The Jacksonville Housing Authority’s six-member board of commissioners voted unanimously on Aug. 12 to name former JHA Chair Roslyn Mixon-Phillips as interim chief executive officer. Her hiring comes after news that acting CEO Vanessa Dunn will end her term on Aug. 30.
Dunn’s contract was set to expire in February.
Mixon-Phillips is expected to assume the role as early as this week, pending a standard background check and finalization of a contract, according to a news release. Terms of her employment include serving as interim for up to one year with three-month reviews and an annual salary of up to $200,000.
Phillips is a consultant for Jacksonville-based English EL-Enterprises LLC, a company that provides program management, general military readiness, medical support services and construction consulting.
From 2011 to 2019 she was vice president of Hester Group LLC of Jacksonville, a project management firm for government and nonprofit entities. She was with the city of Jacksonville for 28 years as chief community officer/director of recreation and community services. She was JHA Chair from 2019 to 2021.
“Roslyn Mixon-Phillips is the ideal candidate for the interim CEO position at this time,” said JHA Chair Heather Horovitz. “Her decades of housing and community experience with the city of Jacksonville and her role as chair of the Jacksonville Housing Authority will greatly help with stabilizing the agency and setting us on a smooth transition to permanent leadership.”
Mixon-Phillips called the appointment an honor.
“I look forward to working together to drive positive changes that will benefit the agency, its employees, and the residents we serve. There is much to be done, and I am ready to get started,” she said.
Established in 1994, JHA provides about 2,300 public housing units and 1,000 affordable housing units to low- and moderate-income residents in developments and sites in Jacksonville. JHA also administers roughly 8,300 housing choice vouchers for low-income families, the elderly and the disabled. The authority runs several resident service programs, including homeownership programs, career training and self-sufficiency programming.