons, and he told her that Ms. Nachbar’s opinion would not adversely affect her employment at AED. See Beadle Dep. 231:13-232:17. He also informed Dr. Clemmons that he possessed a favorable opinion of her and her work for SHARP. See id. On September 2, 2008, Dr. Clemmons thanked Mr. Beadle for the investigation and his support, but said that upon learning that Ms. Nachbar’s email had recommended that she be fired, she felt compelled to raise the issue with HR. See Def.’s Ex. 0-78, ECF No. 56-18.

B. The Formal Grievance and Allegations of Retaliation

When Mr. Beadle heard that Dr. Clemmons intended to complain to HR, he responded by telling Dr. Clemmons that he had already handled the matter, that he did “not support [her] taking this to HR,” and that if she chose to pursue the matter further, she would need to do it “alone and without [his]' support.” Id. He explained that the complaint “will only create worse feelings between you and GSCP, and will most definitely .make the situation worse. It will swallow your time and make you less productive ... which will have a direct impact on your performance and my view and review of your work.” Id. At the same time, Mr. Beadlereassured Dr. Clemmons that the. situation with GSCP had “no bearing whatsoever” on how he viewed her work, and that Ms. Larsen and Ms. Nachbar “have nothing to do with your professional reputation. If you do a good job, the project accomplishes its deliverables, then everything will be fíne.” Id. Ms. Mayo also emailed Dr. Clemmons stating that she agreed with Mr. Beadle’s advice, that both she and Mr. Beadle “fully support” her, and that she encouraged Dr. Clemmons to “take a step back” from the situation. Id.

After considering her supervisors’ advice, on October 6, 2008, Dr. Clemmons informed Mr. Beadle and Ms. Mayo that she had decided to file a formal grievance after all. Def.’s Ex. 08 at 49. And on October 7, 2008, Dr. Clemmons emailed a grievance to AED’s Chief Management Officer, Ricardo Villeta, claiming that she had experienced workplace mobbing, bullying, and malicious gossip “originating from Jacqui Larsen and propagated through Nancy Nachbar.” See Def.’s Ex. 0-1. The grievance deemed the pair’s actions “dishonest and mean-spirited,” and it alleged that they had “conducted an intensive, highly personal, and prejudicial campaign against me with a clear goal of forcing me out of my employment with AED while covering up shortcomings within their own team.” Id.

Marti McClintock, AED’s Senior Employee Relations Officer, handled the investigation into Dr. Clemmons’s grievance. She interviewed Dr. Clemmons by phone on October 14, 2008, and after the phone interview, Dr. Clemmons sent Ms. McClintock emails and documents that she believed addressed the key points of the grievance. See Def.’s Ex. 0-8; Def.’s Ex. 0-9, ECF No. 56-17. In one email, Dr. Clemmons explained that she believed that “what began to happen, and what triggered .the mobbing, was that GSCP[] somehow decided to try to cover up their gaps in technical expertise rather than addressing them, and ,to go on the offensive, labeling me with some of the terms I described (i.e., trouble-maker, patronizing, not a team player, etc.).” Def.’s Ex. 0-9. On November 21, 2008, Dr. Clemmons emailed Ms. McClintock a photograph of Ms. Larsen, Ms. Nachbar, and Ms. McCown socializing together to show “just how close-knit the relationships are between the GSCP staff and the USAID staff.” Def.’s Ex. 0-22A, ECF No. 5618. Dr. Clemmons also recalls speaking with Ms. McClintock on an unspecified date after filing her grievance and asking whether Ms. McClintock knew that she was African-American and that Ms. Larsen, Ms. McCown, and Ms. Nachbar were Caucasian. Clemmons Dep. 141:11-16. Ms. McClintock indicated that she was aware of that fact. Id.

Ms. McClintock also interviewed Ms. Mayo, Mr. Beadle, and Ms. Nachbar. See McClintock Dep. 20:20-21:10, April 30, 2013, ECF No. 68-17. Ms. McClintock’s handwritten notes pertaining to her interview of Mr. Beadle indicate that Mr. Beadie said that there were “longstanding issues,” with the supervisors of GSCP and the “perception [that Dr. Clemmons was] doing something to embarrass them and make them look bad.” Pl.’s Ex. D-17, ECF No. 68-7. Ms. McClintock also noted that the allegations did not affect Mr. Beadle!s view of or support for Dr. Clemmons, and she wrote that Mr. Beadle “believes may be racial, as well.” Id.. Ms. Mayo told Ms. McClintock that she believed that the conflict was driven by “personality and personal issues,” communication and “workplace problems,” and that she believed “race and racial stereotypes” were also at play. Mayo Dep. 252:15-253:4, June 18,' 2013, ECF No. 68-16. Ms. McClintock did not interview Ms. Larsen, though she did confirm with Ms. Nachbar that Ms. Larsen had been counselled about remaining professional when working with Dr. Clemmons. See Del’s Ex. 0-28, ECF No. 56-18.

