Emily Anthes is a science journalist and author. Her new book, The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How Buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health, and Happiness, was published in June. She is also the author of Frankenstein’s Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech’s Brave New Beasts, which was longlisted for the PEN/E.O Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. Emily’s work has also appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Wired, Nature, Slate, Businessweek, and elsewhere. Her magazine features have won several awards, including the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award and the NASW Science in Society Journalism Award. Emily has a master’s degree in science writing from MIT and a bachelor’s degree in the history of science and medicine from Yale, where she also studied creative writing. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Paola Antonelli is Senior Curator at The Museum of Modern Art in the Department of Architecture & Design, as well as MoMA’s founding Director of Research & Development. Her most recent exhibition, Neri Oxman: Material Ecology, opened at MoMA in February 2020. She is also currently working on an iteration of Broken Nature that will be on view at MoMA starting in the fall of 2020, and on @design.emergency, an Instagram and book project on the role of design in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, in collaboration with critic Alice Rawsthorn.

Daniel Boulud is Chef-Owner of several award-winning restaurants and the Feast & Fêtes catering company. While he hails from outside Lyon, France, it is in New York that he has truly mastered the dining scene and is today considered one of America’s leading culinary authorities. Raised on his family’s farm in the village of Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu, the chef remains inspired by the rhythm of the seasons and menus driven by fine ingredients. Since arriving in the US in 1982, Boulud has become renowned for the contemporary appeal he adds to soulful cooking rooted in French tradition. Daniel Boulud’s New York City restaurants include his flagship DANIEL (1993), Relais & Châteaux member; the elegant Café Boulud (1998) with its adjacent cocktail bar, Bar Pleiades; his contemporary Parisian bistro, db bistro moderne (2001); two Upper West Side restaurants including the charcuterie-centric Bar Boulud (2008) and the Mediterranean-themed Boulud Sud (2011).Épicerie Boulud (2011), with locations across from Lincoln Center, within The Plaza Food Hall and in the Oculus World Trade Center, is an eat-in and take-out market and café, with exquisite homemade and gourmet items from around the world. Beyond Manhattan the chef has created Café Boulud in Palm Beach (2003), DBGB Kitchen and Bar at Washington’s City Center DC (2014) and a second outpost of Boulud Sud in downtown Miami (2018). Boulud has extended his culinary reach internationally with db bistro moderne at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands (2010), Bar Boulud London (2010) at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, Café Boulud at the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto (2012),and Maison Boulud at the Ritz-Carlton Montréal (2012).He is also the Culinary Director and investor behind SPYCE, the world’s first restaurant featuring a robotic kitchen; a fast-casual concept in the heart of downtown Boston. In the summer of 2020, Daniel will open his first restaurant in the Middle East called Brasserie Boulud at the Sofitel Dubai Wafi, while at the end of 2020, he plans to create a new restaurant at One Vanderbilt. Boulud’s culinary accolades include James Beard Foundation awards for “Outstanding Restaurant,” “Outstanding Restaurateur,” “Best Chef, New York City” and “Outstanding Chef of the Year.” He has been named “Chef of the Year” by the Culinary Institute of America and Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French government. Restaurant DANIEL has been cited as “one of the ten best restaurants in the world” by the International Herald Tribune, has earned multiple Michelin stars and Wine Spectator’s “Grand Award”. In 2015 the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awarded Boulud the Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award for his success as a restaurateur, businessman, and ‘chef who is revered as one of the world’s finest.’ Boulud’s culinary style and reverence to mentorship is reflected in ten books, including the definitive DANIEL: My French Cuisine (Grand Central Publishing, 2013), My Best: Daniel Boulud (Ducasse Books, 2014) and a recently updated version of Letters to a Young Chef (Basic Books, 2017).

Jonathan Bowles is executive director of the Center for an Urban Future, a leading NYC-based think tank that focuses on expanding economic opportunity and growing the economy in New York City. During his 20 years at the Center, he has been the architect of the Center’s policy agenda and is responsible for making it one of New York’s most innovative and influential organizations. He has written extensively about a range of topics that are important to New York’s future, including spurring more middle class jobs, upgrading the city’s aging infrastructure, boosting community college graduation rates, helping more New Yorkers access tech careers, and scaling up more of the city’s small businesses. He co-chaired the Economy and Jobs subcommittee of Mayor-Elect de Blasio’s transition committee, and was once named “New York’s Finest Troublemaker” by Time Out New York. He lives in Queens with his wife and his kids.

Named “America’s Best Interior Designer” by CNN and Time Magazine, Sheila Bridges founded her own interior design firm in 1994. As Creative Director, Sheila has thoughtfully designed residences and offices for many prominent entertainers, entrepreneurs and business professionals including the 8,300 square foot Harlem offices for former President Bill Clinton and his staff. Sheila Bridges Design, Inc has also completed projects at Columbia University and Princeton University, bringing Sheila’s signature design aesthetic to interior spaces at both of these prestigious academic institutions.

Bridges has been featured in numerous publications including Architectural Digest, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Interior Design, House & Garden, Domino, and Traditional Home magazines. She has also been included in Gotham and New York Magazine’s Top Interior Designer’s lists, House Beautiful’s “Top 100 Interior Designers” as well as Elle Décor’s 2011- 2020 A List, which recognizes interior designers who exemplify continually relevant design. Sheila is also the author of two books: Furnishing Forward: A Practical Guide to Furnishing for a Lifetime, which was released in 2002 and The Bald Mermaid, A Memoir, published in 2013.

Ric Burns is a documentary filmmaker and writer, best known for his eight-part, 17-hour series New York: A Documentary Film, which premiered nationally on PBS to critical acclaim (1999, 2001, 2003). Burns has been writing, directing and producing historical documentaries for over 25 years, since his collaboration on the PBS series The Civil War (1990), which he produced with his brother Ken and co-wrote with Geoffrey Ward. Since founding Steeplechase in 1989, he has directed many films of note for PBS including Coney Island (1991), The Donner Party (1992), The Way West (1995), Ansel Adams (2002), Eugene O’Neill, Andy Warhol (2006), Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World (2010), Death and the Civil War (2013), American Ballet Theatre: A History (2015), Debt of Honor: Disabled Veterans in American History (2015), The Pilgrims (2015), VA: The Human Cost of War (2017), The Chinese Exclusion Act (2018), and Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (2019). His work has won numerous film and television awards including six Emmy awards, three Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Journalism awards, two George Foster Peabody Awards, two Organization of American Historians ’Erick Barnouw prizes, three Writers Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Writing, and the D.W. Griffith Award of the National Board of Review. Burns was educated at Columbia University and Cambridge University. He lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.

Daniel Castro is vice president at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and director of ITIF's Center for Data Innovation. Castro writes and speaks on a variety of issues related to information technology and internet policy, including privacy, security, intellectual property, Internet governance, egovernment, and accessibility for people with disabilities. His work has been quoted and cited in numerous media outlets, including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, USA Today, Bloomberg News, and Bloomberg Businessweek. In 2013, Castro was named to FedScoop’s list of the “top 25 most influential people under 40 in government and tech.” In 2015, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker appointed Castro to the Commerce Data Advisory Council. Castro previously worked as an IT analyst at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) where he audited IT security and management controls at various government agencies. He contributed to GAO reports on the state of information security at a variety of federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In addition, Castro was a visiting scientist at the Software Engineering Institute in Pittsburgh, PA, where he developed virtual training simulations to provide clients with hands-on training of the latest information security tools. He has a B.S. in foreign service from Georgetown University and an M.S. in information security technology and management from Carnegie Mellon University.

