The Whitehall Department of Neighborhoods, an initiative of Mayor Michael Bivens designed to help residents facing poverty and other resource gaps, is under new leadership only six months after its former
director began the job.
Gerald Wright, who was hired by the city in March to lead the new department, resigned from the position, and his last day was Aug. 31, Gayle Saunders, a spokesperson for the city, told The Dispatch Sept. 15.
Chet Ridenour is now leading the department, effective Sept. 9, Saunders said.
It was not clear why Wright resigned from his position. The Dispatch has filed a public records request for a copy of his resignation letter. The Dispatch also attempted to reach Wright via phone on Sept. 15 for comment but could not immediately reach him.
Wright was hired to lead the new Whitehall Department of Neighborhoods in March 2026. The department was established in September 2025 and approved by City Council along with Whitehall's $44.9 million operating budget on Dec. 16, 2025. The department is under the purview of Bivens and includes a director, an events and advancement coordinator, and neighborhood advocates. Wright was paid a salary of around $92,000 annually.
While Bivens championed the department, several Whitehall City Council members did not support the initiative. An attempt by some council members to defund it, however, failed by a 4-3 vote.
Ridenour is a community engagement leader and founder of the Good Neighbor Network, an organization that encourages neighbors to connect and share resources with each other, according to their website.
Ridenour, a Columbus Victorian Village/Short North neighborhood advocate and volunteer, was a 2024 semifinalist in the Everyday Kindness Heroes program, an effort of The Columbus Dispatch and Columbus Monthly and Columbus CEO magazines supported by the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation.
Ridenour previously worked for Lyft as a senior operations manager and for the United Australian Football League as the National Tournament Operations Manager, according to his LinkedIn page. He graduated from Miami University in 2004, where he studied finance, business, and Spanish, according to his LinkedIn page.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Whitehall Director of Dept. of Neighborhoods resigns after 6 months