On October 20, 2008, two weeks after filing her mobbing grievance, Dr. Clemmons received an “excellent” performance rating on her annual review, along with a 4.5% salary increase. Def.’s Ex. 0-90, ECF No. 56-19. AED’s “Annual Salary Review Guidelines,” which were issued yearly by AED’s president and CEO, established a range of merit-based salary percentage increases . that corresponded with an employee’s base salary and annual performance rating. See Def.’s Ex. 0-88, ECF No. 56-19. Given Dr. Clemmons’s salary and performance rating, however, 4.5% was the lowest possible raise that she could have been awarded pursuant to AED policy, which established a range of 4.5% to 6% for someone in Dr. Clemmons’s position that year. See Def.’s Ex. 0-88. Dr. Clemmons had also received an “excellent” performance rating and the lowest possible salary increase in 2006, before she filed her grievance. See Def.’s Ex. 0-139, ECF No. 56-20; Def.’s Ex. 0-140, ECF No. 56-20, But in 2007, Dr. Clemmons’s “excellent” performance rating had entitled her to a salary increase between 4.1% and 5.5%, and she had received a 5.0% increase. See Def.’s Ex. 0-213, ECF No. 56-20.

Two other high-perfórming COPs also received the minimum allowable salary increases in 2008. Stan Terrell, a Caucasian COP for a project in the Dominican Republic, was eligible to receive a merit-based increase between 2.5% and 4.0%, and he received an increase-of: 2.5%. See Def.’s Ex.. 0-88; Def.’s Ex. 0-211, ECF No. 56-20; Beadle Dep. 238:10-239:18. Licida Bautista, a Latina COP for a project in Honduras, also received a rating of “Excellent,” was eligible for a salary’increase between 5.5% and’ 7.0%, and. received the minimum salary increase of 5.5%. Def.’s Ex. 0-88; Defi’s Ex. 0-212, ECF No. 56-20; Beadle Dep. 239:19-241:2.

On December 2, 2008, Dr. Clemmons emailed Ms. Mayo to request fourteen days of paid leave. ’ See Del’s Ex. 0-86, ECF No. 56-19. At the time, Dr. Clemmons had a negative vacation balance that would return to a zero balance at the end of the year. See id. Because Dr. Clemmons had a negative leave balance, Ms. Mayo forwarded the request to Dan White, AED’s Senior Financial Director, for a recommendation, and then sent Mr. White’s recommendation to Mr. Beadle for final approval. Mayo Dep. 301:2-307:6. Mr. White recommended advancing five days of vacation leave and one day of personal leave, which is the amount Dr. Clemmons would have accrued in the first quarter of the next year, ending March 31, 2009. See Def.’s Ex. 0-86. Ms. Mayo agreed with Mr. White’s recommendation, and Mr. Beadle approved it. See id.; Defi’s Ex. 0-87, ECF No. 56-19; Mayo Dep. 303:9-306:3. After receiving a complaint from Dr. Clemmons about the leave decision, Ms. McClintock asked if Mr. Beadle would reconsider the decision to advance six days instead of fourteen, noting that Dr. Clemmons’s contract would not allow her to take leave during the last six months of the project. See PL’s Ex. E-93, ECF No. 68-8. Mr. Beadle declined to do so.. Id.

Citing the leave decision and continued undermining by Ms. Larsen, as well as plans to have SHARP work with GSCP in a sub-contractor role that would require Dr. Clemmons to report in some capacity to Ms. Naehbar, Dr. Clemmons contacted Ms. McClintock on December 19, 2008, raising the specter of “[pjossible retaliation.” Defi’s Ex. 0-26, ECF No. 56-18. She also told Ms. McClintock on December 23, 2008, that she was “now seeking legal advice ... due to [her] growing alarm that [her] professional reputation and future employment opportunities have been harmed through [her] employment with AED and all of the fall-out with USAID in Ghana.” Id.

Dr. Clemmons’s concern about reporting to GSCP and Ms. Naehbar traces back to an August 2008 agreement to transfer $500,000 in USAID funding from GSCP to SHARP. See Defi’s Ex. 0-81, ECF No. 56-18. In December 2008, Dr. Clemmons learned that- the $500,000 would not be transferred directly to SHARP because the project had reached its funding cap. See PL’s Resp. to Def.’s Interrog. No. 19-5, Defi’s Ex. O-lll; Def.’s Ex. 0-68. Instead, GSCP accepted the funds on behalf of SHARP, and SHARP had to report how it used those funds to Ms. Naehbar. See PL’s Resp. to Def.’s Interrog. No. 19-5; Defi’s Ex. 0-74, ECF No. 56-18. Dr. Clemmons alleges that Mr. Beadle told her that she could not hire any consultants or part-time staff to accomplish the additional work caused by the transfer and reporting requirements, and that this resulted in her working “7 days a week and 15-16 hour days.” See PL’s Resp. to Defi’s Interrog. No. 19-5, Def.’s Ex. O-lll. On January 13, 2009, AED informed Dr. Clemmons that they had provided her incorrect information previously, and that she could, “in fact, locally hire a third-country consultant,” to which Dr. Clemmons replied by explaining that she had one consultant working on activities under the $500,000 transfer and that she would hire another “to handle the bi-weekly reporting on activities under the $500,000, transfer.” Defi’s Ex. 0-82, ECF No. 56-18. She also worked with AED to modify the reporting, template so that it would ideally require only a “10 minute effort.” Id.

On January 7, 2009, Ms. McClintock emailed Dr. Clemmons a “close-out” report setting forth the key findings from her mobbing investigation, explaining that:

[She] did not find a collaborative or collective effort to have [Dr. Clemmons] terminated, and/or a' campaign against [her]. However, [Ms. McClintock] did find inappropriate behavior ánd actions to have taken place in the past. The people who were involved with such actions have been formally addressed, very clearly and directly. As a result, it is our expectation that [Dr. Clemmons] will not experience similar actions to take place in the future. However, if that is not the case, [she is] asked to inform HR[.]

