Pittsburgh chooses embattled Oregon executive to lead housing authority

(The Center Square) – The agency responsible for managing low-income housing for 18,000 residents in Pittsburgh chose a new leader on Thursday who comes with a checkered ethical past.

Ivory Mathews will take over the Housing Authority of the city of Pittsburgh, the culmination of a months-long search to replace outgoing Executive Director Caster Binion, whose contract expires on Wednesday.

“Ivory is a nationally recognized affordable housing executive who brings nearly three decades of transformational leadership, a proven track record of success, and a deep commitment to expanding access to affordable housing,” said Wasi Mohammad, chairman of the authority’s board of commissioners. “Following a thorough review and extended conversations, we are confident in her ability to lead HACP into an exciting new chapter.”

Mathews has led housing agencies across the country since the mid-2000s, and is the senior vice president of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials. It was her four-year tenure as CEO of Home Forward, Oregon’s largest affordable housing authority, that prompted an investigation by the state ethics board in August.

A Willamette Week investigation published in April detailed roughly $100,000 in taxpayer-funded travel expenses Mathews used to attend conferences and networking events across the country.

In one instance, the CEO paid nearly $800 to stay in a hotel just nine miles from her home in Portland. In another, she spent more than $8,000 on an extended trip to Hawaii in which her social media showed her horseback riding, taking photos on the beach and visiting local farms with her family.

All this while collecting a $342,849 annual salary and a $600 monthly car allowance. It’s unclear what the city will pay Mathews, though her predecessor’s most recent contract awarded him a $221,000 salary, according to public records obtained by WESA.

In a comment to Willamette Week, Home Forward board Chairman Matthew Gebhardt backed Mathews’ leadership and said her “engagement in national affordable housing organizations is a core part of her role and strengthens our work by connecting Home Forward to best practices, peer providers, and federal policy conversations.”

The Portland-area organization faced other criticism too: from unsafe public housing communities to high vacancy rates and a six-month placement timeline for empty units.

In Pittsburgh, the authority’s designation as a Moving to Work Demonstration Program gives it more flexibility in how it spends its $255 million budget. The board’s vote to hire Mathews was unanimous.

The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication getting comment from Mathews.

Christen is a regional editor for The Center Square and co-host of Pennsylvania in Focus, a weekly podcast on America's Talking Network. Find her work in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Broad + Liberty, RealClear, and the Washington Examiner.

Regional Editor

This story originally appeared on thecentersquare.com.