Meet the director of the city’s new Housing and Neighborhood Services Department

Becky Thompson 

Director of Housing and Neighborhood Services Department, city of Columbia 

Job description: Lead the city’s newly created Housing and Neighborhood Services Department.  

What does this department do and what are your goals? The Housing and Neighborhood Services Department was created with the FY 2024 budget to increase access to safe and attainable housing in our community. The new department combined two existing divisions within the city – the Office Neighborhood Services Division (which handles all of the city’s residential code enforcement, administers the rental unit conservation law, and coordinates the city’s volunteer program) and the Housing Programs Division (which administers federal funding the city receives through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist low- to moderate-income households in the community).  

Our goal is to use our current resources and the newly established Affordable Housing Trust Fund to preserve our city’s existing affordable housing stock, revitalize neighborhoods, and increase investment in the production of new affordable housing.  

Professional background: I have been an attorney for eleven years, serving for seven of those years as an assistant city counselor in both the prosecution and civil divisions of the city’s law department. Prior to that I was an attorney for the Missouri Department of Transportation.  

Hometown: Columbia, Mo.  

Years lived in Columbia: 36 

Favorite quote: “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” – John Muir  

Favorite volunteer/community activity: Columbia offers so many great ways to get involved. A couple of annual traditions we enjoy as a family – sponsoring another family through the VAC’s holiday program and the city’s Kaleidospoke Glow bike ride. I served as the Boone County Bar Association’s president in 2023 (and vice-president in 2022) and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know our legal community better – it is made up of some of the kindest and hardest working people I know.  

Favorite recent project: We are getting ready to launch a new Home Weatherization Grant Program with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The initiative will assist eligible residents in making energy-efficient upgrades to their homes at no cost to the resident, thereby reducing utility cost, improving quality of life, and serving the overarching goal of preserving affordable housing in the community.     

A Columbia businessperson you admire and why: John Gilbreth, owner of Pizza Tree. He slings some amazing pizzas (my favorite food), finds creative ways to give back to and bring up our community, and won the Schulte Award at this year’s Heart of America Marathon. What’s not to admire?  

If you weren’t doing this for a living, you would be doing … Something that involved a bit more movement and time outside. A park ranger for the National Park Service, perhaps?    

Why you are passionate about your job: Safe and affordable housing is the foundation for successful lives and communities. I get to work with talented and passionate people in the city, county, and various nonprofits to move this effort forward. It’s challenging and different every day.  

It seems that we all have competing priorities these days. How to do prioritize your priorities? I have come to accept that there isn’t a perfect balance or method to prioritizing priorities. At work, I thrive off a good, ever changing to-do list. Balancing work and other priorities? There are always going to be times when a work priority seems to throw the rest of life out of balance – as long as that’s not the constant, it’s okay. If I am lucky enough to get a run in before the sun comes up, feel connected and productive throughout the work day, and spend some time with my family outside at night, it’s a good day.  

What people should know about Columbia’s housing crisis? It is a crisis. We have a real need for additional housing of all types, but particularly housing that is attainable for those most disadvantaged. And that need is only going to grow as our community continues to grow.  It is truly an all-hands-on-deck type of problem. But this is also a really opportune time because I do think we have all of the hands on deck. In the seven months I have been in this position, I have witnessed a committed resolve to address this problem across the board, from city and county leadership, including elected officials, to local nonprofits, industry associations, and private developers, to name a few.  

Biggest lesson learned in your working life: It’s about the process. Always. Goals are important, both big and small, but focusing on the process, on connecting with the work and the people on a day-to-day and moment-to-moment basis, that’s how big things happen. Also, be yourself and respect others.  

Greatest strength:  
I enjoy the process of trying to understand complex issues or processes and breaking them down into simpler, digestible terms.  

Greatest weakness: Relatedly, I find myself wanting to completely understand every aspect of a given issue before taking any action, which isn’t always practical.  

What you do for fun: I love running really long trail races. I finished my fifth 100-mile race this past September in the Salmon River Mountains of Idaho.  

Who makes up your family: My husband, Chase Thompson, and I have been married for 12 years. We have a 9-year-old son, Graham, who is in fourth grade at Russell Boulevard Elementary. We are also very lucky to have our parents and many siblings and nieces and nephews in the area.  

Favorite place in COMO: Anywhere in the woods. Rock Bridge State Park, Three Creeks Conservation Area, the MKT. 

Most people don’t know that you: Sang the entirety of Don McLean’s “American Pie” to try out for a middle school musical. I didn’t make the cut. Luckily my son gets his musical skills from his dad.