Def.’s Ex. 0-134, ECF No. 56-20. Dr. Clemmons alleges that she did, in fact, experience similar mobbing actions in January 2009 at a meeting with Ms. Larsen, Ms. McCown, and BethAnne Moskov of USAID. See Clemmons Dep. 382:13-387:1. Dr. Clemmons and her subordinate were delayed in entering the meeting and arrived to find Ms. Larsen, Ms. McCown, and Ms. Moskov already in conversation. Id. Ms. Moskov and Ms. Larsen then began criticizing Dr. Clemmons for sending an email on January 9 that stated that GSCP had not shown SHARP certain materials or coordinated with them about an action plan. Id.; see PL’s Ex. G-190, ECF No. 68-10. Ms. Moskov said that “she was tired of this kind of behavior,” and “in unison, almost” with Ms. Larsen, she said that the email response was “inappropriate, slowing things down, ridiculous.” Clemmons Dep. 386:6-20.

Dr. Clemmons then emailed Ms. McClintock on January 15, 2009, to let her know that she “as well as the SHARP project, have been experiencing retaliation. Recent events have confirmed that the retaliation, as well as the workplace mobbing, are based on discrimination and unfair treatment based on race.” See Def-’s Ex. 0-29, ECF No. 56-18. In response, Ms. McClintock asked Dr. Clemmons to provide more details about these incidents, see id., but Dr. Clemmons never replied to Ms. McClintock, see McClintock Dep. 218:12-14. Dr. Clemmons tendered her resignation on March 9, 2009, to be effective June 2009. See SDF ¶¶ 196,198.

Dr. Clemmons asserts that after resigning, she learned additional information about the workplace mobbing. Specifically, she alleges that Mary Lyn Field, then an AED Vice President, told a senior manager with another company that there were “management problems” within SHARP and implied that Dr. Clemmons was “a problem for AED.” See Clemmons Dep. 26:4-32:13. Further, in February 2009 Ms. Field allegedly approached a former colleague of Dr. Clemmons who was in a group of international health professionals on their way to an HIV/AIDS conference, and asked in an insinuating tone whether Dr. Clemmons was “difficult” at her last job. See id. 46:4-48:21. Dr. Clemmons also alleges that in October 2011, Ms. Moskov gave her a negative reference and said that Dr. Clemmons tended to “cry racism when things are not going her way.” See PL’s Ex. H-193, ECF No. 68-11; PL’s Ex. H-194, ECF No. 68-11.

C. Procedural History

On September 30, 2014, this Court granted AED’s motion for summary judgment as to all claims. The Court explained that while it was “not entirely clear” whether the workplace mobbing occurred because of Dr. Clemmons’s race, it was clear that Dr. Clemmons had failed to establish that the alleged harassment was so “‘severe or pervasive’ as to ‘alter the conditions of the plaintiffs employment and create an abusive working environment” actionable under Title VII and the DCHRA. Clemmons v. Acad. for Educ. Dev., No. 10-ev-0911, 70 F.Supp.3d 282, 298-301, 2014 WL 4851739, at *10-12 (D.D.C. Sept. 30, 2014) (quoting Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 786, 118 S.Ct. 2275, 141 L.Ed.2d 662 (1998)).

The Court also granted summary judgment to AED on Dr. Clemmons’s retaliation claims, which were premised on: (1) Mr. Beadle’s alleged threat that filing a grievance would negatively affect her performance evaluation, (2) the fact that she received the lowest possible raise, (3) the fact that she was advanced only six days of leave, and (4) the fact that she had to report to Ms. Nachbar regarding USAID’s $500,000 grant. Id. at 301-06, 2014 WL 4851739, at *13-16. The Court explained that several of the allegedly retaliatory actions were not materially adverse, and that Dr. Clemmons did not produce sufficient evidence to counter AED’s non-retaliatory explanations for a number of its actions. Id.

The Court also awarded summary judgment to AED as to Dr. Clemmons’s claims of constructive discharge and defamation, id. at 304-09, 2014 WL 4851739, at *16-19, but Dr. Clemmons does not presently dispute those rulings. Finally, the Court declined to grant Dr. Clemmons’s request for four adverse inferences based on alleged spoliation because none of the requested inferences were sufficient “to create the genuine disputes of material fact necessary to avoid summary judgment.” Id. at 310, 2014 WL 4851739, at *20.

On October 28, 2014, Dr. Clemmons filed the instant motion to alter or amend judgment, arguing that the Court’s judgment should be vacated, that she should be granted adverse inferences based on AED’s spoliation, and that summary judgment should be denied as to her hostile work environment and retaliation claims. Pl.’s Mot. Alter Jdgmt., ECF No. 72.

III. LEGAL STANDARD

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e) permits a party to file “[a] motion to alter or amend a judgment” within “28 days after the entry of the judgment.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e). “Reconsideration of a judgment after its entry is an extraordinary remedy which should be used sparingly,” Mohammadi v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 782 F.3d 9, 17 (D.C.Cir.2015) (quoting 11 Charles Alan Wright et al., Federal Practice & Procedure § 2810.1 (3d ed.2012)), and the moving party bears the burden of establishing “extraordinary circumstances” warranting relief from judgment, Niedermeier v. Office of Baucus, 153 F.Supp.2d 23, 28 (D.D.C.2001).

