The first executive director tasked with coordinating the Salem area’s homeless services has resigned after a year and a half on the job, citing personal reasons.
Elaine Lozier leads the Mid-Willamette Valley Homeless Alliance, a government agency which receives state and federal money to distribute to local housing and homeless services, and is tasked with improving coordination among them. Its budget this year was $25.6 million.
Lozier grew up in Dallas and worked in the public health field for seven years. That included three years at Northwest Senior and Disability Services and then as community liaison for PacificSource, a health insurance company.
She joined the alliance’s board in 2020 as a representative from PacificSource. She became the executive director in June 2023.
“I’m most proud of how quickly our partners respond to needs, and how vocal they are about the needs,” she said in an interview Tuesday. “We have been really working on our culture this past year and a half, and longer, to be a place where people can truly bring community needs and concerns and that organizations can be open and upfront about the struggles they’re having.”
Local government agencies and service providers formed the organization in 2019, seeking to help the Salem area secure more money for homeless services.
In 2023, the organization took on the annual Point-in-Time Count which each January counts people living in tents, cars, parks, sidewalks and abandoned buildings in Salem. Lozier opted not to do it this year, wanting time to improve the questions and pair the experience for unsheltered people with resource connection.
The alliance’s board includes representatives from the city of Salem, Marion and Polk counties, the Salem-Keizer School District and organizations including Salem Health, Union Gospel Mission and United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley.
Jeremy Gordon, board chair and a Polk County commissioner, said in an interview that one of Lozier’s biggest strengths was convening people with different backgrounds and interests.
“I think Elaine’s leadership style is she leads when it’s appropriate to lead and she listens when it’s appropriate to listen,” he said. “She’s been a great asset, answering questions, making sure everyone’s on the same page and able to contribute.”
In the past 18 months, Lozier managed rapid growth of the alliance’s responsibilities and budget.
With Gov. Tina Kotek making housing and homelessness a central focus of her administration, more money is flowing to groups like the alliance and the providers they work with. In less than five years, the alliance grew from a budget of $365,574 in 2021 to over $25 million.
The alliance helped implement the use of funds from Kotek’s emergency orders on homelessness, which housed nearly 400 families since early 2023, according to a statement from the alliance.
This summer, disagreements emerged over the role of the agency during budget talks after Lozier’s initial budget sought to increase the budget from one full-time employee, a board administrator, to 13. Subsequent discussions whittled that down to nine.
Lozier said her biggest challenge as director was communicating clearly with regional partners about the alliance’s mission and goal, which is to efficiently develop and sustain a system of services for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming so. She said there were differences of opinion.
“Bringing (the partners) together has been the most rewarding and also the most challenging portion,” she said.
Lozier declined to elaborate on her reasons for leaving.
“Ideally we would like to have all the ducks in a row with my transition,” she said. “But due to certain circumstances it’s a tighter timeline than what would be ideal. I think the alliance is in really good hands with this leadership, and I’m confident that it will continue forward with its mission.”
In the month before she leaves, Lozier said her focus will ensuring funding distribution and reimbursement continues without interruption. She said she wants to also support staff through the transition, and get information together for whoever will take on the role.
Lozier’s last day will be Dec. 31. Gordon said the board will discuss the options ahead during its Thursday, Nov. 14, meeting. Paths could include having an interim executive director or making a direct hire if the right candidate emerges, he said.
The alliance’s strategic plan for the next year will be finalized in February, Lozier said.
“I think (the strategic plan has) done a good job of helping us see common goals and just clarifying our role in the community. And I think that’s going to be an essential tool moving forward,” she said.
Lozier said she hopes the next executive director will continue keeping the alliance’s mission in focus. She said she hopes her legacy is that people who have experienced displacement and homelessness feel more heard and seen.
“We are such a diverse community and the needs are so varied across our geographic region, across populations,” she said. “My sincere wish for not only the executive director, but everyone, moving forward is just continued focus on that mission, letting it drive the organization. And keeping the people at the heart of everything.”
Contact reporter Abbey McDonald: [email protected] or 503-575-1251.
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Abbey McDonald joined the Salem Reporter in 2022. She previously worked as the business reporter at The Astorian, where she covered labor issues, health care and social services. A University of Oregon grad, she has also reported for the Malheur Enterprise, The News-Review and Willamette Week.