With over twenty-five years of proven experience authoring and implementing visionary architecture and urbanism, Vishaan Chakrabarti is the William W. Wurster Dean of the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley. Simultaneously he serves as the Founder and Creative Director of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU). His highly acclaimed book, A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for an Urban America (Metropolis Books, 2013), argues that a more urban United States would result in a more prosperous, sustainable, joyous, and socially mobile nation.

Vishaan’s professional portfolio spans major new academic and institutional commissions; a mixed use village in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; a 100% social housing neighborhood in East New York including supportive housing for the formerly homeless; a master plan for the area surrounding Michigan Central Station in Detroit; attainable housing in Newark; the master plan and first buildings at both the Domino Sugar and Essex Crossing sites in New York; and a range of celebrated public spaces and waterfronts. In addition to commissioned work, PAU takes on numerous pro-bono social advocacy projects.

Vishaan lectures internationally; contributes articles and op-ed’s to the New York Times, Crain’s Business, and other publications; has appeared on CBS Evening News, MSNBC’s The Cycle, Charlie Rose, National Public Radio, WNYC, and other television and radio programs; and was a main-stage speaker at TED 2018: The Age of Amazement. He serves on the boards of the Architectural League of New York, the Regional Planning Association, the Norman Foster Foundation, and The World Around You.

Eran Chen is the founding principal of ODA. Since establishing the office in 2007 he has become one of the most prolific architects in New York. Chen has gained a reputation for delivering mold-breaking designs that will deliver a better urban future. His work has been widely published around the world and recognized amongst others by the American Institute of Architects and the Society of American Registered Architects. Chen graduated with honors from the Bezalel School of Art and Design in Jerusalem, where he serves on the board and as guest lecturer. He is a frequent speaker at design and development forums, as well as architecture schools including Columbia University, Clemson University, Syracuse University, Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture, and The Technion in Haifa. Recent projects include the renovation of the former Postkantoor in Rotterdam, the conversion of the Arbuckle Sugar Refinery at 10 Jay into offices and the forthcoming 416-4120 Kent Ave towers in Williamsburg’s Waterfront. His writings on architecture have been published in ODA’s latest book, Unboxing New York.

Jim has spent his entire 25 year career planning and designing innovative facilities for academic medical centers, research institutes and healthcare providers. His work investigates and synthesizes new technologies, human activity/behavior-based programs, and spatial models to create new architectural typologies that further his clients’ missions. He is a visiting critic at The New School-Parsons Design, NJIT, Carnegie Mellon University, Drexel University and MIT DesignX. Jim has sat on the AIA Board of Directors for both Pennsylvania and New York State. He sits on the Design Advisory Board for HealthCare Design. Jim is a registered architect in 12 states and a graduate of Drexel University.

Charles L. Davis II is an assistant professor of architectural history and criticism at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. His academic research excavates the role of racial identity and race thinking in architectural history and contemporary design culture. His book manuscript, Building Character: The Racial Politics of Modern Architectural Style (University of Pittsburgh, 2019) traces the historical integrations of race and style theory in paradigms of “architectural organicism,” or movements that modeled design on the generative principles of nature. He is also co-editor of Race and Modern Architecture: A Critical History from the Enlightenment to the Present (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2020), which collects 18 case studies on the racial discourses of modern architecture from the Enlightenment to the present. This research has been supported by grants from the Canadian Center for Architecture, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Daniel L. Doctoroff is Chairman and CEO of Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet company developing urban innovations for the future of cities. From 2008 to 2014, Dan was President and Chief Executive Officer of Bloomberg L.P., the leading provider of news and information to the global financial community. Prior to joining Bloomberg L.P., Dan served as Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding for the City of New York. With Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, he led the city’s dramatic economic resurgence, spearheading the effort to reverse New York’s fiscal crisis after 9/11 through a five-borough economic development strategy. Dan also oversaw the creation of PlaNYC, New York’s pathbreaking sustainability plan. He recently published Greater than Ever: New York’s Big Comeback, a memoir-manifesto about his experience in City Hall. Before joining the Bloomberg Administration, Dan was Managing Partner of the private equity investment firm Oak Hill Capital Partners. While at Oak Hill, Dan founded NYC2012, the organization that spearheaded efforts to bring the Olympic Games to the city. Dan serves on the Boards of the University of Chicago and Bloomberg Philanthropies. He is the founder of Target ALS, which raises funds for and has established a new model of collaboration to advance ALS research. He is a founder and chairman of The Shed, an innovative new cultural institution on Manhattan’s Far West Side. Dan is a graduate of Harvard College and The Law School at the University of Chicago. A native of Michigan, Dan has lived in New York for the past 35 years with his wife, Alisa.

Helena Rose Durst is a Principal at The Durst Organization overseeing all aspects of the company’s residential portfolio, including leasing, management, operations and marketing. She is spearheading the lease up and pipeline of the market-rate and affordable units at Halletts Point in Queens and throughout the residential portfolio. Helena has helped lead the ground-up management of nearly 2,500 units of rental housing at several projects, including EOS, VIA 57 WEST, HELENA 57 WEST, FRANK 57 WEST, and Historic Front Street. As Co-President of New York Water Taxi/Circle Line Downtown, Helena transformed the organization into a profitable mass transit, tour and travel operation attracting more than 1.5 million passengers annually. During her tenure, NYWT became the first maritime company in the harbor to implement a minimum wage of $15 per hour for its 200 employees. Active in the New York City real estate and environmental community, Helena is a member of the New York Restoration Project and a member of the Lincoln Center Real Estate Advisory Board. She also sits on the Board of Governors of the Real Estate Board of New York.

Pam Elam worked in various capacities for New York City government and its elected officials for over 25 years. She has extensive experience in policy, legislative, administrative, and management operations. Her positions have ranged from Assistant NYC Comptroller to Chief of Staff to a NYS Senator, and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Manhattan Borough President. Pam retired from government service and is now a consultant working pro bono for non-profit women’s organizations.

Pam made her first public speech in support of Women’s Rights when she was 13 years old and has been organizing for women ever since, first in her home state of Kentucky and then in New York. She has organized and managed countless women's rights programs, conferences, hearings, and projects. Pam presently serves as President of the all-volunteer, nonprofit group Monumental Women which created the first monument of real women in the 167-year history of New York City's Central Park. In addition to a Master’s Degree in Women’s History from Sarah Lawrence College, Pam has a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law and a B.A. Degree in Political Science from the University of Kentucky.

Dr. Ayman El-Mohandes, Dean of the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH), is a pediatrician and public health academic with a deep commitment to public service. He is an established researcher in the field of infant mortality reduction in minority populations. Dr. El-Mohandes’ funded research focuses on population-based interventions in underserved communities both locally and globally. His publication record includes innovative approaches towards improving perinatal and neonatal outcomes in high risk populations.

Dr. El-Mohandes has served as a senior consultant on multiple global health services and public health interventions funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Asia Development Bank and the Government of South Africa. These projects included the “Healthy Mother Healthy Child” program in Egypt to upgrade obstetric and neonatal services in the districts with the highest infant mortality, a “Health Services Program” in Indonesia, and establishing the first school of public health for black students in South Africa. He was elected to the Board of the Association of Schools and Programs in Public Health in 2015 and was presented with the APHA Executive Director Citation Award in 2017. He is an elected member of the American Pediatric Society and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

CUNY SPH has undergone dramatic transformation since Dr. El-Mohandes became Dean in 2013. Under his leadership it became an independent school within the CUNY system and received full re-accreditation in 2016. Six new institutes and centers have been launched—with an accompanying surge in research activity and funding—and an active working partnership with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has been formed. The CUNY SPH instructional portfolio has expanded similarly, with a range of new certificate programs and master’s and doctoral degrees, many of which are available fully online.