Rule 59 does not permit a dissatisfied party “to relitigate old matters, or to raise arguments or present evidence that could have been raised prior to the entry of judgment.” Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 554 U.S. 471, 485 n. 5, 128 S.Ct. 2605, 171 L.Ed.2d 570 (2008) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Ultimately, “[a] Rule 59(e) motion is discretionary and need not be granted unless the district court finds that there is an intervening change of controlling law, the availability of new evidence, or the need to correct a clear error or prevent manifest injustice.” Ciralsky v. C.I.A., 355 F.3d 661, 671 (D.C.Cir.2004) (quoting Firestone v. Firestone, 76 F.3d 1205, 1208 (D.C.Cir.1996)). “New evidence” is evidence that “was not previously available,” not simply evidence that was not previously presented. See Messina v. Krakower, 439 F.3d 755, 759 (D.C.Cir.2006). And in the Rule 59(e) context, “clear error” is “ ‘a very exacting standard,’ ” Bond v. U.S. Dep’t of Justice, 286 F.R.D. 16, 22 (D.D.C.2012) (quoting Lightfoot v. District of Columbia, 355 F.Supp.2d 414, 422 (D.D.C.2005)), tantamount to a requirement that the judgment be “dead wrong,” Lardner v. FBI, 875 F.Supp.2d 49, 53 (D.D.C.2012) (quoting Parts & Elec. Motors, Inc. v. Sterling Elec., Inc., 866 F.2d 228, 233 (7th Cir.1988)). “Manifest injustice,” on the other hand, requires a demonstration not only of “clear and certain prejudice to the moving party, but also a result that is fundamentally unfair in light of governing law.” Slate v. Am. Broad. Cos., Inc., 12 F.Supp.3d 30, 35-36 (D.D.C.2013).

IV. ANALYSIS

In her motion to alter or amend judgment, Dr. Clemmons argues first that the Court erred in holding that no reasonable jury could find that the mobbing was so severe or pervasive as to have altered the conditions of her employment and created an actionable hostile work environment. Specifically, she contends that the Court failed to consider the totality of the circumstances — including how others’ views of Dr. Clemmons were negatively impacted by the alleged mobbing — and that the Court relied on cases , that are not applicable to a hostile, work environment claim. Pl.’s Mot. Alter Jdgmt. at 6-13. She also maintains that the Court erred by failing to find that the hostile work environment was based on race, and by finding that Mr. Beadle continued to support her after she filed her grievance. Id. at 13-14. As to her retaliation claims, Dr. Clemmons argues that the Court erred in finding that Mr. Beadle’s statement was not a threat and that none of the allegedly retaliatory acts constituted'materially adverse actions. Id. at 15-20. Finally, Dr. Clemmons argues that the Court erred by ^denying a spoliation inference because the requested inferences could bear on whether the alleged harassment was severe or pervasive. Id. at 20-22. The Court considers each argument in turn.

A. Hostile Work Environment Claim under Title VII and DCHRA

To establish a prima facie hostile work environment claim under Title VII and the DCHRA, Dr. Clemmons was required to show that (1) she is a member of a protected class; (2) she was subject to unwelcome harassment; (3) the harassment occurred because of her race; and (4) the harassment affected a term, condition, or privilege of employment. See Nurriddin v. Goldin, 382 F.Supp.2d 79, 107 (D.D.C.2005); Kelley v. Billington, 370 F.Supp.2d 151, 156 (D.D.C.2005); see also Elam v. Bd. of Trs., 53() F.Supp.2d 4, 22 n. 7 (D.D.C.2007) (“The elements of a hostile work environment claim under the DCHRA mirror the federal requirements.” (citing Lively v. Flexible Packaging Assoc., 830 A.2d 874, 889 (D.C.2003)). In.its prior opinion, this Court expressed doubt as to whether Dr. Clemmons had established that the mobbing occurred because of her race, but the Court ultimately found that it was not necessary to decide the issue because no reasonable juror could find the alleged harassment was sufficiently severe or pervasivé to give rise to an actionable hostile work environment. See Clemmons, 70 F.Supp.3d at 297-98, 2014 WL 4851739, at *10.

In her motion to alter or amend judgment, Dr. Clemmons points to a number of facts that she believes, the Court failed to consider in its analysis, and she argues that the Court erred as a matter of law by requiring her to demonstrate that the mobbing had tangible consequences. She also argues that the Court erred by failing to find that the harassment occurred because of- her race, and by failing to consider that fact when assessing the harassment’s severity. For the reasons explained below, the Court finds that Dr. Clemmons has failed to. establish the type of “extraordinary circumstances” that would warrant relief from the Court’s grant of summary judgment to AED on her hostile work environment claim. See Niedermeier, 153 F.Supp.2d 23, 28 (D.D.C.2001).

1. The Court’s Consideration of Evidence that the Harassment was Severe or Pervasive

Dr. Clemmons first argues that whether Mr. Beadle actually maintained a favorable opinion of Dr. Clemmons was a disputed fact, the truth of which the Court should not have presumed when assessing th¿ mobbing’s severity or pervasiveness. PL’s Mot. Alter Jdgmt. at 14. She points out that Mr. Beadle advised her not to file an HR grievance, see Def.’s Ex. 0-78, and she alleges that he made a series of decisions that negatively affected her after she filed her grievance, see Pl.’s Resp. to Def.’s Interrog. No. 19, Def.’s Ex. 0-111. She also asserts that Mr. Beadle’s deposition testimony that he “still” supported-her in July 2008 could be viewed as implying that did not support her at a later date. PL’s Mot. Alter Jdgmt. at 14 (quoting Beadle Depi 152:14-153:4).

