Tara Irby Selected as New Chief Operating Officer for MHO
Her thirty-year career spans affordable housing, community development, and real estate.
Ms. Irby joined Mountain Housing Opportunities in February 2025 and most recently served as VP/Director of Asset Management.
Tara was previously a board member of the affordable housing nonprofit. While with the Asheville Housing Authority, she collaborated with MHO on redevelopment projects for the former Lee Walker Heights and Deaverview properties.
Her thirty-year career spanning affordable housing, community development, and real estate brings a deep knowledge and broad perspective to her role. Her understanding of the systems, partnerships, and challenges that shape this work, at both the organizational and community level, will be invaluable as MHO continues to grow.
In a statement Geoffrey Barton, President and CEO, said, “Tara joined MHO’s staff at a pivotal moment in the aftermath of Helene, and made an immediate impact on MHO’s capacity to respond to the most acute needs of MHO properties and the people who call them home.
“With Tara’s leadership as COO, MHO will be well positioned to continue our long-term housing recovery efforts and redouble our commitments to delivering impactful and effective affordable housing programs at the scale necessary to address our community’s significant unmet housing needs.”
“I am honored to step into the role of Chief Operating Officer at Mountain Housing Opportunities and continue advancing an organization whose mission has been central to my career,” said Irby. “I have seen firsthand the impact that safe, stable, and affordable housing has on individuals, families, and communities.”
Holding a BS in Sociology from UNC Asheville, Irby previously worked as COO of the Asheville Housing Authority and as Executive Director of the Brevard Housing Authority. She currently serves on the City of Asheville’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC).
MHO thanked the Search Committee—Adeline Wolfe, Allison Rollison, Geoffrey Barton, Larry Jones, Lee McElrath, Meghan Gabel, and special advisor Mike Vance—for their time, insight, and expertise in the selection process.
