Housing Voices

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...

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 Al...

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 Alba...

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 t...

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...

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...

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 market...

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, acce...

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 serve...

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 truth...

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...

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 outc...

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 h...

In this episode of Housing Voices, hosts Bri and Marty sit down with Sean 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 Sean went from corporate librarian and HP research manager to leading one of Benton County's most critica...

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 recover...

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 f...

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 discuss...

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 empl...

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 afford...

Building housing today isn’t just difficult—it often doesn’t make financial sense anymore . In Part 2 of our conversation Marty Fulford and Bre Irish interview with Ryan McAllister from Gerding Builders, we dig into the real reasons housing projects are stalling across Oregon and beyond. From skyrocketing construction costs to regulatory bottlenecks, this episode breaks down why even well-intentio...

Host Marty Fulford and Bre Irish interview Ryan McAllister, the first non-Gerding family member to lead Gerding Builders, an employee-owned construction company in Oregon's mid-Willamette Valley. Ryan shares insights on the development process, housing challenges, and solutions from a builder's perspective, discussing everything from market-rate to affordable housing construction. The complex 3-ye...

Housing Voices podcast hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford speak with Cassie Wilson, Legislative Manager at 1000 Friends of Oregon, about the critical shortage of accessible housing in Oregon. Wilson, who lives with a disability, shares her personal experiences navigating inaccessible apartments and her recent move to a fully accessible unit, highlighting the vast gap between housing supply and need...

Housing Voices hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford interview Misha Marie and Abby Guzman, Director and Assistant Director of programs at the ARC of Benton County, who support and advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The conversation explores the complex housing challenges faced by people with IDD and the limited options available to them in today's expensive ho...

Housing Voices podcast hosts Bre Irish and Marty Fulford interview Oregon Representative David Gomberg about the intersection of housing, infrastructure, and legislative budget challenges. Rep. Gomberg, who serves on the powerful Ways and Means Committee and represents coastal Oregon's House District 10, discusses the complex decisions facing lawmakers as they balance housing needs with infrastruc...

Housing Voices is a new podcast hosted by Bre Irish (former legislative aide with Senator Wyden) and Marty Fulford (experienced real estate broker and housing advocate) that tackles Oregon's housing crisis through structured conversation and practical solutions. With Oregon ranking 45th nationally in housing production and falling short of the state's 36,000 units per year target, the hosts aim to...