Never Forget Your Why: Courage, Truth and the Lessons That Shape a Leader with Ivory Mathews

For Ivory Mathews, affordable housing has always been personal. Growing up housing insecure in rural South Carolina shaped not only her career, but the kind of leader she chose to become.

In this episode, Beth Baar talks with Ivory about lessons collected through more than three decades in affordable housing and leading housing authorities across the country: choosing courage over comfort, listening deeply before acting, telling the truth to build trust, turning losses into learning opportunities and remembering that leadership is never about being the smartest person in the room.

Ivory also shares why the little girl she once was still walks into every boardroom with her, and why women should stop waiting until they feel perfectly ready to take their seat at the table.

Since this conversation was recorded, it was announced that Ivory has been named the next Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, beginning October 1. Congratulations to Ivory on this exciting next chapter!