Topic: Urban Resilience Series – our modern food system Guest & Organization: Kevin D. Walker grew up farming and has seen almost every facet of agriculture firsthand, working in agribusiness, at the US Department of Agriculture, overseas with international nonprofits, and as a professor at Michigan State University. He has served on committees with the…

Topic: Adaptation and Livable Communities Series – adaptation and the national climate assessment Guest & Organization: Robert Lempert is a principal researcher at the RAND Corporation and Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for Longer Range Global Policy and the Future Human Condition. His research focuses on risk management and decision-making under conditions of…

Topic: Smart Growth and Livable Communities Series – leveraging a tool in the federal tax law Guest & Organization: Kemble K. Pope is an Urban Infill & Real Estate Entrepreneur in the Sacramento Region of Northern CA. He is a Founder and the Managing Member of POI Partners, LLC, a consulting firm that represents Opportunity…

Topic: Urban Resilience Series – key elements of urban transit systems Guest & Organization: Christof Spieler, PE, LEED AP, is a Vice President and Director of Planning at Huitt-Zollars and a Lecturer in Architecture and Engineering at Rice University. He was a member of the board of directors of Houston METRO from 2010 to 2018,…

Topic: Urban Resilience Series – the next transformation of cities Guest & Organization: Peter Plastrik was born in Paris, grew up in New York City, and lived in four cities in Michigan. He is cofounder and vice president of the Innovation Network for Communities (INC), established in 2007. Along with John Cleveland, he was a…

Topic: Adaptation and Livable Communities Series – acting now and bringing change to scale Guest & Organization: Daniel Hamilton serves as the Sustainability Manager for the City of Oakland, California.  Daniel has 20 years of experience in managing sustainability programs, policies, and plans for local governments and utilities. He has led multiple award winning projects…

Topic: Smart Growth and Livable Communities Series – the widening disparity in California and the challenges to address across California’s regions Guest & Organization: Jim Mayer is President & CEO of California Forward, a bipartisan public interest effort to bolster democracy and improve the performance of government in California. Working with civic and governmental partners…

Topic: Urban Resilience – design for social innovation Guest & Organization: Cheryl Heller is the Founding Chair of the first MFA program in Design for Social Innovation at SVA and President of the design lab CommonWise. She was recently awarded a Rockefeller Bellagio Fellowship, and is a recipient of the prestigious AIGA Medal for her…

Topic: Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Environmental Justice and Equitable Development series – seeking justice in a disempowered place Guest & Organization: Angie Rosser is the Executive Director of West Virginia Rivers Coalition, a statewide advocacy organization promoting access to clean water for all. Her 20+ years of experience in social justice work came to bear…

Topic: Adaptation and Livable Communities Series – how to make infrastructure more resilient to the growing threats of climate change Guest & Organization: Cris Liban is the Executive Officer of Environmental Compliance and Sustainability at Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency. At LA Metro, Cris oversees their internationally recognized Environmental, Sustainability, and Energy initiatives.  Cris…