COLUMBIA, S.C. — Columbia Housing's interim CEO Yvonda A. Bean is now the organization's permanent CEO.
The Board of Commissioners at Columbia Housing voted unanimously to name Bean as its permanent Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director. Bean had been serving in an interim capacity since February 2022.
“Yvonda Bean is a dynamic, resident-focused leader with a demonstrated ability to advance the agency’s mission,” said Board Chairman Ernest W. Cromartie, III. “Mrs. Bean also understands the importance of community engagement and the power of partnerships as we work to provide more affordable housing options for the overall community."
Bean was named interim director in January of 2022 after CEO and executive director Ivory Mathews resigned to take a similar position in Portland, Oregon.
Mathews had led the agency since July 2019, when she was named interim director before being named permanent director in June of 2020. The agency's previous executive director retired following the carbon monoxide deaths of two residents.
Yvonda Bean, who had been the agency's chief operating officer since September 2019, was unanimously voted in as interim CEO by the board in January.
As Interim CEO, Bean closed on the $71M Oaks at St. Anna’s Park housing development. Agency officials say new developments are expected to follow under the agency’s VISION 2030, a $500M Affordable Housing Preservation, Redevelopment & New Construction Plan. Several other developments are in the pipeline.
“I believe in the work we are doing at Columbia Housing,” Bean said. "As the new Chief Executive Officer, I will also continue to advocate for and work with others to deliver more affordable housing options in the area. There is a tremendous need for more affordable housing all over.”
Before joining Columbia Housing, Bean served as Executive Director/CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Lafayette, Louisiana.
