LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville has named a new director of its public housing authority. Elizabeth Strojan will serve as the executive director of the Louisville Metro Housing Authority (LMHA), beginning early next year. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Louisville Metro Housing Authority (LMHA) has hired Elizabeth Strojan to be its next executive director

  • Strojan currently works for New York City’s public housing office 

  • LMHA has come under scrutiny for living conditions at its properties

  • In September, the previous director resigned three weeks after Dosker Manor residents demanded action over conditions there

This appointment comes two months after the former director, Lisa Osanka, resigned following criticism of the conditions at the city-owned Dosker Manor. 

A Louisville native, Strojan currently serves as part of New York City’s Housing Development Corporation leadership team. She’s worked for the public housing organization for the last six years. 

“We all know that LMHA faces big challenges, just like public housing authorities throughout the country,” Strojan said during a press conference announcing her new position Wednesday. “Decades and decades of underfunding from the federal government. Aging buildings in the context of a tight housing market, the list goes on and on. But I truly believe that the future of LMHA Is bright.”

Strojan inherits an organization that has come under criticism because of the conditions inside its public housing units. 

In Oct. 2022, some tenants at Louisville Metro Housing Authority properties feared the conditions they were living in

In late August, a resident of Dosker Manor invited Spectrum News 1 into her apartment to see firsthand the issues she faced. 

“This is gnats. All of that is gnats. I had sense enough to make the solution to get rid of them.” 72-year-old Doris Meau said as she held up small a small glass full of dead gnats. She made a solution with different substances to attract and kill the bugs.

That same day member of Louisville Metro Council demanded action. 

Three weeks later, Osanka resigned from her position as executive director. 

“The housing authority will continue to work to be a better landlord and show how deeply it cares about all of its residents,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, said after acknowledging the poor conditions inside some of the city’s public housing. 

While Strojan has not been there yet, she is aware of the Dosker Manor conditions.

“My reaction is those conditions are not acceptable for people to live in. It obviously makes me feel sad and makes me angry that that’s how people are living,” she said.

Strojan adds she hopes people are cautiously optimistic about the authority’s new leadership. She also would like people to be open to her ideas for change. 

At her introduction, Strojan did not commit to any specific changes she would make as the new leader. Her reasoning is that she has not yet met with the leaders and community members about what they would want changed

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