Dennis C. Shea
Affordable housing is no longer a coastal issue or a niche policy topic. It touches every community, every income bracket, and every generation. In this episode of ChangeMakers, Katie Goar speaks with Dennis C. Shea, Executive Director of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy, about why housing affordability has shifted from a “silent crisis” to a national priority.
Dennis shares how growing up in a modest New York City home shaped his understanding of place, stability, and opportunity. He breaks down the data connecting housing to health, academic success, labor mobility, and economic growth. He also explains why bipartisan momentum is finally emerging, from federal legislation like the Road to Housing Act, to state-level zoning reforms, to employers stepping in to support their workforce.
Katie and Dennis dig into the most promising ideas on the table, including supply expansion, preservation of existing homes, voucher improvements, zoning updates, and targeted deregulation. They also talk about what real collaboration looks like at the local level and how communities can build common ground when resistance to new housing arises.
If you care about the future of affordable housing, workforce mobility, or community development, this conversation gives you a clear and hopeful view of where progress is happening now.
LINKS: American Housing Act: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/article/bipartisan-response-housing-crisis/ What’s in the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/whats-in-the-road-to-housing-act-of-2025 Executive Council: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/advisory-group/executive-council-for-housing-affordability/ Advisory Committee letter to DPC (Davis-Bacon): https://bipartisanpolicy.org/testimony-letter/a-letter-to-the-director-of-the-white-house-domestic-policy-council-on-improving-housing-affordability/ Letter to Sec. Bessent: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/testimony-letter/a-letter-to-treasury-secretary-bessent-on-reforming-the-low-income-housing-tax-credit-from-the-advisory-committee-of-bpcs-j-ronald-terwilliger-center-for-housing-policy/
Dennis shares how growing up in a modest New York City home shaped his understanding of place, stability, and opportunity. He breaks down the data connecting housing to health, academic success, labor mobility, and economic growth. He also explains why bipartisan momentum is finally emerging, from federal legislation like the Road to Housing Act, to state-level zoning reforms, to employers stepping in to support their workforce.
Katie and Dennis dig into the most promising ideas on the table, including supply expansion, preservation of existing homes, voucher improvements, zoning updates, and targeted deregulation. They also talk about what real collaboration looks like at the local level and how communities can build common ground when resistance to new housing arises.
If you care about the future of affordable housing, workforce mobility, or community development, this conversation gives you a clear and hopeful view of where progress is happening now.
LINKS: American Housing Act: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/article/bipartisan-response-housing-crisis/ What’s in the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/whats-in-the-road-to-housing-act-of-2025 Executive Council: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/advisory-group/executive-council-for-housing-affordability/ Advisory Committee letter to DPC (Davis-Bacon): https://bipartisanpolicy.org/testimony-letter/a-letter-to-the-director-of-the-white-house-domestic-policy-council-on-improving-housing-affordability/ Letter to Sec. Bessent: https://bipartisanpolicy.org/testimony-letter/a-letter-to-treasury-secretary-bessent-on-reforming-the-low-income-housing-tax-credit-from-the-advisory-committee-of-bpcs-j-ronald-terwilliger-center-for-housing-policy/
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