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Housing Voices

Edward Fulford

Housing Voices is a regional civic platform dedicated to advancing thoughtful, solutions-driven housing leadership across Oregon.

We focus on the full spectrum of broad housing needs — workforce, seniors, attainable, disabled and affordable housing — and the broader systems that shape them, including land use, infrastructure, development economics, and public policy.

Housing is not a single issue. It intersects with economic vitality, community stability, healthcare access, environmental resilience, and long-term regional growth. Housing Voices brings together builders, policymakers, nonprofit leaders, business owners, and engaged citizens to examine these intersections with clarity and purpose.

Through structured conversations and systems-level thinking, we highlight the policies, partnerships, and practical actions that can move communities from challenge to progress.

Our mission is simple but ambitious: To accelerate informed dialogue and coordinated action that expands housing opportunity, strengthens families, supports local employers, and enhances long-term community livability.

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21 episodes
weekly
Avg 52 min
English

Episodes 21

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Tuesday · 48 min
Fewer Kids, Closed Schools: What Housing Costs Are Doing to Corvallis | HV20
In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford sit down with Dr. Ryan Noss, Superintendent of the Corvallis School District and a former Superintendent of the Year, to explore the direct and often overlooked connection between housing affordability and the health of public schools. Dr. Noss shares what school consolidation, declining enrollment, and workforce housing pressures look like from the inside, and what it will take to reverse course. - Why Corvallis schools have b
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S1 · E19
October 6 · 53 min
Building Oregon for Our Older Selves: Elevators, Plumbing and Age-Friendly Housing | HV19
In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bri and Marty sit down with Michael Anderson, Director of Cities and Towns at In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre and Marty sit down with Michael Andersen, Director, Cities + Towns at Sightline Institute, a nonprofit "think-and-do tank" focused on sustainable policy across the Pacific Northwest. Together they explore the structural, regulatory and economic barriers standing between Oregon and the housing it desperately needs. Why zoning reforms
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S1 · E18
September 29 · 37 min
What 40 Mayors Came to Albany to Learn About Housing | HV18 P2
In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre and Marty continue their conversation with Albany, Oregon Mayor Alex Johnson, exploring the real challenges and bold strategies behind one of Oregon's most proactive approaches to city growth and housing development. - Anti-growth resistance on city council and how Mayor Johnson navigates it to pass housing legislation - Transportation bottlenecks in Albany and grassroots solutions from boots-on-the-ground expertise - Infrastructure challenges includi
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S1 · E18
September 22 · 42 min
How Albany Cut Permit Times From 18 Weeks to Two and Started Building | HV18 P1
In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre and Marty sit down with Albany, Oregon Mayor Alex Johnson II to explore how one mid-sized city is quietly becoming a model for housing development done right. From cutting permit times from 18 weeks to two, to building homes across every income level, Mayor Johnson shares the hands-on leadership and community-driven strategies that are transforming Albany. - How Albany overhauled its System Development Charges to incentivize middle-income and small-ho
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S1 · E17
September 15 · 48 min
What Nobody Tells You About How a Housing Project Actually Gets Built | HV17
In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre and Marty sit down with Ryan McAlister, president of Gerding Builders and the first non-family member to lead the employee-owned construction firm, for a candid conversation about what it actually takes to build housing in Oregon. Ryan breaks down the development process from raw land to ribbon cutting, the real barriers slowing projects down, and why the housing crisis runs deeper than most people realize. - The difference between market rate, afford
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S1 · E16
September 8 · 50 min
Oregon Is Spending Lottery Money to Solve a Housing Crisis. Here Is Why That Should Worry You | HV16
In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre and her co-host sit down with Oregon State Representative David Gomberg, who represents House District 10 along the Oregon coast, to discuss the tangled relationship between housing, infrastructure funding, and state policy. Representative Gomberg brings his perspective from the powerful Ways and Means Committee to break down how Oregon is attempting to address a housing and infrastructure crisis with shrinking resources and growing demand. - Why smal
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S1 · E15
September 1 · 57 min
The One Fix That Could Unlock Housing Across All 241 Oregon Cities | HV15
In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre and Marty sit down with Alexandra Ring, housing and land use lobbyist for the League of Oregon Cities, an organization representing all 241 cities across Oregon. Alexandra breaks down the complex realities of advocating for housing policy across vastly different communities, from large urban centers to small frontier towns, and explains why there is no single fix to Oregon's housing crisis. - How the League of Oregon Cities represents 241 cities and s
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S1 · E14
August 25 · 50 min
Housing, Jobs, Wildfire, and Broadband: The Gorge Has It All Wrong | HV14
Housing Voices hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford sit down with Dan Spatz, a longtime Columbia Gorge journalist, former development director at Columbia Gorge Community College, and former economic development officer for the City of The Dalles. Dan brings decades of on-the-ground experience to a candid conversation about why the Columbia Gorge is one of the most uniquely constrained housing markets in the Pacific Northwest and what it will take to move the needle. - How the Columbia River Gorge
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S1 · E13
August 18 · 42 min
Housing Voices x Demobrats - Podcasters Galore! | HV13
In this special crossover audio only episode, Housing Voices co-hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford join Virginia Stapleton and Chris Hoy of the Demobrats Podcast for a live conversation about Oregon’s housing crisis — and why housing touches nearly every part of our communities. The discussion moves across the entire housing ecosystem, from homelessness and renter protections to homeownership, accessibility, transportation, infrastructure, development costs and the challenges communities face in
