When Kim Hamilton started working at MPHA in 1995, she didn’t know she’d dedicate three decades—and counting—to the agency. She didn’t know she’d build a career that kept her mind occupied and her heart fulfilled.

Kim started as an accounting clerk in 1995, handling administrative work for the accounting team at the agency. By 1997, she had been promoted to an accounting associate role, handling the public housing accounting work. In that role, Kim charged rent for residents and helped balance budgets. Then, she was temporarily reassigned to the rent collections team and gained management skills overseeing two team members.

Then in 2000, a supervisor role opened in the leasing department. With her new management experience and deep knowledge of public housing accounting, Kim applied for and earned the new position of Supervisor of Leasing and Occupancy in 2000.

Over the next 20 years, Kim managed a team of about 10 employees carrying out the day-to-day operations of the leasing department, ensuring MPHA residents remained housed. The team assisted with current residents’ annual evaluations and lease changes, making sure residents’ income changes and rent were properly calculated and documented year after year. Additionally, Kim supported the team working with prospective residents on the application process.

Over the decades, Kim has guided the department’s evolution with technological advances. When Kim first started working in the leasing department, applicants submitted handwritten paper waitlist applications that were then manually entered into MPHA’s leasing software by team members. Today, that process is completed entirely online, making it easier for applicants to apply at their convenience while also reducing application processing time and opportunities for errors.

In 2020, Kim was promoted to Manager of Leasing, Occupancy and Compliance. In that role she continued to oversee the leasing team’s daily operations. Her team reviewed applications, ran background checks, determined eligibility, maintained applicant and resident records, and managed the MPHA housing waitlist.

As Kim stepped into the manager role, the agency was redeveloping the Elliot Twins, converting the public housing units through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). This enabled MPHA to access new funding and higher subsidies but required the leasing team to comply with a new set of rules. Kim led the department’s evolution as the agency adapted to the new RAD tool. The leasing department’s work required a higher level of collaboration with other departments. Additionally, this department’s evolution resulted in the expansion of the leasing team, adding tax credit compliance and eligibility roles.

For Kim, all the changes and new challenges make her career at MPHA all the more enjoyable.

“I love to come to work every day,” said Kim Hamilton, Assistant Director of Operations Leasing, Occupancy, and Compliance for the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. “I love to look for ways to make things better and run smoother.”

In 2023, Kim was promoted to Assistant Director of Operations Leasing, Occupancy, and Compliance—a role she continues in today. Now, Kim champions the full leasing department, managing close to 30 team members.

Kim says her career at MPHA wouldn’t be what it is without the dedicated and talented leasing team she works with day after day.

“I love being able to make a difference in people’s lives,” said Kim. “That’s why we come to work every day at this agency; we’re here to help people. We help get people housed. Then, we help them keep their housing. That’s very encouraging work.”

The commitment to MPHA’s mission from Kim, and countless others agency employees with decades-long tenures, is what makes MPHA a top-performing agency.