Embattled Columbia Housing Authority names new director after year-long search
The Board of Commissioners for the Columbia Housing Authority unanimously voted to name Ivory Mathews as its new executive director on Thursday night.
The move comes nearly a year after Mathews was hired on an interim basis to replace the previous executive director, Gilbert Walker, following his retirement. She was tasked with overhauling the agency after two residents of the Allen Benedict Court housing development died of carbon monoxide poisoning in their homes.
Anne Sinclair, the vice chairman of the board, praised Mathews for her leadership amid a difficult chapter in the housing authority’s history.
“When I think about the situation we were in a year ago, we faced challenges that we as a board did not know where in the world to begin to solve,” she said. “We needed somebody who could come in and resolve issues but at the same time move us forward to providing housing to people in the city. We found that person in Ms. Mathews.”
Board member Georgia Mjartan applauded Mathews’ commitment to the job.
“From the moment that you walked into this role, you took it as a permanent commitment. You never treated it as an interim role,” she said. “You made relationships with the community and you made relationships with the residents that were clearly for the long haul.”
Mathews thanked the board for their vote of confidence. “We have a lot in front of us, and we’re going to do some great work,” she said. “We’re certainly going to make sure that we continue to create and preserve as many affordable housing units as we can for our families in Richland County.”
Before coming to Columbia, Mathews spent nearly five years as the executive director for the Greenville Housing Authority. Prior to that, she worked for housing authorities in Toledo, Ohio, and Aiken, South Carolina. She was selected for the interim position from a group of 13 applicants.
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 9:24 AM with the headline "Embattled Columbia Housing Authority names new director after year-long search."
