Nitan Shanas is a 2021-2022 Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow placed at the Welcome Home Coalition in Portland, OR. His research focuses on policies and revenue streams available to local governments to address the housing crisis in the Portland metropolitan area. Nitan's work, which builds on earlier research conducted by the coalition in 2014, is presented throughout this website.

Nitan is deeply passionate about addressing U.S. homelessness and housing unaffordability. As a Bonner Foundation scholar at Rutgers University - Camden, he worked at a homeless shelter in Camden, New Jersey where he supported clients in obtaining monetary benefits, mental health services, employment, and housing. On campus, he facilitated several awareness campaigns including Rutgers Camden’s Annual Hunger and Homelessness Week and the Rutgers Sleepout for Homelessness Awareness, which raised c. $6,000 for a local homeless shelter. In his senior year, Nitan interned at the National Homelessness Law Center where he researched a variety of issues related to homelessness policies/programs such as safe parking programs, public nuisance laws, homeless advisory boards, and tiny home villages. Nitan received his bachelor’s degree in psychology, urban studies, and economics.

Welcome Home Coalition is a collective of advocates, affordable housing developers, social service providers, culturally specific organizations, and neighbors dedicated to build back affordable housing infrastructure in the Portland-metro region. Welcome Home launched in 2014 and has since been behind a variety of key efforts including the successful passing of the voter-based $258 million Portland bond for affordable housing in 2016. Please click here for more information about the Welcome Home Coalition.

The Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship trains and inspires new leaders in the movement to end hunger and poverty in the United States. Fellows gain vital first-hand experience through placements with community-based organizations across the country as well as policy-focused organizations in Washington, D.C. The program bridges gaps between local efforts and national public policy, as fellows support partner organizations with program development, research, evaluation, outreach, organizing, and advocacy projects. The Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship is a program of the Congressional Hunger Center.