In its prior Memorandum Opinion, this Court explained that while Dr. Clemmons had argued that the mobbing was severe or pervasive because it negatively affected her reputation at AED, the summary judgment record showed that far from siding with those who criticized Dr. Clemmons, Mr. Beadle actually went to significant lengths to defend Dr. Clemmons from her critics and to assure her .of his support. See Clemmons, 70 F.Supp.3d at 298-300, 2014 WL 4851739, at *11. The Court’s finding is supported by the deposition testimony of Mr. Beadle, Beadle Dep. 152:17— 153:4; 231:13-232:22, by the emails that he sent defending Dr. Clemmons from Ms.. Nachbar’s allegations, see Def.’s Ex. 0-58, and by Dr. Clemmons’s own-emails thanking Mr. Beadle for his support, see Def.’s Ex. 0-78. Dr. Clemmons now complains that the Court neglected to address evidence that Mr. Beadle later viewed Dr. Clemmons negatively as a consequence of her decision to file an HR grievance, but that evidence speaks to whether the grievance — not the mobbing — damaged Dr. Clemmons’s reputation with her Mr. Beadle or gave rise to retaliation. It sheds no light on the severity or pervasiveness of the mobbing itself.

Even if evidence of Mr. Beadle’s allegedly unfavorable, treatment of Dr. Clemmons post-grievance could be relevant'to the Court’s mobbing analysis, however, Dr. Clemmons’s summary judgment brief attributed Mr. Beadle’s actions exclusively to retaliatory animus, not to workplace mobbing. Compare PL’s Opp’n to Def.’s Mot. Summ. J. at 23-25 (failing to mention Mr. Beadle’s changed opinion of Dr., Clemmons in the list of factors that showed the harassment was severe or pervasive) with id. at 33-37 (listing Mr. Beadle’s “threat” and his unfavorable decisions as acts of retaliation caused by Dr. Clemmons’s decision to file a grievance with HR). Rule- 59(e) does not allow Dr. Clemmons to recast her arguments and evidence at this late date. See GSS Group Limited v. National Port Authority, 680 F.3d 805, 812 (D.C.Cir.2012) (“[A] Rule 59(e) motion may not be used to ... raise arguments or present evidence that could have been raised prior to the entry of judgment.” (internal quotation marks omitted)); see also Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 554 U.S. 471, 485 n.5, 128 S.Ct. 2605, 171 L.Ed.2d 570 (2008) (“Rule 59(e) ... may not be used to relitigate old matters, or to raise arguments or present evidence that could have been raised prior to the entry of judgment.” (internal quotation marks omitted)).

Dr. Clemmons next argues that the Court erred by basing its finding that the mobbing was not severe or pervasive solely on Mr. Beadle’s favorable view of her; she claims that the Court improperly ignored evidence that Ms. Moskov, Mr. Kaplan, and Ms. Field were also influenced by the mobbing. Pl.’s Mot. Alter Jdgmt. at 7-10. Specifically, she claims that the Court ignored the fact that Mr. Kaplan turned against her, and that Ms. Field thought she was “difficult.” Dr. Clemmons also argues that the Court ignored evidence that Ms. Moskov was friends with Ms. Larsen and Ms. McCown, and that by January 2009, Ms. Moskov went from praising Dr. Clemmons’s work to siding with Ms. Larsen and GSCP in criticizing her. Id. at 8-9.

As an initial matter, Dr. Clemmons is incorrect in her assertion that the Court’s hostile work environment analysis rested solely on Mr. Beadle’s view of her work. The Court’s analysis was not so limited. See Clemmons, 70 F.Supp.3d at 289-93, 2014 WL 4851739, at *3-4 (summarizing Dr. Clemmons’s .allegations of harassment experienced from September 2007 until she filed her complaint); id. at 294-95, 2014 WL 4851739, at *7 (summarizing allegations pertaining to mobbing, including the spread of false accusations to AED headquarters); id. at 295-301, 2014 WL 4851739, at *8-12 (analyzing claims of mobbing, including the July 2008 email, spreading false rumors, and rude behavior). The Court explicitly considered the “totality of the circumstances,” when determining whether the mobbing was severe or pervasive, id. at 298-300, 2014 WL 4851739, at *11, including Dr. Clemmons’s assertion that the mobbing harmed her reputation, id.

As for Dr. Clemmons’s assertion that the Court erred by fading to expressly consider Ms. Field’s negative perception of her when considering the severity or pervasiveness of the alleged harassment, she is raising this argument for the first time in her Rule 59(e) motion. Previously, Dr. Clemmons argued that Ms. Field’s negative comments about her — the majority of which she did not discover until after her employment with AED had ended — supported her defamation claim, not her hostile work environment claim. Compare PL’s Opp’n to Def.’s Mot. Summ. J. at 23-25 (failing to mention Ms. Field’s opinion of Dr. Clemmons in the list of factors that established the severity or pervasiveness of the harassment) with id. at 40-41 (describing each of Ms. Field’s statements as evidence of defamation under D.C. law). She cannot now seek to amend her hostile work environment briefing by means of a Rule 59(e) motion. See Exxon Shipping Co., 554 U.S. at 485 n. 5, 128 S.Ct. 2605 (holding that Rule 59(e) cannot be used “to raise arguments ... that could have been raised prior to the entry of judgment”). Even if Dr. Clemmons had argued that the mobbing was severe or pervasive because it affected the opinion of Ms. Field, however, she would have fared no better.

