Lisa Jones is the new leader handling San Diego's homelessness crisis

The San Diego Housing Commission has a new leader.

Driving the news: The commission, a nonprofit created by the city of San Diego to handle homelessness and low-income housing programs, introduced Lisa Jones as its new CEO Wednesday.

• Jones has been with the agency since 2017, most recently as its vice president in charge of strategic initiatives, where she led the creation of a 10-year blueprint for the city's homeless strategy.

Why it matters: The Housing Commission is at the center of the city's housing and homelessness crises, managing contracts for shelter and homelessness services and operating rental assistance programs for low-income residents.

Flashback: The position has been vacant since February 2022, when longtime CEO Rick Gentry resigned following a scandal over the agency's purchase of a hotel that became housing for formerly homeless residents.

• The agency hired a broker, Jim Neil, to locate potential hotel purchases, and later learned Neil invested in the company that sold the hotel before helping negotiate the transaction.
• Unsatisfied with the agency's handling of the revelation, the City Council created a committee to pursue governance reforms that would make the commission more transparent and accountable.
• Gentry resigned less than two weeks later.

What they're saying: Jones praised the Council's work to refine the Housing Commission's role.

• "I want to reach out to people across our city who don't know, maybe, that we are there for them," she said. "I want to be a community connector."

• "In no moment in any of my conversations with Lisa have I ever wondered for a second whether she was fully focused on every one of the individuals that we are supposed to serve," said Council President Sean Elo-Rivera. "We need more compassion in this space.
• "Lisa will tell us the truth about what we can do to effectively address this crisis," said Ryan Clumpner, vice chair of the Housing Commission. "We can only pursue solutions that work if we are first honest about the challenges that we are facing."

What we're watching: The City Council will vote on Jones' hiring on Dec. 12.