Director Lozier Abandons Ship

 

"If your team truly believes that they’re helping the world by amassing piles of money, they may not pay much attention to how poorly the company is being run."  --Michael Lewis

The executive director of the Mid-Willamette Homeless Alliance, which is the seldom sung homeless "continuum of care" organization for Salem, Marion and Polk counties, resigned Friday for unstated "personal reasons."  

The announcement comes shortly after the Alliance Board and related ORS 190 entity (same people, different powers) approved this year's consolidated application to HUD for approximately $4.5M in CoC Program funds, and in the midst of a HUD inquiry into the efficacy of its Coordinated Entry and Street Outreach programs, which are supposed to ensure the most vulnerable have access to homeless housing and services.  Amid repeated complaints by Alliance board and committee members over the absence of reliable program-level data on which to base their recommendations and decisions, Lozier made the controversial decision to assume direct day-to-day operation of the Alliance's coordinated entry system, formerly delegated to the Mid-Willamette Valley Community Action Agency, and persuaded a majority of a divided board to go against budgetary convention and add several full-time positions with one-time funds.  See McDonald, A. "As Salem's homeless services grow quickly, disagreements emerge on overhead spending" (1 August 2024, Salem Reporter.).  Lozier and the boards' chairman, Polk County Commissioner Jeremy Gordon have been accused of whistleblower retaliation in connection with reports of flaws in the Alliance's prioritized housing list, a key component of its Coordinated Entry System, and data-access issues.  Issues and flaws that, to date, have not been adequately addressed.  Lozier's last day is 31 December 2024.  A successor has not been named.

Lozier is a Salem resident and former community health worker.  She moved from an unpaid position on the Alliance board to executive director in June of 2023.  Her predecessor was former Marion County Commissioner and board administrator, Janet Carlson, who retired.  Lozier is paid an annual salary of $120,000.  Before taking the con at the Alliance, she had no management or federal program  experience.