LVL With Us

Today we’re welcoming Liz Brown, President & CEO of YWCA Columbus, a nonprofit focused on housing, youth development, and social justice. Liz is also a former Columbus City Council member first elected in 2015 and reelected in 2019 before leaving in 2023. In this first part of our conversation, we discuss Liz's time on council, her thoughts on our housing shortage, her work at YWCA, the impact...

For part two of my conversation with Tasha Booker, CEO of Action for Children, we begin with a commentary on the brevity of pilot programs like Success Bridge and Healthy Beginnings at Home that get so much initial funding, impact a few hundred people, and then are never scaled up or extended. From there we make a call to action. As our community faces higher costs of living and our social service...

Today on LVL With Us, I am joined by Tasha Booker, Homeport board member and CEO for Action for Children. Tasha has been a part of our board since 2021, ran CityYear Columbus for more than six years, and joined Action for Children at the beginning of this year to become more engaged in education here in Columbus. Tasha actually grew up in an affordable housing community once called Agler Green, no...

We’re back this month with David Staley of Columbus Futurists. Our first episode with David lays the groundwork for what we’re discussing in this second part, giving more context as to what futurism is and how it can be a useful lens through which we view even current issues. The main point of today’s conversation is that, while futurism does rely on certain drivers – or factors that indicate the...

This month, we welcome on President of Columbus Futurists, David Staley, who is also an associate professor of history at The Ohio State University. Together, we discuss not only the future of housing, but the driving factors that determine it and ways we could possibly build the future we want. This month’s episode lays the groundwork of what futurism is and explores more grounded applications. S...

Today, we're joined by two Homeport staff members, Laverne Price, senior director of resource development, and Shameikia Smith, our new VP of Programs and Impact. We’re doing a bit of a different episode today. In times of uncertainty, we believe it’s important to back the organizations in our community making a difference. One of the ways you can support the work we do is by attending our annual...

For episode 205, we are joined by Jennifer Tiedt and Terence Toone of the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging. Jennifer supervises COAAA’s housing assistance program, or HAP, an emergency rental and utility assistance program. Terence is a housing resource specialist, preventing folks from entering homelessness and helping them age in place. For this episode we discuss the unique challenges older ad...

Last month, we discussed in depth a paper written by local researchers that examined how housing policy contributed to the quality of life of Columbus' Linden community. Today's episode is a continuation of the conversation around how housing policy directly affects the health of individuals and our community at large. We're joined by Jason Reece, associate professor in city and regional planning...

How does your home, the block you live on, or your broader neighborhood affect your health? For today’s episode, I am using a recent paper written by local researchers to examine how policy, including housing policies, impact the health of our neighborhoods. This paper, “ A History Of The Impacts Of Discriminatory Policies On Housing And Maternal And Infant Health In An Ohio Neighborhood " zooms i...

I’m back with Twyla Wellmaker, outreach and youth system manager with the Community Shelter Board. Last month Twyla and her colleague Steven Skovensky, chief program effectiveness officer at the shelter board, gave me the rundown on the state of homelessness in Columbus and Franklin Country, its contributing factors and some concrete solutions. This month, we’re homing in on those unhoused in our...

For the first episode of season 2 and the new year, I am joined by Twyla Wellmaker, outreach and youth system manager at the Community Shelter Board, and Steve Skovensky, their chief program effectiveness officer. Together they were able to give me a broad view of our unhoused and unsheltered, who they are, the factors contributing to their homelessness, and what can be done by the city, and by us...

As incredible as it seems, 2024 is already nearing its end, and to wrap up this season of LVL With Us, I’ve invited Homeport president & CEO Leah Evans to discuss the state of housing in Central Ohio as we head into the new year as well as the main priorities as our region, state, and nation face an ongoing housing crisis.

Today I am with Vincent Coleman, government affairs director with Columbus REALTORS, to discuss the state of our housing market, how recent election results will impact it, and the policies being considered on the local, state, and federal levels. Sources: https://www.npr.org/2024/10/08/nx-s1-5134070/have-trumps-opportunity-zones-achieved-their-goal-in-detroit https://www.columbusrealtors.com/hous...

