Solving Oregon’s Housing Shortage with Nathan Wildfire of Missing Middle Innovations

Solving Oregon’s Housing Shortage with Nathan Wildfire of Missing Middle Innovations

Nathan Wildfire, a community and economic development professional and founder of the Missing Middle Housing Fund, joins Kim Allchurch Flick for a discussion about why housing is scarce and expensive and what can be done. Nathan traces his inspiration from growing up in post-industrial Pittsburgh and from his grandmother’s lifelong HUD-related work building senior housing, leading to a belief that housing choice underpins thriving people, places, and economies. He explains the “missing middle” (households at 80–120% of area median income) who earn too much for subsidies but not enough to avoid cost burden, and describes long commutes harming employers’ hiring and retention in places like Newberg and Boardman. The fund acts as a connector among communities and innovators across finance, policy, workforce, and building methods, highlighting projects like Yamhill County’s digitized zoning codes via UrbanForm and Newberg’s Hive cottage-cluster showcasing modular, mass timber, and other construction technologies, while sharing funding sources, expansion interest beyond Oregon, and personal reflections on housing stability.

Good Groceries, Farm-to-School, and Supporting Small Farmers with Kristy Athens

Kristy Athens of Good Groceries in Wallowa County, Eastern Oregon, joins Kim Allchurch Flick. Athens recounts her path from generalist writer to food-systems specialist, including moving to rural White Salmon, writing “Get Your Pitchfork On,” earning an MS in Food Systems and Society, and launching a local gift-box business that evolved into Good Groceries, rebranded in 2024. She describes Eastern Oregon’s short growing season and dominance of large-scale commodity agriculture, and how most residents rely on low-priced corporate groceries. Good Groceries has grown yearly since 2020, prioritizing paying small farmers while acknowledging higher prices by donating $1 per sale to food pantries and accepting SNAP with Double Up Food Bucks. Athens also supports local procurement as a liaison for the Oregon Farm to School Network, discusses pragmatic views on organic and soil care, notes logistical challenges of rural delivery, and urges listeners to buy from local food hubs, CSAs, farm stands, and farmers markets first—“Buy local is not a drill.”

Solar in 2026: What Changed, What Didn't, and What's Next with Garrett Hartwell of Power Northwest

Garrett Hartwell of Power Northwest, a Portland-based residential and commercial solar installer serving Oregon and Washington, joins Kim Allchurch Flick to talk about the 2026 solar landscape and the company’s purpose-driven approach as a Benefit corporation. Hartwell describes how a 2019 reset in Spain and concern about climate change led him to start the company in 2020, navigate licensing and electrical code requirements, pivot during COVID to virtual consultations, and grow to 35 employees. He explains Power Northwest’s three pillars—happy homeowners, enriched employees (including apprenticeship programs), and a clean environment with extensive jobsite recycling. Hartwell discusses the end of the 30% residential federal tax credit, continued 48E commercial credit enabling third-party owned residential leases (including PPAs and prepaid leases), supply-chain disruptions, tariffs, and evolving compliance rules, while remaining optimistic about solar’s durability and impact.

In A Landscape: Outdoor Piano Concerts, Headphones, and Conservation with Hunter Noack

Pianist Hunter Noack joins Kim Allchurch Flick for a conversation about founding In A Landscape, an outdoor classical piano concert series using wireless headphones that lets audiences wander through public lands while listening. Noack recounts growing up in Central Oregon, conservatory training (Interlochen, San Francisco Conservatory, USC, Guildhall), and being inspired by immersive theater to change classical music’s context through lighting, poetry, and site-specific productions, including a forest-set “Transfigured Night.” After returning to Oregon, he secured grants and support (including Jordan Schnitzer underwriting headphones and a rebuilt 1912 nine-foot Steinway Model D) to launch the project in 2016 with nine shows, later expanding to about 50 concerts per season across multiple states and Canada. The conversation highlights community-building, conservation education partners at events, logistical challenges, and Noack’s view of music’s healing role.

Clarity and Resilience with Hussein Al-Baiaty of Rising Authors

Hussein Al-Baiaty, founder of Rising Authors, joins Kim Allchurch Flick for a discussion about clarity and resilience. Hussein shares his journey from Iraq and a refugee camp to building multiple businesses, including a t-shirt printing company with a refugee-focused mission, and later pivoting into author marketing after working at Scribe Media and being laid off in 2023, which accelerated the launch of Rising Authors. He discusses learning through adversity, staying present, and how parenting his eight-month-old son teaches him to be in awe of the world. Hussein emphasizes niching down by deciding “I am the most sought-after X,” aligning daily actions with that identity, and defining marketing as sharing a clear message. He describes optimism, happiness, and kindness as intentional practices.