Interview with Linda Fuller, June 17, 2015

Linda Fuller Degelmann co-founded Habitat for Humanity International with her husband Millard Fuller. Through her work at Habitat for Humanity she has helped create initiatives such as the Carter Work Projects, Women’s Builds, and mental health care partnerships. After her work with Habitat for Humanity, she and Millard founded another housing ministry, the Fuller Center. In this interview, Fuller discusses how the original goal of addressing poverty housing grew into an international organization. She comments on the broad trends in poverty-housing as well as her specific experiences that illuminate the lessons and challenges she has learned through her decades-long career.

Linda Fuller was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1941. She married her husband, Millard Fuller in 1959. He was a fellow attorney/businessman in a marketing firm. His drive and expertise made them a very wealthy couple. Due to their suffering marriage, they reevaluated their values and made a commitment to the Christian ideals. After leaving his high-profile job, they started a low-cost home program in southwest Georgia. Afterwards, Linda and Millard did several years of housing work in Zaire (presently the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Due to the success of the work in Zaire, Millard and Linda established Habitat for Humanity International in 1976. Habitat for Humanity International focuses on the housing needs of people all around the world. In 2005, they were forced out of Habitat for Humanity International, so they founded the Fuller Center for Housing. There Linda started her own female-led housing projects. Millard unexpectedly died in 2009, and in 2011 Linda got remarried to Paul Degelmann. Linda Fuller today focuses on the Fuller Center for Housing to deliver affordable housing to any persons in need.

2015-06-17

RBRL175OHD-026

79 minutes