Dr. Clemmons now points to evidence that Ms. Field once told Ms. Mayo that she had heard that Dr. Clemmons was “difficult,” see Mayo Dep. 318:22-319:20, and that Ms. Field asked another individual if Dr. Clemmons was “difficult,” Pl.’s Resp. to Def.’s Interrog. No. 6, Def.’s Ex. 0-111. She also claims that Ms. Field once mentioned to a former colleague of Dr. Clemmons that the SHARP project had “management problems,” which the former colleague believed implied that Dr. Clemmons’s leadership had been a problem. Bardfield Decl. ¶8, PL’s Ex. C, ECF No. 68-6. But Dr. Clemmons does not allege that any of these comments were made in her presence. See Clemmons Dep. 24:4-26:10, 46:4-48:4, 438:16-439:10. And while Dr. Clemmons alleges that Ms. Mayo told her about Ms. Field’s first “difficult” comment in February or March 2009, she admits that she was not even aware of Ms. Field’s other two conversations until after her employment at AED had ended. See id. As this Court has previously explained, comments or incidents of which a plaintiff was unaware during the. time of her employment cannot be used to establish that she was subjected to a hostile work environment. See, e.g., Mason v. S. Ill. Univ. at Carbondale, 233 F.3d 1036, 1046 (7th Cir.2000) (“Mean-spirited or derogatory behavior of which a plaintiff is unaware, and thus never experiences, is not ‘harassment’ of the plaintiff (severe, pervasive, or other).”); Burnett v. Tyco Corp., 203 F.3d 980, 981 (6th Cir.2000) (explaining that hostile actions of which plaintiff is unaware are not relevant to hostile work environment claim); Dudley v. WMATA, 924 F.Supp.2d 141, 168 (D.D.C.2013) (same); Hutchinson v. Holder, 815 F.Supp.2d 303, 321 (D.D.C.2011) (same).

Additionally, the fact that Ms. Mayo told Dr. Clemmons that Ms. Field said that she had heard, that Dr. Clemmons was “difficult” is simply not sufficient — even when considered alongside Dr. Clemmons’s other evidence — to make out a hostile work environment. Whether the product of workplace mobbing or simply office politics, this type of second-hand gossip may be unprofessional and unpleasant to hear, but it lacks the severity or pervasiveness necessary to affect the terms or conditions of employment and to give rise to an environment that is subjectively and objectively hostile. Cf. Rattigan v. Gonzales, 503 F.Supp.2d 56, 78-81 (D.D.C.2007) (holding that comments made outside the plaintiff’s presence about “cutting his balls off’ and suggesting that he was “disloyal,” rumors about his disloyalty, a “threat” that he could be assigned to a lower-level job, and various efforts to undermine him at work were part of the “ordinary tribulations of the workplace” and did not give rise to an actionable hostile work environment); see also Nurriddin v. Goldin, 382 F.Supp.2d 79, 108 (D.D.C.2005) (“When racial statements are not made directly to a plaintiff, generally a hostile environment cannot be established.”) affd, sub nom. Nurriddin v. Griffin, 222 Fed.Appx. 5, 5-6 (D.C.Cir.2007).

As for Mr. Kaplan and Ms. Moskov, Dr. Clemmons did argue previously that their changed opinions of her should be considered as evidence of the mobbing’s severity or pervasiveness. See PL’s Mot. Opp’n Summ. J. at 23. Specifically, she argued that because Mr. Kaplan defended her from criticisms in October 2007 but “inexplicably turned against Clemmons by February 2008, ... [a] jury could infer that ... GS.CP told Kaplan that Clemmons was disingenuous and manipulative enough times, or with enough persuasive power, that he came to believe it....” Id. As for Ms. Moskov, she argued that Ms. Moskov had frequent contact with Ms. Larsen and Ms. MeCown, and that although she initially expressed a favorable view of Dr. Clemmons, she later sided with GSCP and called Dr. Clemmons “disingenuous.” Id.

Dr. Clemmons now complains that the Court erred by ignoring evidence that Mr. Kaplan’s view of. her was impacted by the mobbing, and she points to “an email Dr. Clemmons wrote- at the time,” that she claims supports her argument about Mr. Kaplan. El.’s Mot. Alter Jdgmt. at 9. But the email in question actually undermines Dr. Clemmons’s position that Mr. Kaplan’s change in opinion was “inexplicable,” but for severe or pervasive workplace mobbing. On February 18, 2008, Dr. Clemmons emailed Mr. Beadle “to document [her] concern” about a conversation that she had with Mr. Kaplan on February' 12. Def.’s Ex. 0-8 at 52-53. She wrote:

I had scheduled the phone call with [Mr. Kaplan] in order to brief him and get his advice on how to handle the rising tensions between SHARP and GSCP over the joint implementation plan. After I had briefed him oh the situation, Michael said that he didn’t know how to advise me, as his own perception of me seems to mirror what he has been hearing about me from GSCP.... Michael said that an example is the situation with Lucy’s benefits, and said that I had told him I would stand down, respect his - authority and not intervene further, “but in fact, you did go further and to many different people in many different places.” I said “yes, I did, Michael. Once Lucy came to me and asked me for my help as her supervisor, I definitely did contact other people, but not ‘many’ other people.”