Nicole Flatow is the managing editor for Bloomberg CityLab, where she oversees coverage on urban policy and the future of cities. She was previously the editor of CityLab at the Atlantic, and enterprise editor at the Guardian.

Sarah E. Feinberg is the Interim President of the New York City Transit. Before that, she was a member of the MTA Board. She is the founder of Feinberg Strategies, LLC, a strategic business and communications consulting practice focused on the tech sector. Prior to starting Feinberg Strategies, Feinberg served as the administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. The FRA serves as the sole safety regulator of the U.S. rail system. Feinberg was nominated for this post by President Obama, and later confirmed by the Republican-led U.S. Senate. As FRA administrator, Feinberg developed and enforced rail safety regulations; managed a multi-billion dollar rail-investment portfolio; and led research and technology development programs. Feinberg was the second woman to lead the agency of nearly 1,000 employees in Washington, D.C. and eight regional offices across the country. Prior to joining FRA, Feinberg served as US DOT chief of staff, where she provided strategic advice and counsel to the secretary of transportation regarding operational and legislative initiatives across all modes of transportation, and helped lead the agency and its more than 57,000 employees. From 2009-2010, Feinberg served in the Obama administration as special assistant to the president and senior advisor to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. As the chief of staff’s liaison to the Obama economic team, the national security team, and the press and communications departments, she most notably worked on the White House’s strategic communications response to the country's fiscal and economic crisis, the H1N1 flu pandemic, and other significant crises that arose during the first two years of the Obama administration. Prior to serving in the White House, Feinberg spent several years on Capitol Hill. Feinberg also served as the director of policy communications at Facebook, and as Bloomberg LP’s director of communications and business strategy. Feinberg served on the Amtrak Board of Directors during her time as FRA administrator, and currently serves on the StoryCorps Board of Directors. Feinberg is a resident of New York and a native of Charleston, West Virginia.

Richard Florida is one of the world’s leading urbanists. He is a researcher and professor, serving as University Professor at University of Toronto’s School of Cities and Rotman School of Management, and a Distinguished Fellow at NYU’s Schack School of Real Estate He is a writer and journalist, having penned several global bestsellers, including the award winning The Rise of the Creative Class and his most recent book, The New Urban Crisis. He is co-founder of CityLab, the leading publication devoted to cities and urbanism. He is an entrepreneur, as founder of the Creative Class Group which works closely with companies and governments worldwide.

Anthony Foxx is the Chief Policy Officer and Senior Advisor to the President and CEO at Lyft. In his role, Anthony works alongside Lyft’s co-founders and executive team—at the intersection of transportation policy, technology, and public-private partnerships—to expand affordable mobility options and improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation.

From 2013-2017, Anthony served as the 17th United States Secretary of Transportation, leading an agency with more than 55,000 employees and a $70 billion budget, whose primary goal was to ensure that America maintains the safest, most efficient transportation system in the world. Among many accomplishments during his tenure, the DOT established a first-ever policy framework for the safe integration of self-driving vehicles, and leveraged $350 million in public and private funding to demonstrate how smart technology can change cities and local communities.

Anthony was also the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina from 2009-2013. During this time, he made transportation investments the centerpiece of Charlotte’s job creation and economic recovery efforts. These investments included extending the LYNX light rail system, the largest capital project ever undertaken by the city. He also expanded Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (the sixth busiest in the world), worked with North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue to accelerate the I-485 outer belt loop, and started the Charlotte Streetcar project.

Mindy Thompson Fullilove, MD, LFAPA, Hon AIA, is a social psychiatrist and professor of urban policy and health at The New School. Since 1986, she has conducted research on AIDS and other epidemics of poor communities, with a special interest in the relationship between the collapse of communities and decline in health. From her research, she has published numerous articles, book chapters, and monographs. She has also written: The House of Joshua: Meditations on Family and Place, Root Shock: How Tearing Up City Neighborhoods Hurts America and What We Can Do About It, and Urban Alchemy: Restoring Joy in America’s Sorted-Out Cities. A third edition of Homeboy Came to Orange: A Story of People’s Power, which she helped her father, Ernest Thompson, write, was released in May 2018 by New Village Press. She is co-author, with Hannah L. F. Cooper, of From Enforcers to Guardians: A public health primer on ending police violence, issued by Johns Hopkins University Press in January 2020. Her latest book, Main Street: How a City’s Heart Connects Us All, was released in September 2020 by New Village Press.

Niyum Gandhi is the Executive Vice President and Chief Population Health Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. In this role, he oversees Mount Sinai’s transition from a primarily fee-for-service model of care to one that is also inclusive of value and risk-based population health.

Mr. Gandhi's role involves aligning the Health System’s clinical and economic transformations in support of Mount Sinai’s vision to be the leading population health manager in the competitive New York market, as well as the best possible partner to the Health System’s broad physician community. This includes fostering care management and clinical model redesign to ensure that high-value care is delivered by the Health System and its partners, working with payers to establish the new economic models that support the delivery of value-based care, and building the Health System’s clinically integrated network – Mount Sinai Health Partners IPA, LLC.

Mr. Gandhi holds an AB in economics and finance from Harvard University. He has authored several articles on ACOs, payer/provider partnerships, and physician engagement and serves as a regular conference speaker on a variety of issues related to population health and value-based care.

Brian Geyser is an experienced healthcare leader and seasoned clinician with an unrelenting drive to transform how we care for older adults. He is a strategic and innovative thinker well versed in emerging care models and population health strategies.

Brian formerly served as Clinical Director for Commonwealth Care Alliance where he helped lead the implementation of organizational development, care model improvement, and transformation initiatives to strengthen and expand CCA’s next-generation care delivery and care management model in Massachusetts.

Today, Brian is spearheading the development of the Inspir health, wellness, and clinical care delivery platform, forging strategic partnerships with top health systems and clinical providers in our urban markets, and overseeing all aspects of clinical operations and care delivery at all Inspir branded properties. Brian also directs the Maplewood Senior Living Center for Aging Innovation & Technology and serves as a Chapter Ambassador for Aging2.0, a global network that accelerates innovation to improve the lives of older adults around the world.

Brian holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Arizona State University and a Master of Science in Nursing from Yale University.

Lindsay Greene currently serves as the Chief Strategy Officer at New York City Economic Development Corporation. In her role, she guides corporate strategy, business development, inclusive job growth, and innovation strategy to create lasting prosperity for New Yorkers. Prior to joining NYCEDC, she served as a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Mayor for Housing & Economic Development in the Mayor’s office. Prior to her role in the Mayor’s Office, Lindsay served as Director of Sales and Sales Operations at The Chia Company, a small all-natural consumer food brand. Before joining The Chia Company, Lindsay was the Category Merchant for FreshDirect, and in her early career, she spent six years at Goldman Sachs in real estate private equity and investment banking.

Lindsay holds a BA in economics from Harvard and an MBA from Yale School of Management. She serves on the Advisory Boards of several fresh food consumer product brands and has worked as a mentor and speaker/panelist with various food startup accelerators and boot camps. Since college, she has been a one-on-one mentor to assist young women of color in navigating their high school and early college years.