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S1 · E12
August 11 · 1 hr 15 min
Why Housing Comes First: The Truth About Homelessness | HV12
In this episode of Housing Voices: Practical Solutions, hosts Marty and Bre sit down with Dan Easdale, Program Director of Corvallis Housing First, to pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to move someone from the street into stable, supported housing. Dan brings seven years of frontline experience to a candid, compassionate conversation about the Housing First model, the people it serves, and why the solutions are harder and more urgent than most people realize. - What the Housing Fir
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S1 · E11
August 4 · 1 hr 18 min
What 50 Expert Interviews Taught Them About Oregon's Housing Crisis | HV11
Housing Voices is a podcast hosted by Bre Irish and Marty Fulford that tackles the full spectrum of housing challenges facing Oregonians, from homelessness and disability access to wildfire recovery and senior care. In this milestone 10th episode roundtable, Bri and Marty are joined by the show's executive producers, Ed Fulford and Liz Irish, to reflect on the conversations, guests, and hard truths uncovered across their first season. - The origins of Housing Voices, born out of a regional housi
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S1 · E10
July 28 · 52 min
How Housing Instability Is Quietly Dismantling Oregon's Classrooms | HV10 P2
In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford continue their conversation with veteran educator Eric McGuire, exploring the devastating intersection of housing instability, poverty, and public education in Oregon. Eric draws on nearly three decades in the classroom across multiple districts to paint a candid picture of what teachers and students are actually experiencing on the ground. - How declining teacher benefits, stagnant wages, and rising housing costs are driving e
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S1 · E10
July 21 · 41 min
How the Housing Shortage Is Quietly Defunding Your Child's Education | HV10 P1
In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford sit down with Eric McGuire, a 33-year veteran teacher, school board candidate, and union advocate, to unpack the deeply tangled relationship between the housing crisis and the state of public education in Oregon. The conversation connects property tax shortfalls, outdated school funding models, and housing insecurity to real outcomes for students, teachers, and communities. - How Oregon's Measure 5 and Measure 50 locked school
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S1 · E9
July 14 · 59 min
Homelessness Isn’t Laziness: The Hidden Work of Surviving Without a Home | HV09 P2
In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford continue their conversation with Shawn Collins, Executive Director of Unity Shelter in Corvallis, Oregon, diving deep into the realities of homelessness prevention, shelter operations, transitional housing, and what it truly takes to help someone rebuild their life. - Why prevention is the holy grail of solving homelessness and how Adverse Childhood Experiences directly predict adult housing instability - The real cost of homel
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S1 · E9
July 7 · 47 min
What Homelessness Actually Costs Per Person Per Month Will Surprise You | HV09 P1
In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bre and Marty sit down with Shawn Collins, Executive Director of Unity Shelter in Corvallis, Oregon, to explore what emergency shelter and transitional housing truly look like on the ground, and why the gap between need and resources keeps growing. - How Shawn went from corporate librarian and HP research manager to leading one of Benton County's most critical homeless services organizations - What Unity Shelter actually operates, including two 50-bed eme
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S1 · E8
June 30 · 1 hr
Wildfire Didn’t Just Burn Homes. It Exposed Oregon’s Housing Crisis | HV08
Housing Voices hosts Marty Fulford and Bre Irish sit down with Jamie McLeod-Skinner, a civil engineer, city planner, and attorney who served as interim city manager of Talent, Oregon following the devastating 2020 Alameda Fire. Drawing on experience ranging from post-war reconstruction in Bosnia to statewide emergency resilience work in Oregon, Jamie shares the hard-won lessons of wildfire recovery and what communities must do now to prepare for the fires ahead. - What the aftermath of the Alame
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S1 · E7
June 23 · 44 min
The Senior Care Crisis Is Worse Than We Think | HV07 P2
Housing Voices hosts Bri and Marty continue their conversation with Jenn Bustamante, a senior care advocate with 33 years of experience in the aging industry. Jenn runs Embrace Age Prepared, a wraparound company that helps families navigate the complex world of senior care and housing options. This episode reveals the harsh realities of long-term care costs, systemic failures, and the challenges facing our aging population.Key topics discussed:Adult foster care costs range from $7,000-$16,000 mo
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S1 · E7
June 16 · 44 min
When Medicaid Isn’t the Safety Net You Think It Is | HV07 P1
This episode of Housing Voices features Jennifer Bustamante, CEO of Embrace Age Prepared, who has 33 years of experience helping seniors navigate housing transitions and aging complexities. The discussion covers the urgent reality many families face when aging loved ones can no longer safely live independently, often triggered by medical emergencies, falls, or cognitive decline.Key topics discussed:The "Silver Tsunami" - 71 million Americans will be 65+ by 2030, creating massive strain on housin
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S1 · E6
June 9 · 1 hr
Why This Eugene Factory Is Breaking Every Rule About Affordable Housing | HV06
Housing Voices hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford interview Jake from Hope Community Homes in Eugene, Oregon, discussing their innovative approach to affordable manufactured housing. Hope Homes builds energy-efficient, fire-resistant manufactured homes specifically designed for long-term affordability and durability, while also providing workforce training programs for high school students and employing second-chance workers. Hope Homes has produced 50 manufactured homes since getting HUD certif
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S1 · E5
June 2 · 1 hr 3 min
The Missing Middle Nobody Talks About: Why Teachers Can't Afford to Live Where They Work | HV05
This episode Marty Fulford and Bre Irish interview guest Nathan Wildfire, CEO of Missing Middle Housing Fund, discussing his innovative approach to solving Oregon's housing crisis. Nathan shares his personal journey from growing up in Pittsburgh to leading workforce training and housing innovation efforts. The conversation explores how missing middle housing fills the gap between subsidized affordable housing and market-rate housing for workers earning 80-120% of area median income. Key topics d
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