COLUMBIA, S.C. — Columbia Housing released a statement Monday, Jan. 31, announcing that Ivory Mathews will be leaving her position as CEO and executive director at that agency to take a similar position in Portland, Oregon.
Mathews will be the first African American female to lead Home Forward, Oregon's largest provider of affordable housing. The Portland housing agency has an annual budget of $198 million and serves150,000 households.
It was announced Thursday, Jan. 27, that the Columbia Housing Board Commissioners accepted the resignation of Mathews on Wednesday, Jan. 26. Mathews has led the agency since July 2019 when she was named interim director. She was then named permanent director in June of 2020. Mathews will officially make the move to Oregon in March.
"We want to advise the public that the Board of Commissioners is committed to continuing with all pending initiatives and ensuring stability for our residents and staff," commissioners said in a statement last Thursday.
Yvonda Bean, who has been the agency's chief operating officer since September 2019, was unanimously voted in as interim CEO by the board.
"We believe that under her leadership, the senior team will continue our level of service to our residents and stakeholders during this period." The agency said in a statement.
Mathews was appointed as the interim executive director in May of 2019 after CHA's previous executive director, Gilbert Walker, announced his retirement after 20 years in that position.
Mathews came to the CHA from the Greenville Housing Authority, where she served as executive director for five years. Earlier in her career, she worked for housing authorities in Toledo, Ohio, and Aiken, South Carolina.
Mathews' work with CHA began shortly after the carbon monoxide deaths of Calvin Witherspoon and Derrick Roper at Allen Benedict Court and the relocation of more than 200 families. That occurred in January of 2019.
Matthews will be the first African American female to lead Home Forward, Oregon's largest provider of affordable housing.