From Hollywood to the Big Apple, ZEITGUIDE founder Brad Grossman has built a reputation keeping leaders smart, culturally relevant and inspired to rebuild tomorrow. He’s is an author, entrepreneur and publisher of the annual cultural almanac, also called the Zeitguide. And the creator and host of ZEITGUIDE’s Culture Class.

Grossman has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Financial Times, Fast Company, Fortune, The #ASKGARYVEE Show, and CNBC’s SquawkBox, and has authored articles in Forbes, Fortune, Adweek and Chief Executive Magazine. He is also a Wall Street Journal expert, Inc. Columnist and a member of CNBC’s Disruptor50 Advisory Council.

Thomas Heatherwick is a British designer whose prolific and varied work over two decades is characterised by its ingenuity, inventiveness and originality. Defying the conventional classification of design disciplines, Thomas founded Heatherwick Studio in 1994 to bring the practices of design, architecture and urban planning together in a single workspace. Thomas leads the design of all Heatherwick Studio projects, working in collaboration with a team of highly-skilled architects, designers, and makers. Thomas’ unusual approach applies artistic thinking to the needs of each project, resulting in some of the most acclaimed designs of our time. Based in London, Heatherwick Studio is currently working on approximately 30 projects in ten countries. Following the Gold Award success of the UK Pavilion for the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, Heatherwick Studio has gone on to win exciting design briefs including 1000 Trees, a mixed-use development in Shanghai; and new headquarters for Google in Silicon Valley and London (in collaboration with BIG, currently under construction). The studio has recently completed a new public centrepiece for Hudson Yards in New York; the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, the first museum of its kind on the continent; and Coal Drops Yard, a major new retail district in King’s Cross, London. Thomas has been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a Royal Academician and in 2004 became the youngest Royal Designer for Industry. Thomas was also awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 2007.

Appointed Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in April 2018, Max Hollein is responsible for guiding the Museum's artistic vision and all of its programming, research, and collection initiatives. An accomplished director for 20 years, Hollein oversees The Met's curatorial, conservation, and scientific departments; exhibition and acquisition activities; education and public outreach; as well as the libraries, digital projects, publications, imaging, and design.

Prior to joining The Met, he was the Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, where his tenure was characterized by visionary programming, pioneering acquisitions, and rigorous fiscal management. Previously he simultaneously led the Schirn Kunsthalle, the Städel Museum, and the Liebieghaus in Frankfurt, Germany, as Director and CEO, all of which experienced significant growth and increased attendance during his tenure.

Born in Vienna, Hollein studied at the University of Vienna (Master of Art History) and the Vienna University of Economics (Master of Business Administration). He began his career at New York's Guggenheim Museum as Chief of Staff to the Director and six years later assumed his leadership role in Frankfurt. Hollein has published and lectured widely and has organized a number of major exhibitions in modern and contemporary art. He is a member of supervisory and advisory boards of major cultural institutions worldwide, including the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg; National Gallery, Prague; and Neue Galerie, New York. Named a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture in 2009 and a recipient of the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and the Arts, he received the Goethe badge of honor (the Hessian Ministry of Culture's highest accolade) in 2016, among other international awards.

Brian Jones is the Associate Director of Education and a former scholar-in-residence at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Brian taught elementary grades in New York’s public schools for nine years before completing a PhD in Urban Education at the CUNY Graduate Center. He writes about education policy and history, most recently contributing a chapter to What’s Race Got to Do With It? How Current School Reform Policy Maintains Racial and Economic Inequality, 2nd Edition (Peter Lang, 2020). Brian’s first book, The Tuskegee Student Revolt: Black Power on Booker T. Washington’s Campus, is under contract with NYU Press.

Rachel Jones is a Contributing Writer for National Geographic, producing content primarily for the magazine’s Digital platform since January of 2019. Jones has worked as a journalist and media consultant for the last 30+ years in the US and Africa, for companies including The Detroit Free Press, National Public Radio, the International Center for Journalists and Voice of America. Jones also spent nine years living in Nairobi, Kenya training African journalists to produce news and analysis content on topics including child and reproductive health, international development policy, gender, sustainability and social justice. In both 2015 and 2016, Jones was recognized as one of LinkedIn's Top 10 Media Writers, and she has organized media trainings and PR outreach for several major global health organizations, including Malaria No More UK and Women Deliver.

Sarah M. Kaufman is the Associate Director of the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation, where she researches, advocates for and educates about cutting-edge technologies in transportation. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Planning, teaching Intelligent Cities and Advanced Projects in Urban Planning.

Ms. Kaufman directs several projects related to improving transportation through technology: The Pink Tax on Transportation, an analysis of how safety concerns impact women's travel patterns in New York City; Intelligent Paratransit, to rethink how we transport seniors and the disabled; and the Emerging Leaders in Transportation Fellowship, a program to enhance innovation at all levels of transportation planning and policymaking.

Ms. Kaufman was honored with a Responsible 100 Award by City & State New York in December 2018 and a Tech Power 50 Award in February 2019. She is a member of The List and a contributor to Forbes.com. She has been cited in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NBC Nightly News, CityLab and Urban Omnibus for her work on gender and biking, job access and intelligent transportation.

Ms. Kaufman joined NYU Wagner after nearly five years at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where she led the open data program, created a conference and online exchange between the MTA and software developers, and assisted in developing the agency's social media program.

Ms. Kaufman earned a Master of Urban Planning from NYU’s Wagner School in 2005, specializing in infrastructure, transportation and telecommunications, and wrote an award-winning thesis designing a bus arrival time signage system. She earned her BA from Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in science writing and concentrating in computer science. She is a font of useless NYC transit trivia.

Colin Koop is a design partner in SOM’s New York office. Throughout his 17 years at the firm, Koop has developed a broad body of work defined by a strong social conscience, research-driven and collaborative approach, and innovative designs.

As an architect, Koop is involved in the projects from start to finish, leading a design process which is inclusive, rigorous, and creative. This process begins by seeking to understand the unique qualities of a place; his goal is to find modes of expression that embody context, while charting new, ambitious paths forward. His emphasis on systematic thinking is tempered with a concern for an individual’s experience of the completed work—an approach that reconciles scientific thinking with a humanist point of view. Focused on the challenges facing our planet, Koop seeks to address the disruptive impact of technology, the effects of climate change, shifts in regional and global culture, the importance of preserving the past, and the need to create a more equitable world.

He has extensive experience in a diverse array of project types, including education, transportation, workplace, and urban planning. His portfolio comprises some of SOM’s highest-profile projects, including the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, the Moon Village research initiative, and 4 Hudson Square—the Walt Disney Company’s new headquarters for its New York operations.

Koop’s work has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects, the Urban Land Institute, the Chicago Athenaeum, and the Municipal Art Society of New York. His projects have been published in A+U, Architect Magazine, Metropolis, Bauwelt, Fast Company, Wired, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

Alexandra Lange is a design critic. Her essays, reviews, and profiles have appeared in numerous publications including Architect, The Atlantic, New York Magazine, the New Yorker, and the New York Times. She was the architecture critic for Curbed and an Opinion columnist at Dezeen. Her latest book, The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids was published by Bloomsbury USA in 2018. She is currently at work on a new book about the history and future of the American shopping mall.

Greg Lindsay is director of applied research at New Cities and director of strategy at its mobility offshoot CoMotion. He is also a non-resident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council’s Foresight, Strategy, and Risks Initiative, a senior fellow o fMIT’s Future Urban Collectives Lab, and a visiting scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management.