For this episode we're back with Michael Corey, executive director of the Human Service Chamber of Franklin County. He’s here to give a first look at how the local nonprofit sector is preparing for a change in presidential administrations. Former President Donald Trump won re-election on November 5. For our show, Michael puts in plain terms what that means for our health and human services organiz...

There’s a new Central Ohio Transit Authority (or COTA) levy coming up on the November ballot this year that, if passed, will transform Central Ohio’s transportation network: it's called LinkUs. Here on LVL With Us for episode 11 Aslyne Rodriguez, senior director of regional strategic partnerships at COTA, as well as Gayle Saunders of the LinkUs engagement team. Together, they share more about what...

For this little bonus ‘sode we talk all about Lark Mallory's new venture, Mallory Economic Development Advisors LLC, how it feels to be Homeport’s 2024 Voice & Vision nominee, and just learn more about the woman behind the work. Learn more about Voice & Vision 2024: https://www.homeportohio.org/voiceandvision

Can we build housing that is both affordable and climate resilient? In a moment when disastrous climate events are becoming more common and displacing more people than ever, it is something we must prioritize. For this episode, Lark Mallory, previously of Affordable Housing Trust, discusses the importance of building green and the billions of dollars up for grabs to ensure Ohio remains a climate h...

For this episode, we’re back with Roy Lowenstein, career affordable housing consultant, to go beyond zoning to see the other challenges builders, developers, officials, buyers, renters – everyone – is facing. Sources: https://ohiohome.org/news/newsreleases.aspx https://www.columbus.gov/News-articles/Mayor-Ginther-Sends-2024-Capital-Budget-to-Columbus-City-Council https://www.businessinsider.com/ho...

For today’s episode, I’m excited to welcome Lark Mallory, former president and CEO of Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County and founder of the new Mallory Economic Development Advisors LLC. Lark is also the honoree for our 10th annual Voice & Vision celebration, taking place on October 16 at COSI this year. The theme for our event this year is “building for an equitable fut...

For our eighth bonus ‘sode, we are back with Matt Martin for a primer on opportunity mapping and how it helps local and state governments build affordable housing in places where residents have access to jobs, health care, transit, and more. Link to interactive opportunity mapping tool: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/704cc76e5e454a688c1051c996014fb1

For our eighth episode, we are joined by Matt Martin, director of community research for the Columbus Foundation. Together, we briefly discuss how the racial gaps in housing came to be before diving into a conversation on where funding for affordable housing is needed, where it’s coming from, and how we can inspire more interest and investment in it.

This bonus episode is dedicated to our side quest segment. Catherine Girves and Tobi Otulana from Toole Design Group and Leah Evans, Homeport president and CEO answer a series of questions related to transportation. At the end, we get a few book and podcast recommendations. Do you know the answers? Find Homeport on LinkedIn or Instagram as @homeportoh and let us know.

In part two of our conversation, we welcome back Catherine Girves and Tobi Otulana of Toole Design Group, as well as Leah Evans, Homeport president and CEO. Together, we explore how we can use the data we gather to inform a more collaborative response that crosses jurisdictional lines and answers our growing community’s present and future needs.

We’re back with the team from Toole Design, Catherine Girves and Tobi Otulana, who we heard from in our last episode on inclusive transportation, and Leah Evans, Homeport president and CEO. For this bonus ‘sode we’re discussing how we can support adding density with robust transportation options, including mass transit like light rail and bus rapid transit (BRT). We talk about tackling our public...

On today's episode I am joined by Catherine Girves, principal planner with Toole Design, and Tobi Otulana, project planner with Toole Design, as well as Homeport President & CEO, Leah Evans. In part one of a two-part conversation, together we cover the gaps in transportation options here in Central Ohio, how we created a car-centric culture, how we can make it more inclusive, and how it all in...