Deer Isle and Stonington hire their first housing manager

New position to focus on Island housing shortage

New housing manager, Dan DeBord. Photo courtesy of the Town of Stonington

Aug. 19, 2026

By Staff

For the first time, Stonington and Deer Isle have hired a housing manager to address the Island’s housing shortage.

In a press release on Aug. 18,  the towns announced a year long, part-time contract for the position, which was filled by Dan DeBord on Aug 1. 

DeBord is familiar with Maine coastal life. With eight years of Maine municipal work, he has experience as a fellow on Monhegan Island, in town administration in Frenchboro, and has secured millions in grant funding for Maine island coastal communities, according to the press release. 

Linda Nelson, Stonington’s economic and community development director, said in an email to The Rising Tide that both towns are allocating $20,000 each from $125,000 Housing Opportunities Program grant to pay for the part-time housing manager position. The rest of the money will be used for “parcel feasibility, legal and other fees to get us to housing,” Nelson said. 

Ronnie Eaton, chair of Deer Isle board of selectmen, spoke to the need of lowering housing costs as well as the potential for new housing on the island. Research from an employer market survey from December 2025 suggests that the island is in need of 100 units of affordable housing to satisfy workforce demand.

The housing manager position also aims to keep momentum going for new housing options, the release said. Two nonprofits, Island Workforce Housing and Homeport, are both providing close to two dozen new living spaces on the island. Units created by IWH are already available, while Homeport expects to add more apartments this fall at the site of the former Island Nursing Home.

DeBord will work alongside Maine Service Fellow for Housing Holly Werner to implement island priorities. These include creating starter homes, developments for RVs and mini homes, developing moderate income rentals, and increasing municipal and regional tools and assistance, including efforts to develop more resources for housing and financial education. 

“We feel very lucky to have attracted Dan’s expertise and connections to address these complex issues,” said Kathleen Billings, Stonington’s town manager. “We know what we need, and now we have the human resources to get it done.”

Jim Fisher, Deer Isle’s town manager, said the new position signals a key moment in addressing the housing shortage.

“We have moved from the broad planning phase to action,” Fisher said. “We need more housing for our workforce on the island and are moving forward to site identification, design and construction.”