Maja Mataric (robotics.usc.edu/~maja) is Chan Soon-Shiong Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics at USC, founding director of the USC Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center and interim Vice President of Research at USC. Her PhD and MS are from MIT, BS from the University of Kansas. She is Fellow of AAAS, IEEE, and AAAI, recipient of the US Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics & Engineering Mentoring from President Obama, Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Award, NSF Career Award, MIT TR35 Innovation Award, and IEEE Robotics and Autonomous Systems Early Career Awards. She has a long history of being active in K-12 STEM and diversity outreach. A pioneer of socially assistive robotics, her team’s research is developing personalized human-robot interaction methods for convalescence, rehabilitation, training, and education that have been validated in autism, stroke, Alzheimer’s, healthy elderly, and many other domains (robotics.usc.edu/interaction/). She is also co-founder of Embodied, Inc.

Roni Mazumdar, is the innovative restaurateur behind The Masalawala, Rahi, Adda Indian Canteen, Biryani Bol, and the upcoming Dhamaka. Since opening The MasalaWala, Roni has been further exploring the foods of his youth, sharing lesserknown quintessential dishes from remote areas of India with New Yorkers. His follow up to Masalawala, was Rahi in 2017 with Chef Chintan Pandya, which quickly attracted the attention of national and local media for serving innovative interpretations of Indian cuisine, and was heralded by The New York Times restaurant reviewer Pete Wells. In addition to The Masalawala and Rahi, he is also the proud owner of Adda Indian Canteen, which focuses on local and regional Indian dishes. Adda gained praise from local and national publications including Mr. Wells again by receiving a radiant two-star review in The New York Times. In 2019, Adda was a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for “Best New Restaurant,” and named Food & Wine Magazine’s Ten Best New Restaurants, Eater’s National Best New Restaurants” and Bon Appetit Top 50 Best New Restaurants of 2019. In late 2019, Roni partnered with artist Mattia Casalegno in Aerobanquets RMX, a virtual reality experience combining food and fantasy, which was held at the James Beard House. Most recently, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, Mazumdar created a new concept: Biryani Bol, a platform serving only their acclaimed signature dish inspired by the Lucknow Biryani. Roni’s philosophy of business is continually met with a mind for philanthropy and community, both in New York City and back in India. He's involved with Accion, one of the leading global nonprofit organizations; and contributed a dish to Leyla Moushabeck’s The Immigrant Cookbook. Roni is part of City Harvest's Food Council to help spread awareness of the organization's mission of raising funds in donating high quality food to help feed hungry New Yorkers. In early 2020, Eater named Roni and Chintan as part of their New Guards of New York Dining, which explored the state of power and influence in the New York City dining scene. Roni’s television appearances include CNBC, NY1, PIX11, and others.

Sarah Medford is a writer and editor specializing in design, architecture and visual culture. She is a contributing editor at WSJ. Magazine and a regular contributor to Architectural Digest and Departures magazines; formerly the executive editor of AD, she has also held staff positions at Art in America and Town & Country. Medford is an honors graduate of Brown University and holds a certificate in Interior Design from Parsons School of Design. She lives in New York City and Shelter Island with her husband and two children.

Jonathan Miller is President and CEO of Miller Samuel Inc., a real estate appraisal and consulting firm he co-founded in 1986. Miller Samuel provides appraisal and consulting services on as much as $5 billion worth of property per year in the New York City metropolitan area. He is also co-founder of Miller Cicero, LLC, a commercial real estate valuation firm. Jonathan is a real estate analyst and a state-certified real estate appraiser in New York and Connecticut, performing court testimony as an expert witness in various local, state and federal courts across the U.S. He holds the Counselors of Real Estate (CRE) and Certified Relocation Professional (CRP) designations. He is an Appraiser "A" Member of the Real Estate Board of New York and a former President of RAC, a national organization of appraisers who specialize in providing valuation solutions for complex residential properties. Since 1994, Mr. Miller has been the author of an expanding series of market reports for Douglas Elliman Real Estate covering the New York City metropolitan area, Boston, South Florida, Los Angeles, Houston, Aspen, and others. These reports are relied on by the media, financial institutions, and government agencies, including the Federal Reserve, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the NYC Office of Management and Budget, the New York State Budget Division Economic Advisory Board and others. He co-authored a research paper for NYU School of Law, and the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy titled The Condominium v. Cooperative Puzzle: An Empirical Analysis of Housing in New York City, published in 2007 by the Journal of Legal Studies at the University of Chicago. He developed pending home sale indices for the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore metro areas in addition to Central Pennsylvania on behalf of Bright MLS, one of the largest multiple listing systems in the U.S. Mr. Miller teaches market analysis as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation in the Master of Science in Real Estate Development (MSRED) Program at Columbia University. He serves on the New York City Mayor's Economic Advisory Panel representing the residential real estate sector. He has participated in studies with institutions including New York University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Baruch College, and Urban Land Institute. He is a well-regarded real estate commentator, covering U.S. and regional housing issues in print, online, television, and radio, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Reuters, AP, CNBC, CNN, ABC, and others. Recognition awarded Mr. Miller include: • Referred to as “Appraiser Extraordinaire” by Forbes. • Named “Best Online Real Estate Expert” by Money Magazine. • Declared “Most Trusted Man in NYC real estate” by The Observer. • Named one of “The Best Finance People on Twitter.” by Business Insider. • Selected as one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Real Estate 3 times by The Observer. • Recognized for “Keeping the Industry Honest” by The New York Post. • Named one of the 20 Biggest Power Players in New York Real Estate by The New York Post. • Recognized by Inman News as a top 25 most influential U.S. real estate bloggers and his blog, Matrix, was voted one of the top five U.S. real estate blogs. • His Matrix blog was named a top five real estate industry b2b site in the Swanepoel Trends Report.

Louise Mirrer, PhD is President and Chief Executive Officer of the New-York Historical Society, responsible for all exhibitions, programs, activities, and administrative functions. Under her guidance, New-York Historical completed an $80 million renovation in 2011. Her newest project, the launch of a first-ever Center for Women’s History within the walls of a museum, was part of the institution’s recent $32 million, fourth floor renovation. She has authored four books and numerous articles in the humanities, including Women, Muslims, and Jews in the Texts of Reconquest Castile (published: University of Michigan Press). Dr. Mirrer has been Professor in History and Literature departments at Fordham University, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and the CUNY Graduate Center. She served as an academic administrator for twenty-plus years. As Vice Provost for Arts, Sciences and Engineering at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, she oversaw key initiatives in liberal arts education. As Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the City University of New York, she designed the CUNY Honors College, introduced American history as a graduation requirement for all 200,000 undergraduate students, and established a major hiring initiative to increase the number of American history faculty throughout the CUNY system. Mirrer holds a double Ph.D. in Spanish and Humanities from Stanford University.