Id. Dr. Clemmons expressed concern that “the recent incident with Lucy’s benefits has seriously damaged what had already been a fairly tense professional relationship between Michael and me,” and said that she would leave the situation for Mr. Beadle to deal with unless “another incident occur[ed]” of “being unfairly treated by Michael as a result of [her] raising the Lucy’s benefits [issue] with HR and with [Mr. Beadle].” Id.) see also SDF ¶39 (“Contrary to Kaplan’s wishes, Clemmons sought advice from AED’s HR department regarding Shillingi’s [discrimination] complaint. ...”); PL’s Resp. to Def.’s Interrog. No. 16, Def.’s Ex. 0-111 (alleging that “soon after [Mr. Kaplan] learned that I had raised Ms. Shillingi’s complaint of national origin discrimination to HR and Mr. Beadle ..., Mr. Kaplan described” Dr. Clemmons as' “disirigenuous, manipulative and not direct”). At the end of the call with Mr. Kaplan, Dr. Clemmons expressed concern that he might not be able to support her in an upcoming conference call, so Mr. Kaplan suggested that Mr. Beadle participate in the call and assist in managing Dr. Clemmons, which she believed were good ideas. Def.’s Ex. 0-8 at 52-53.

Dr. Clemmons contends that the Court erred by failing to infer, based on these facts, that the mobbing was so severe or pervasive that it caused Mr. Kaplan to reverse course, going from vigorously defending Dr. Clemmons in October 2007 from those who rushed to accuse her to agreeing with her detractors in February 2008. Dr. Clemmons is undoubtedly correct that at the summary judgment stage, the Court was required to draw all reasonable inferences in her favor. See Grosdidier v. Broad. Bd. of Governors, Chairman, 709 F.3d 19, 23-24 (D.C.Cir.2013). But the inference that Dr. Clemmons would have the Court draw based on the evidence at hand is, according to that same evidence, unreasonable. Mr. Kaplan and Dr. Clemmons both credited his change in viewpoint not to GSCP’s effective or repetitive workplace mobbing, but to the fact that Dr. Clemmons went against Mr. Kaplan’s wishes and raised a complaint against him when she had told him previously that she would not intervene in' the matter. Neither her opposition to AED’s motion for summary judgment nor her motion to alter or amend judgment point to any facts that would suggest that mobbing — and not the complaint Dr. Clemmons raised — could reasonably be blamed for Mr. Kaplan’s change in opinion about . Dr. Clemmons.

Moreover, even if the evidence did show that Mr. Kaplan came to view Dr. Clemmons as disingenuous and manipulative because of the GSCP staffs mobbing efforts — and he shocked or offended her by telling her so on one occasion — it would still not be sufficient to demonstrate that the alleged mobbing was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of Dr. Clemmons’s employment, particularly when Mr. Kaplan immediately arranged for her to have a supportive presence on an upcoming conference call and arranged for Mr. Beadle to take over as her supervisor. In short, even if the mobbing was successful enough to cause Dr. .Clemmons’s supervisor to describe her unfavorably in a phone conversation, such criticism still leaves Dr. Clemmons well short of showing severe or pervasive harassment that is actionable under Title VII and the DCHRA. See Dudley v. Washington Metro. Area Transit Auth., 924 F.Supp.2d 141, 171-72 (D.D.C.2013) (“A litany of cases-shows that simply having a rude, harsh, or unfair boss is not enough for a hostile work environment claim.”); Baloch v. Kempthorne, 550 F.3d 1191, 1201 (D.C.Cir.2008) (affirming finding of no actionable hostile work environment where defendant yelled, used profanity, threatened arrest, and described plaintiff’s work as “bullshit”); Freedman v. MCI Telecomm. Corp., 255 F.3d 840, 848 (D.C.Cir.2001) (finding supervisor’s “nasty attitude” insufficient to establish a hostile work environment).

The same is true of Dr. Clemmons’s allegations pertaining to Ms. Moskov of USAID. Although one could certainly imagine a scenario in which harassment could be severe or pervasive because it harmed an employee’s working relationship with a client — for example, if the client withdrew or decreased its business with that employee, or if the employer terminated the employee for damaging client relationships — this is not such a case. Dr. Clemmons simply has not shown that the fact that Ms. Moskov once criticized Dr. Clemmons in a meeting in January 2009 after having praised her in an email in August 2007 could be viewed as altering the terms or conditions of her employment. Courts have repeatedly explained that such work-related criticism, even if unjustified, is one of the ordinary tribulations of the workplace that Title VII simply does not address. See, e.g., McCaskill v. Gallaudet Univ., 36 F.Supp.3d 145, 155-56 (D.D.C.2014) (finding allegations of “verbal abuse, condescension, and, castigation” at meetings, expressions of disgust, a threatening letter, and statements delivered with “an aggressive demeanor, a hostile tone, a scowl ..., and overly dramatic signing” did not establish a claim of severe or pervasive harassment); Holmes-Martin v. Sebelius, 693 F.Supp.2d 141, 165-66 (D.D.C.2010) (finding claim that plaintiff was publicly criticized, received unwarranted criticism in performance evaluations, given reduced job responsibilities, excluded from meetings, and received unrealistic deadlines were not sufficiently severe or pervasive to support á hostile work environment claim); Badibanga v. Howard Univ. Hosp., 679 F.Supp.2d 99, 104 (D.D.C.2010) (dismissing hostile work environment claim where plaintiff was placed on administrative leave due to a false accusation); Rattigan v. Gonzales, 503 F.Supp.2d 56, 78-81 (D.D.C.2007) (finding allegations that plaintiff’s harassers “undermined his authority within the FBI and with the Saudi government and cut him out of the chain of command are ... insufficient to support a hostile work environment- claim”); Richard v. Bell Atl. Corp., 209 F.Supp.2d 23, 35 (D.D.C.2002) (noting that the “the type of conduct that [the plaintiff] complain[ed] of, i.e., rude comments, unjust criticism, and stressful working conditions, amount to ‘ordinary tribulations of the workplace’ that are insufficient as a matter of law for a hostile [work] environment case”).

