“On A Mission” showcases leaders who are going the extra mile each and every day. Each of the people we interview is on a mission to serve, inspire and educate. Our hosts highlight their impact and explore what motivates, engages and fulfills individuals and teams to be more productive, more effective, better at what they do, and happier to do it. Today our hosts, Beth Tate spoke with Malinda Everson.
Malinda Everson
CEO at Habitat for Humanity of St. Johns County
Website Address: https://habitatstjohns.org
Short company description:
Habitat for Humanity of St. Johns County (Habitat St. Johns) is a nonprofit housing organization that expands affordable homeownership opportunities for local families and workforce households. We develop and build quality, affordable single-family homes and sell them to qualified buyers. We also provide homebuyer education, financial preparedness support, and connections to affordable mortgage and down payment assistance resources. Through community partnerships, Habitat St. Johns helps families build stability and generational wealth through homeownership.
If you had one message to get across to future customers, what would it be?
Homeownership may be more attainable—and even more affordable—than you think. In some cases, a monthly mortgage payment can be less than rent, while also allowing you to build equity and create an asset for your future. Habitat St. Johns can help you explore whether homeownership is within your reach.
What differentiates you from the competition?
Habitat St. Johns fills a unique gap in the local housing market. While other builders offer entry-level homes, we are currently the only builder consistently producing new single-family homes priced below $300,000 in St. Johns County. Comparable new homes from smaller builders typically begin around $330,000 or higher. Our homes also include many features buyers expect in traditionally priced new construction, while our homebuyer program provides education and access to financing and down payment assistance resources. This combination allows us to provide a path to homeownership for working families who are increasingly priced out of the traditional market.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned over your career?
One of the most important lessons I have learned over my career is not to take things personally and to remember that almost every problem has a solution. In leadership, you are going to face criticism, disagreements, setbacks and situations that do not go as planned. Taking those things personally can keep you focused on the problem instead of moving toward a solution.
I have learned to step back, look at the situation objectively and ask, “What’s the next step?” There may not always be a perfect solution, and sometimes you have to adjust course along the way, but there is almost always a path forward. That mindset has helped me navigate some very challenging situations while keeping perspective, maintaining relationships and continuing to move the organization forward.
What nonprofit do you have a heart for and how do you support it?
Without question, the nonprofit I have a heart for is Habitat for Humanity. My journey with Habitat began in Michigan in 2000, and what drew me in then is still what inspires me today, which is seeing how profoundly homeownership can change the trajectory of a family’s life. A Habitat home is about so much more than having a roof over your head. It provides stability, security and a place where families can put down roots. I have seen firsthand what that stability can mean for children who now have a bedroom of their own, a consistent school and a neighborhood they can call home. I have also watched parents experience the pride and opportunity that come with owning something they worked hard to achieve. What I also appreciate about Habitat is the way it brings people together. Volunteers, donors, businesses and community partners work alongside future homeowners toward something tangible and lasting. People may come to Habitat from very different backgrounds, but they share a common desire to help create stability and opportunity. More than 25 years after I first became involved, I still believe deeply in that mission. I have been fortunate to make Habitat not only a cause I support, but a significant part of my life’s work.
What’s your favorite way to get involved in the community?
One of my favorite ways to be involved in the community is through the arts. I have always loved theater and currently serve on the Board of Directors of Limelight Theatre. It gives me an opportunity to support something I genuinely enjoy while also contributing my experience in nonprofit leadership and governance. I believe a strong community needs more than great places to live and work. It also needs creativity, connection and opportunities for people to come together. Live theater provides all of those things. There is something special about sitting in an audience and experiencing a story together, and I enjoy being part of an organization that creates those experiences right here in our community. Serving Limelight allows me to support an art form I love while helping ensure that local theater continues to thrive and remain an important part of St. Augustine’s cultural community.
If you could be remembered for one thing, what would it be?
If I could be remembered for one thing, I would want it to be that my work helped create homes that changed the trajectory of families’ lives. I would like to know that the work I have done helped create places where children felt safe, had stability and were given the opportunity to thrive. A home can influence where a child goes to school, the friendships they build, their sense of security and the possibilities they see for their future. If my career leaves behind stronger families, children with greater opportunities, and communities that are better because those families had a place to call home, that would be a legacy I would be very proud of.