Jean-Gabriel Neukomm, Founding Principal of JG Neukomm Architecture, has designed successful and innovative projects for a range of luxury residential, institutional, hospitality, commercial, and retail projects for more than 25 years. Some of Neukomm’s early professional work began as executive partnerships with the London practice of John Pawson, including high-profile projects for clients such as Calvin Klein and hotelier Ian Schrager. Neukomm has been able to translate his keen eye for detail, cultivated in his work on luxury residential projects, to large-scale urban projects in New York and Los Angeles for major developers such as Greenland USA, Blackstone, CIM, the Gotham Organization, F&T Group, The Dermot Company, and Rockrose, and to an urban-scale retail arcade on the Las Vegas strip. Current developments include a ground-up commercial building in the West village catering to the neighborhood’s upscale residents, and several large-scale building renovations for which he is both architect and interior designer. His rich and sensitive hospitality designs include New York’s exclusive Core Club and currently the Dominick Hotel. Retail giants such as Calvin Klein Collection, Tiffany & Co., Pringle of Scotland, Frame Denim, and Marian Goodman Gallery have commissioned cutting-edge designs in locations ranging from New York to Shanghai to Prague. His fashion-oriented work has also led him to several ventures with famed creative director Fabien Baron, for whom Neukomm designed a 12,000 square foot office as well as a spectacular West Village townhou se residence (featured in WSJ Magazine). Other recent townhouse renovations include a restoration and significant addition to a Landmarked West Village federal style home for a leading figure in the arts, as well as a complete restructuring, renovation, and interior design of a 15,000 square foot mansion on Park Avenue. Neukomm serves on the board of the Design Trust for Public Space, an organization committed to equity and design excellence in the public realm. He also finds time to pursue his passion as an avid photographer, and has had numerous publications of his work.

Signe is a Founding Principal of MNLA and has been practicing as a landscape architect and urban designer in New York since 1978. Her body of work has renewed the environmental integrity and transformed the quality of spaces for those who live, work, and play in the urban realm. A Fellow of the ASLA, she is the recipient of more than 100 national and local design awards for public open space projects and is published extensively nationally and internationally. Signe is a professor of urban design and landscape architecture at Pratt Institute in both the graduate and undergraduate Schools of Architecture and serves as president of the Public Design Commission of the City of New York. Born in Paris, Signe received a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in Urban Planning from Smith College; a Bachelor of Arts in Landscape Architecture from City College of New York; and a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from Pratt Institute.

Alison Novak, Principal at The Hudson Companies Inc, oversees mixed-income and market-rate developments as well as Hudson’s middle-income equity fund. Under her leadership, Hudson launched its commitment to green building. Alison has overseen the acquisition, design, financing, construction, and completion of a wide range of housing developments ranging from affordable (Ocean View Villas) to high-end (House No 94), home ownership (Third + Bond) to rental (The Clark), single-family (Ocean View Villas) to high rise (The Parkline). Her goal is to ensure Hudson’s diverse team maintains the highest integrity and commitment to its guiding principles. Alison majored in Community Development at Grinnell College and earned her Master of City Planning and Master of Science in Real Estate Development, both from M.I.T. Alison was named among the “Responsible 100” by City & State in 2019. She is a Vice Chair of Women in Housing and Finance, an honor bestowed on past board presidents. Alison’s a member of the 21st cohort of Coro Leadership New York. She is on the board of The Osborne Association.

Lionel Ohayon, is the founder and CEO of ICRAVE, a leading design firm based in New York City that solves business challenges through strategy and design. Since launching ICRAVE in 2002, Ohayon has grown the studio into an internationally renowned practice that drives clients’ bottom line by designing spaces as experiences that capture people’s attention. Ohayon and his team work with Fortune 500 companies, top developers and other retail innovators to create award-winning work spanning healthcare, airports, air travel and cruise, hospitality and entertainment, and mixed-use residential.

Ohayon is passionate about fostering creativity in the world around him, and is a member of Fast Company’s Impact Council as well as the International WELL Building Institute’s (IWBI) COVID-19 Task Force. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and three children. Ohayon graduated from the University of Waterloo School of Architecture.

Shachi Pandey is an urban designer and founder of Metropolitan Urban Design (MUD) Workshop. She emphasizes community-centric thinking and sustainability, which she believes to be the central factors in bringing about positive change in our environments and communities. She is most interested in ideas that appreciate and embrace the complexity of our urban, social and economic environments and advance novel design approaches that address this complexity.

Her professional practice, MUD Workshop, is dedicated to the regeneration of neighborhoods and public places. Current and recent projects include the Jersey City Master Plan, Bradhurst Urban Design and Planning Framework in Upper Manhattan, Suffolk County Blueway Plan, Port Morris Waterfront Access and Pedestrian Improvements in The Bronx and the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Easton in PA. The City of Easton Comprehensive Plan, Transform > Unify > Thrive, was awarded the annual LVPC award and received honors for invaluable community service from Senators Browne, Boscola and Scavello and Congressman Cartwright. MUD Workshop has also collaborated on several design and planning projects with other built environment professionals. Most recent collaborations include visioning and engagement for the Mount Kisco Comprehensive Plan (Westchester) and the Hoboken Master Plan (NJ), both of which received honors for community engagement by the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation and New Jersey Future Smart Growth Awards respectively.

Shachi holds a Master’s degree in City Planning (Urban Design) and a certificate in Real Estate Design and Development from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at Columbia’s GSAPP and has previously taught at NJIT, NYU, the Pratt Institute and internationally at La Salle University, Bogotá. She also serves as the Vice President of Intergovernmental Affairs for the American Planning Association, NY Metro Chapter.

Michael Phillips is a Principal and the President of Jamestown. As President, Mr. Phillips oversees the development and execution of the company’s real estate projects globally. During his tenure, Jamestown has grown its portfolio of assets in key markets throughout the US and expanded its investment footprint to South America and Europe, more than tripling the firm’s assets under management. Mr. Phillips is the driving force behind the company’s adaptive reuse projects including Chelsea Market in New York City, Ponce City Market in Atlanta, Industry City in Brooklyn, and Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. Mr. Phillips is nationally recognized for his creative leadership and ability to build unique, iconic urban centers. He attended the American University in London.

Lisa Picard is President and Chief Executive Officer of EQ Office, where she leads vision and strategy for the company that is wholly owned by Blackstone. As CEO, Lisa drives the strategic direction for the organization, inspires her teams, partners and clients to move past legacy assumptions seeking new pathways for value creation. For success, she drives a community experience to maximize the human potential within the real estate, particularly in this age of rapid automation and technological change.

Lisa joined EQ in 2016 as its Chief Operating Officer and was named CEO in 2017. She immediately worked to re-shaped the organization and now the office market to have greater relevance to a shifting marketplace. Prior to joining EQ, Lisa worked as a real estate executive for Skanska USA developing office and residential properties in the Northwest, while also guiding investments for the company in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. At Canyon Ranch Spa and Resorts, Lisa drove the expansion of the experiential hotel brand in Florida. And prior to Canyon Ranch, Lisa developed several office developments in Seattle for Hines Interests, for a career building over 6.5 million square feet of ground up real estate valued over $5B.

Lisa holds two master’s degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She lectured at MIT and the University of Washington on visioning, technology, design thinking, mindful leadership, real estate innovation and understanding risk in changing markets. She also serves on the Board of Directors for MiiR, a product to project B corporation, and Honest Buildings, a prop tech capital management platform for real estate owners.

Seth Pinsky is CEO of the 92nd St. Y. At 92Y, Pinsky is developing an action plan for 92Y heading into its 150th anniversary, which will include a comprehensive upgrade of its Manhattan home.

Previously, Pinsky was an EVP at RXR Realty, where he led RXR’s efforts to invest in “emerging opportunities” in the New York region. Earlier, Pinsky oversaw the development of Mayor Bloomberg’s $20 billion plan to protect New York from climate change impacts and, from 2008 to 2013, was President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Pinsky started his career as an associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and analyst at James D. Wolfensohn Inc. He graduated from Columbia College and Harvard Law.

Scott Rechler is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of RXR, one of the largest owners, managers, and developers of real estate and infrastructure in the New York metropolitan region.

