Ivory Matthews, 37

Ivory Matthews had been working at Neal Communities for three days when owner Pat Neal called her into his office. He asked who she was and what she was doing there, she recalls.

Matthews was a temp working a two-week job in environmental permitting. Although she was parked by the back door, her outgoing nature made her stand out, even from behind the scenes.

Photo by Mark Wemple

Neal told her she had impressed the various politicians, including state representatives and county commissioners, who had spoken with her while visiting the office for meetings. 

“If somebody would come in, I literally would just chat them up,” says Matthews, who identifies among her skills that she can be put into a room with anyone and start a conversation.

Neal asked her what she thought about getting involved in politics and working on a campaign.

Although she thought it “sounded crazy,” since she had not done anything like it before, “I ended up getting into public policy for him and working on a couple issues, and then the next thing I knew, he was offering me a full-time job,” Matthews recalls.

“I've worked for him for 13 years, and I've sort of grown myself within his company,” Matthews says.

Now she is vice president of community and governmental affairs, a job that entails interfacing both with government entities about things like entitlements and with locals in neighborhoods where the company plans to build.

One recent project, the 3-H Ranch near Clark Road and Interstate 75, took two-and-a-half years of work, including meetings with residents, before a recent rezoning approval from Sarasota County commissioners.

Matthews is also in charge of Neal Communities’ $500,000 budget for giving. The philanthropic program supports quality-of-life initiatives such as education in areas where the company builds, from Tampa to Naples.

Outside of work, Matthews is on the state board for Take Stock in Children, which provides mentors for at-risk youths, and she is also chair of the board for Step Up Suncoast, which provides services to help individuals and families in five counties achieve economic stability.

“Once you settle into your career,” she says, it is vital to “turn around and give back and make sure that you're pulling people up with you.”

One person who has helped her along the way is planner Katie LaBarr, whom she has worked with over the last 10 years.

“We're in a male-dominated industry, and so to see a woman come in and command a room and command a project and get things approved that other people can't...I was drawn to her,” Matthews says. “She’s really good at her craft.”