In this week's episode, we welcome Wilfred N. Cooper, Jr., President and CEO of WNC, a pioneer in the affordable housing space having acquired over $20 billion in affordable rental properties to create and preserve more than 1,700 communities across 49 states. Cooper is also the co-founder and President of the Cooper Housing Institute, a private foundation that supports innovative research, public awareness initiatives, and community organizations with the goal of ending the housing affordability and homelessness crises in the United States.

Cooper joins NHC President and CEO David Dworkin to dive into a wide range of issues—from the Cooper Housing Institute's recent research with the Terner Center and RAND Corporation on improving Housing Choice Voucher utilization, to the nation's escalating housing supply crisis and the role zoning, environmental laws, and financing barriers play in limiting production. They also examine how workforce-focused proposals like the DIGNITY Act and the CONSTRUCTS Act could help address construction labor shortages and support much-needed housing development.