With an aggregate gross asset value of approximately $20.5 billion, comprising approximately 25.5 million square feet of commercial properties, a multi-family portfolio of approximately 6,000 units, RXR seeks to build and create stronger communities within its buildings and within the areas where it operates. As Chairman and CEO, Scott believes that RXR’s success is inextricably linked to the health and vitality of the broader community.

As an appointee of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, from 2011 to 2016, Scott served on the Board of Commissioners as Vice Chairman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He later served at the request of Governor Cuomo on the Board of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) from 2017 to 2019.

In addition to his role at RXR, Scott currently serves as chair of the Regional Plan Association, trustee and Vice Chair of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center, member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), a Board member of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and a member of the NYU Real Estate Institute Advisory Committee. Scott also serves on the Board of the Tribeca Film Institute, where he serves as its co-Chair, and he also serves on the Board of the Drum Major Institute, Convene, Kitchen United, the Centre for Social Innovation, and the Hospital for Special Surgery.

Scott is a graduate of Clark University and the New York University Schack Institute.

Hillary Reinsberg is the Editor In Chief of The Infatuation and Zagat. The Infatuation’s first hire, Hillary has overseen the editorial expansion of the restaurant review platform and its signature voice into cities across the U.S and U.K. With The Infatuation’s 2018 acquisition of the legendary restaurant guide Zagat from Google, Hillary is now also working on developing that brand and platform, including the 2019 bestselling 40th Anniversary Edition of the Zagat New York City Restaurants guidebook and the brand’s newest storytelling platform, Zagat Stories. Previously, Hillary was an early member of BuzzFeed’s news team. In 2019, she was recognized on the Media section of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.

Charles Renfro joined Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) in 1997 and became a partner in 2004. Charles led the design for a number of projects including the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and Zaryadye Park, a 35-acre park adjacent to the Kremlin in Moscow. Charles has also led a number of academic projects at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and Brown University, and is currently designing new facilities for Columbia University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Toronto. He will be leading the renovation of Dallas’s Kalita Humphreys Theater - Frank Lloyd Wright’s only built free-standing theater. Abroad, Charles is leading the design of the Museum of Image and Sound in Rio de Janeiro, the Tianjin Juilliard School in China, and Adelaide Contemporary, a new gallery in Australia. He is a faculty member of the School of Visual Arts, is on the boards of Storefront for Art and Architecture and Boffo and is contributing editor to Document Journal.

David Rockwell, FAIA, is the founder and President of Rockwell Group, an interdisciplinary architecture and design firm based in New York, with satellite offices in Los Angeles and Madrid, that merges theater, performance and architecture to create extraordinary experiences and built environments across the globe. Notable projects include the Hayes Theater (New York); Union Square Cafe and Daily Provisions (New York); TED Theater (Vancouver, BC); the headquarters for Warner Music Group (Los Angeles); Nobu restaurants and hotels worldwide (including Nobu Downtown and Nobu Hotel Barcelona); The Shed (Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Lead Architect and Rockwell Group, Collaborating Architect); Equinox Hotel (New York); Moxy hotels (Times Square, Chelsea, East Village and South Beach); and set designs for more than 60 productions, including Kiss Me Kate, Tootsie, She Loves Me, Kinky Boots, and Hairspray. Honors include a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design for She Loves Me; the 2015 AIANY President’s Award; the 2008 National Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum for outstanding achievement in Interior Design; the 2009 Pratt Legends Award; and the Presidential Design Award.

Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel believes that the future belongs to the connected. She works to promote greater opportunity, accessibility, and affordability in our communications services in order to ensure that all Americans get a fair shot at 21st century success. She believes strong communications markets can foster economic growth and security, enhance digital age opportunity, and enrich our civic life.

From fighting to protect net neutrality to ensuring access to the internet for students caught in the Homework Gap, Jessica has been a consistent champion for connecting all. She is a leader in spectrum policy, developing new ways to support wireless services from Wi-Fi to video and the internet of things. She also is responsible for developing policies to help expand the reach of broadband to schools, libraries, hospitals, and households across the country.

Named as one of POLITICO’s 50 Politicos to Watch and profiled by InStyle Magazine in a series celebrating "women who show up, speak up and get things done," Jessica brings over two decades of communications policy experience and public service to the FCC. Prior to joining the agency, she served as Senior Communications Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, under the leadership of Senator John D. Rockefeller IV and Senator Daniel Inouye. Before entering public service, Jessica practiced communications law in Washington, DC.

She is a native of Hartford, Connecticut. She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and New York University School of Law. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband Mark, and children Caroline and Emmett.

After 18 years on Wall Street, including 10 at Goldman Sachs as a Partner, Paul Scialla’s interest in sustainability and altruistic capitalism led him to found Delos, which is merging the world’s largest asset class – real estate – with the world’s fastest growing industry – wellness. Since the company’s inception, Paul has become a leading voice in the wellness and sustainability movements, serving as a keynote speaker at prominent green building, real estate, and technology forums and conferences around the world. Paul is also the Founder of the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), which administers the WELL Building Standard® globally to improve human health and wellbeing through the built environment, a member of the Board of Directors for the Chopra Foundation, and a founding board member of the JUST Capital Foundation. Paul graduated from New York University with a degree in finance, and he currently resides in New York City.

Elizabeth Segran is the author of The Rocket Years: How Your Twenties Launch The Rest of Your Life. She's also a senior staff writer at Fast Company, where she writes about fashion. She graduated from Columbia College in 2005, then went on to get her PhD from U.C. Berkeley in Indian literature. She lives in Boston with her husband, whom she met her freshman year at Columbia, and her four-year-old daughter.

One of the nation’s most celebrated urban thinkers, Mitchell J. Silver is Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and a former president of the American Planning Association (APA) and is President Elect of the American Institute of Certified Planners. As an award-winning planner with more than 30 years of experience, he is internationally recognized for his leadership in the planning profession and his contributions to contemporary planning issues. He specializes in comprehensive planning, placemaking, and implementation strategies. He was named one of Planetizen’s 100 Most Influential Urbanists in 2017 and has been honored as one of the top 100 City Innovators in the world by UBM Future Cities. In 2012, the Urban Times named him one of the top international thought leaders of the built environment.

Emiliana Simon-Thomas, PhD is the Science Director at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. She oversees the student research fellowship program, runs key initiatives like Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude, and co-teaches both GG101x: The Science of Happiness massive open online course and the Science of Happiness at Work Professional Certificate Series. She serves as an expert voice on human pro-sociality, as well as empirically-supported approaches to fostering sustained kindness and compassion at individual, interpersonal, and collective levels. Alongside her academic and popular publications Emiliana co-edited the transdisciplinary Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science authored by leading world-class researchers. She also advises organizations on boosting happiness, both from a product perspective and through policies aimed at enhancing a culture of trust, agility, and well-being. In sum, Emiliana’s work shares scientific insights and practical tools for strengthening the skills of connection, positivity, and resilience that measurably increase health, well-being, and happiness.

Emily Tisch Sussman is the host of the podcast Your Presidential Playlist and a leading Democratic political strategist with over 200 appearances on cable news networks like FOX News, CNN, HLN, and MSNBC. Her all-women podcast guide to the presidential election has featured guests including Nancy Pelosi and Stacey Abrams, and her interview with Hillary Clinton broke a story in The New York Times. Emily serves as a Senior Advisor to organizations committed to driving change through legislation, advocacy, the electoral process, and policy development, including The Baker Project, a special initiative of Eleanor’s Legacy; Funny or Die: Glam Up the Midterms; and Vote Vets. Previously, she held the role of Vice President of Campaigns at the Center for American Progress (CAP), the largest progressive think tank in Washington, DC. She shaped key strategies to resist the Trump Administration’s harmful policies and turned up the heat on the Repeal and Replace debate as Republicans worked to dismantle healthcare for millions of Americans.

