Drew Dixon
The troubled Jacksonville Housing Authority (JHA) is bringing back a former key player in the organization to take over as interim Chief Executive Officer.
The six-member JHA Board of Commissioners this week approved the hiring of Roslyn Mixon-Phillips to fill the interim CEO post. She’ll begin work in the position this week after a background check is completed and final details of her contract are settled.
Mixon-Phillips is no stranger to JHA. She was previously Chair of the JHA Board. She’s also experienced in public service, serving as the Jacksonville Chief Community Officer and Director of Recreation and Community Service for the city for nearly 30 years, until 2011.
Her compensation package amounts to a $200,000 annual salary. Initial stipulations call for Mixon-Phillips to serve one year as interim CEO with regular job performance reviews every three months.
Mixon-Phillips assumes the top executive post at JHA amid prolonged controversy at the agency. One of the Board members, Andre Green, resigned from the panel in January as JHA was under investigation for allegations of unnecessarily spending in excess of $1 million in federal funds, and a series of utility payment cards that allegedly were misused
Shortly after Green’s resignation, then-CEO Dwayne Alexander resigned from JHA. In published reports, Alexander claimed he was being “pushed out” of the agency by Mayor Donna Deegan.
The Mayor’s Office denied any such maneuver and a spokesman said Alexander voluntarily stepped down.
Stretching back to 2019, JHA was hampered with repeated allegations of sexual misconduct by some employees.
JHA officials said Mixon-Phillips is the prime candidate to take over the agency’s leadership and right the organization amid so much turmoil.
“Roslyn Mixon-Phillips is the ideal candidate for the interim CEO position at this time,” said JHA Chair Heather Horovitz in a prepared statement. “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 said she’s prepared to bring stability back to JHA.
“I am honored by the trust the JHA Board of Commissioners has placed in me by selecting me as interim CEO,” Mixon-Phillips said. “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.”
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Editor’s note: Drew Dixon’s spouse is an employee of Deegan’s administration.
