Yesterday, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority’s (MPHA) Mary Boler received the Allan Anderson Award of Merit from the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO). As the Director of Operations for the agency’s public housing department, Mary has been a driving force in the agency’s success over the last 30 years. As part of this, Mary oversees leasing, occupancy, management, and maintenance of more than 5,000 public housing units across 40 buildings and leads a team of 180 staff members.
“Mary has dedicated her career to serving MPHA’s residents, delivering and sustaining excellence in MPHA’s public housing portfolio,” said Abdi Warsame, Executive Director/CEO of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. “Mary is a trusted leader at MPHA, and her work has been instrumental in MPHA earning HUD’s high-performer status for nearly two decades. There is no one more deserving of this award and recognition than Mary Boler.”
The Allan Anderson Award of Merit award was established in 1979 to recognize individuals in Minnesota who have distinguished themselves by a career of excellence and leadership in housing and community development. Recipients exemplify the dedication and leadership needed to serve their community and its people in providing affordable housing and community development activities.
When Mary started at MPHA, the agency was on the verge of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) receivership with low occupancy rates and poor performance. Now, 32 years later, the agency has earned and maintained a HUD “high performer” status for nearly two decades. This recognition can largely be credited to the work Mary has done overhauling the agency’s public housing operations to deliver high-quality homes to MPHA residents.
Under Mary’s leadership in this role, she has overhauled policies and procedures to put the agency on track for success and performance improvement. Key changes include reducing the agency’s unit turnover time by more than half, crafting a proactive strategy to achieve and sustain 98 percent occupancy, developing policies that led to consecutive years with clean audits, attaining and maintaining HUD’s “high performer” designation, developing and implementing Moving To Work (MTW) initiatives to help families become self-sufficient, and implementing a department reorganization that enabled MPHA to receive a significant increase in funds.
This lifetime of achievement was encapsulated last year when MPHA earned a near-perfect 98.5 percent in the physical inspection segment of HUD’s Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS). This was the highest PHAS physical inspection score in MPHA’s history, and it’s a direct result of Mary’s leadership.
Starting her career in property management herself, Mary has the field experience necessary to effectively manage a large team of property management and trades workers. She has led her team through major agency reorganizations, continues to improve policies furthering diversity on her team, and is an advocate for her staff advancing career goals through educational opportunities. Mary has empowered, encouraged, and mentored numerous team members in their MPHA careers and has helped numerous reach leadership and managerial roles in the agency.
To both residents and employees, Mary is a trusted, visible, and approachable leader. Mary makes convoluted ideas and bureaucratic policies accessible to all—staff, residents, and the public. She has been a driving force in numerous policies that directly improve the resident experience, including implementing culturally relevant training, converting buildings to be smoke free, revising lease and policy documents, converting utility allowances to agency paid utilities, and creating deductions for paying child support.
Mary is a pillar of excellence and leadership at MPHA and is well-deserving of the recognition. This award is one of many the agency and its employees have earned over the last year. Earlier this year, the Family Housing Expansion Project was named a finalist for the 2024 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Americas Awards for Excellence, a Top Project by Finance & Commerce, a winner of the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies (NALHFA) 2024 Award of Excellence, a finalist in the Minnesota Real Estate Journal awards, and a top 25 finalist in Ivory Innovations’ Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability.