Board of Commissioners

CHA’s Chief Executive Officer

Randy Cole serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Columbia Housing Authority (CHA).  He serves at the direction of the CHA Board of Commissioners and is responsible for the general supervision over the administration of CHA’s business operations.

Prior to joining the Columbia Housing Authority, Randy was the Housing Programs Division Manager for the City of Columbia where he was responsible for the oversight and administration of federal funds for affordable housing and community development investments.  He supported numerous City Boards, Commissions, Tasks Forces, and members of City Council with data analysis, community engagement and policy recommendations.  He worked with community partners and led several local efforts to bring awareness and education to the local community on the need to increase the availability of affordable housing.  Randy also spearheaded the implementation of the Columbia Community Land Trust 501c3 dedicated to providing permanently affordable homeownership opportunities.  In 2021, Randy was awarded the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year Award for Innovation in Affordable Housing.

Randy earned a Master of Public Affairs and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia.  He is a 2018 graduate of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Leadership Columbia and currently serves on the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.  Randy has presented at national conferences on affordable housing, community development and community land trusts.  In 2018, Randy led a team of colleagues from across the country to organize a 50-member planning charrette in Philadelphia, PA consisting of community land trust executive directors, non-profit affordable housing providers, housing policy advocates and city officials from across the country to discuss scaling local efforts to develop additional permanently affordable housing.

Randy assumed the position of CEO of the Columbia Housing Authority in May of 2021.  Since his arrival at CHA, he has worked in partnership with the CHA Board of Directors, staff, residents, and community leaders to help secure funding for renovating and expanding CHA’s housing portfolio at CHA’s Kinney Point and Park Avenue developments.  These projects include over $31 million in investments for Columbia’s most vulnerable citizens and are a part of CHA’s larger efforts to transform its public housing portfolio and the direction of its future operations.  Randy continues to work in partnership with the CHA Board of Commissioners, staff and residents increase expand CHA’s impact on the community.