In short, Title VII and the DCHRA are not “general civility code[s]” that permit recovery for “ordinary tribulations of the workplace.” See Faragher, 524 U.S. at 788, 118 S.Ct. 2275 (citations and quotations omitted). Dr. Clemmons’s workplace may well have been unpleasant and unprofessional at times, and various individuals may not have held Dr. Clemmons in high esteem, but those facts are not enough to render it a hostile'work environment as a matter of law.

As a final matter, Dr. Clemmons argues that the Court erred by ignoring the portion of her HR grievance that said she felt “physically ill from the hostility and emotional abuse that I have experienced during the past year, and from the negative impact this ... situation has had on my project’s ability to achieve its full potential.” Pl.’s Mot. Alter Jdgmt. at 10-12 (quoting Def.’s Ex. 0-1). Dr. Clemmons cited this same fact in her summary judgment briefing to “show[] that Clemmons meets the subjective test for a hostile work environment.” PL’s Mem. Opp’n Mot. Summ. J. at 25. But this Court never reached — or needed to reach — the issue of whether Dr. Clemmons found her work environment at AED to be subjectively offensive. “In order to be actionable under [Title VII], a[n] ... objectionable environment must be both objectively and subjectively offensive, one that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive, and one that the victim in fact did perceive to be so.” Faragher, 524 U.S. at 787, 118 S.Ct. 2275 (emphasis added). Dr. Clemmons thus cannot point to evidence that her work environment was subjectively offensive to compensate for her insufficient showing of objective offensiveness.

In sum, although Dr. Clemmons' argues that the Court ignored evidence showing that the mobbing was severe or pervasive, when considered collectively, her allegations of workplace criticisms, gossip, rudeness, and subjective changes in perception are simply insufficient to establish an objectively hostile work environment under Title VII and the DCHRA. The Court’s holding to this effect did not constitute clear error. ,

2. The Court’s Consideration of Evidence that the Alleged Harassment was Race-Based

Dr. Clemmons next contends that the Court clearly erred by ignoring evidence that the workplace mobbing was race-based. Pl.’s Mot. Alter Jdgmt. at 13-14. She points to Ms. McClintock’s handwritten interview notes, which appear to show that Mr. Beadle told her it “may be racial, as well,” and to Mr. Beadle’s email criticizing Ms. Nachbar for sending the July 2008 email, which he characterized as jumping to a “public lynching” of Dr. Clemmons. Id.

Dr. Clemmons is mistaken. The Court considered both that Mr. Beadle observed that the harassment may have had a racial component, see Clemmons, 70 F.Supp.3d at 295-96, 2014 WL 4851739, at *8-10, and that he sent an email condemning Ms. Nachbar for the “public lynching,” see id. at 289-90, 2014 WL 4851739, at *3-4;' see also id. at 310-11, 2014 WL 4851739, at *21. More to the point, however, the Court expressly declined to decide whether the .alleged' harassment was race-based, because to do so was unnecessary in light of the fact that Dr. Clemmons failed to establish a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether the harassment was severe or pervasive. See id. at 297-301, 2014 WL 4851739, at *10-12. Dr. Clemmons suggests that this “contributed to the Court’s error,” because the fact that she and others thought the harassment “was or could be racial” contributed to making the harassment “utterly demoralizing” for her. See PL’s Mot. Alter Jdgmt. at 11. What Dr. Clemmons fails to recognize, though, is that “[n]ot all abusive, behavior, even when it is motivated by discriminatory animus, is actionable.” Barbour v. Browner, 181 F.3d 1342, 1347 (D.C.Cir.1999). To be actionable, the harassment of Dr.. Clemmons must have been both race-based and severe or pervasive. Here, the evidence of racial animus is less than abundant, and the alleged acts of hostility do not include any racial, slurs or similar language. Even assuming that the mobbing was motivated by racial animus, however, it simply does not rise to the level of extreme behavior that is actionable under Title VII and the DCHRA. See Faragher, 524 U.S. at 788, 118 S.Ct. 2275 (“[Cjonduct must be extreme to amount -to a change in the terms and conditions of employment.”).

3. The Court’s Use of Case Law

Dr. Clemmons’s final claim of error relating to the Court’s hostile work environment analysis centers oh the Court’s finding that her “complaints about 'GSCP staff sending rude emails, rolling their eyes at her in meetings, and allegedly spreading false rumors about her” were not sufficiently severe or pervasive to create an actionable hostile ' work environment. Clemmons, 70 F.Supp.3d at 298-300, 2014 WL 4851739, at *11. She argues that this portion of the Court’s analysis relied on inapplicable case law, and that the Court erred by requiring her to demonstrate an “adverse employment action” that had “tangible consequences.”

Dr. Clemmons correctly points out that a plaintiff need not produce “evidence of any tangible consequences to her employment conditions,” in order to establish an actionable hostile work environment claim. Pl.’s Mot. Alter Jdgmt. at 12 (citing Nat’l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101, 115-16, 122 S.Ct. 2061, 153 L.Ed.2d 106 (2002)). She is incorrect, however, in suggesting that this Court held her to such a requirement. The Court did observe that “this Court has rejected hostile work environment claims under similar situations in which ‘none of the instances alleged amount to objective harm with tangible workplace consequences,” Clemmons, 70 F.Supp.3d at 300, 2014 WL 4851739, at *12 (quoting Morrison v. Mills, 928 F.Supp.2d 241, 249-50 (D.D.C.2013)), and went on to observe that Dr. Clemmons had p