Asad Syrkett is the new Editor-in-Chief of Elle Decor. Recently, he was Deputy Editor at the design and cities website Curbed, where he oversaw the senior editing and reporting staff. He's also held staff positions at Architectural Digest and Architectural Record magazines. Beyond the written word, he has guest-lectured at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, appeared on panels at South By Southwest, Design Miami, and co-hosted two seasons of a design podcast, The Curbed Appeal. Asad graduated from Columbia University with a degree in architectural history and lives in Brooklyn.

Wayne Ting is Lime’s Chief Executive Officer. Wayne joined Lime in October 2018 as Global Head of Operations and Strategy and has been instrumental in the company’s drive towards operational excellence and path to profitability. Before joining Lime, Wayne spent 4.5 years at Uber, serving in various roles including Chief of Staff to the CEO and General Manager of Uber’s Northern California business. Prior to Uber, Wayne served as a Senior Policy Advisor on the White House’s National Economic Council under President Obama where he focused on housing finance reform. Prior to the White House, Wayne worked at Bain Capital and at McKinsey & Company. Before that, he co-founded CampusNetwork.com, the first college-based social networking site (started about 6 months before Facebook). Wayne is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Business School.

Vivian Toy is a native New Yorker who grew up in Chinatown. She has worked at The New York Times for 25 years. She has been a reporter on the Metro and Real Estate desks, and has been the editor of the Real Estate section since 2014. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, three children—all learning remotely, and their dog, Bagel.

David van der Leer, Principal of DVDL DD, is a consultant, curator, educator, moderator, researcher, strategist, and writer. David’s passion is reinventing the institutions of yesterday—and dreaming up the most inspirational institutions of tomorrow—through excellent architecture and interdisciplinary programs.

David founded DVDL DD in 2018 after having worked and consulted with institutions, government agencies, corporations, and individuals for 15 years. Creative, intelligent, intuitive, and forward-looking, David has extensive experience in bringing together interdisciplinary teams to create successful design projects. David teaches a course called (Re)Programming Museums at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation.

David has created, chaired, and led nearly 30 design competitions, and he has commissioned numerous design and art projects. He enjoys rethinking conventional design competition and commissioning processes, and actively promotes new practices in events like the Design Competition Conference he developed and co-chaired at Harvard University in 2015.

Born and raised in The Netherlands, David is a graduate of Erasmus University Rotterdam, and of the High Impact Leadership program at Columbia University’s Business School.

After an extensive career in Finnish national politics Mr. Jan Vapaavuori became the Mayor of Helsinki in June 2017 after winning the election with a record number of support. As his first task he set forth a city strategy, laying ground for an ambitious four-year agenda. The strategy champions Helsinki as the “most functional city in the world” with a special focus on sustainable growth, digitalization, global problem solving, creativity and the best possible conditions for happy everyday city life. The strategy also defined Helsinki as a test-bed for start-ups and smart city development projects resulting in an increased global relevance for the city. From 2012 to 2015 Mr. Vapaavuori served as Minister of Economic Affairs and in 2007 – 2011 as Minister of Housing. Since 2015 he worked as Vice President of the European Investment Bank. As Minister of Economic Affairs, he negotiated the Meyer Turku shipyard sale that played a key role in renewing the Finnish maritime industry. As the Minister of Housing Mr. Vapaavuori created a program that resulted in a decrease of long-term homelessness by fifty percent - a model that has gained international recognition. From 2003 to 2015 Mr. Vapaavuori was a Member of Parliament. During his term as MP, he served among other things as chair of the party’s parliamentary group. In addition to his career in national politics, Mr. Vapaavuori has a long-standing career with the City of Helsinki as Member of the Helsinki City Council and as the chairman of the City Board. Mr. Vapaavuori graduated as Master of Law from the University of Helsinki. He holds an Honorary Doctoral Degree form Hanken School of Economics.

Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director & CEO, joined Ballet Hispánico as Artistic Director in August 2009, becoming only the second person to head the company since it was founded in 1970. In 2015, Mr. Vilaro took on the additional role of Chief Executive Officer of Ballet Hispánico. He has been part of the Ballet Hispánico family since 1985 as a dancer and educator, after which he began a ten-year record of achievement as Founder and Artistic Director of Luna Negra Dance Theater in Chicago. Mr. Vilaro has infused Ballet Hispánico’s legacy with a bold and eclectic brand of contemporary dance that reflects America’s changing cultural landscape. Born in Cuba and raised in New York from the age of six, he is a frequent speaker on the merits of cultural diversity and dance education.

Stellene Volandes is the editor in chief of Town & Country and the Editorial Director of Elle Decor. She is the author of Jeweler: Masters, Mavericks, and Visionaries of Modern Design. Her second book, Jewels That Made History, will be published by Rizzoli in Fall 2020.

Kirsten is the Director of Facilities Planning & Design for the Baystate Health which encompasses over 4 million square feet of inpatient and outpatient facilities across Western Massachusetts. She is experienced in programming, planning, project management, and design of healthcare projects. Kirsten’s interest in healthcare architecture stems from her genuine desire to improve patient, family and staff experiences and better their day-to-day lives. Kirsten is the 2020 President of the AIA Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH) and a member of the Facilities Guidelines Institute (FGI) Steering Committee: Guidelines for Design and Construction 2022 revision cycle. In addition to Kirsten’s work with FGI and AAH she is member of the American College of Healthcare Architects.

Kathryn Wylde is President and CEO of the nonprofit Partnership for New York City, the city’s leading business organization. Its mission is to work with government, labor, and the civic sector to build a stronger New York, with a focus on education, infrastructure and the economy. Prior to taking over the Partnership presidency in 2001, Ms. Wylde was the founding CEO of both the Partnership’s housing and investment fund affiliates. She was responsible for developing and managing affordable housing and economic development programs that contributed to the renaissance of blighted urban neighborhoods across the five boroughs. With the investment fund, she built a network of business leaders and investors that nurtured the growth of the city’s “innovation economy,” creating thousands of jobs and promoting entrepreneurship and social enterprise. Ms. Wylde regularly contributes opinion pieces and commentary on urban policy issues and serves on many nonprofit boards.

Forest Young is a global design leader, educator and speaker. He is a Global Principal at Wolff Olins—which was recently named Fast Company’s Most Innovative Company for Design. Here, he leads initiatives for the world’s most influential companies and cultural institutions, based in New York City. Select clients include Apple, Uber, and Modern Fertility. Prior to joining Wolff Olins, Forest was the Executive Creative Director at West, leading design across a portfolio of early stage companies—such as Impossible Foods, Spring and Sean Parker's Airtime.

Forest is an MFA Critic in graphic design at the Yale School of Art, where he is also a distinguished alumnus and recipient of the Mark Whistler Prize. He recently served on the National Board of Directors for the AIGA, and his work has been exhibited at MoMA, the Royal College of Art, the Yale University Art Gallery, and at international biennials. He has received the industry's highest design accolades including the Gold Design Lion at Cannes and the Art Directors Club Black Cube.

His passion lies at the intersection of storytelling, universal design and futurism. He was invited by the California College of the Arts to envision and teach the inaugural MFA course in Future Design. Forest has delivered keynote lectures on behalf of the AIGA, 99U, SXSW, Adobe MAX, RISD, Ico-D, Typographics, SF Design Week and DesignThinkers. Forest holds a BS in Human Development from Cornell University.