Jacksonville Housing Authority acting CEO Vanessa Dunn resigning

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax has learned acting Jacksonville Housing Authority CEO Vanessa Dunn is resigning amid a cloud of controversy.

“While there has been an unusual amount of transition among staff leadership over the past year, the organization remains on the right path as we continue to focus on our core mission of providing safe, clean and affordable housing to those Jacksonville residents in need,” commented JHA Chair Heather Horovitz in a statement.

This announcement was made after Action News Jax’s Ben Becker learned an emergency board meeting was initially scheduled for Mon. Aug. 5 to discuss “executive leadership matters.” Sources told Becker multiple employees recently made internal complaints that were forwarded to Jacksonville’s Office of Inspector General regarding “unethical behavior” and “abusive practices” of Dunn.

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Dunn was named acting CEO in February and had a 12-month contract.

Action News Jax has reported on issues at the agency dating back to 2023. This includes numerous board resignations as well as last May, the JHA CFO resigned and the Deputy CFO Greg Williams was fired for not coming to work.

Former CEO Dwayne Alexander resigned in January after claiming he was forced out by the Mayor’s office

There have also been at least three Inspector General investigations, one in which uncovered wasteful spending at the agency, involving nearly $2 million worth of pre-loaded utility debit cards.

Last month, sources informed Action News Jax that the Mayor’s office discussed the city’s possibility of taking over the agency, which a city spokesperson denied.

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The JHA Board of Commissioners will now hold a special board meeting on Monday to consider its options for selecting a new interim CEO. The agency says JHA’s HR committee has already selected an executive search firm to assist the board with the hiring of the agency’s next CEO.

“I have an amazing opportunity that I can’t pass up and I am looking forward to starting a new chapter. I wish the board of commissioners and all the staff at JHA nothing but the best. I am looking forward to assisting the board in closing out my tenure to ensure a smooth transition,” Dunn told Becker.

A city spokesperson declined to comment.

Dunn’s last day is Aug. 30.

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