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 National Academies Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, and as a consultant to foreign governments and the World Trade...

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 deep uncertainty, with an emphasis on climate change, energy, and the environment. Lempert is a Fellow of the...

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 Zone Fund investors by sourcing and vetting redevelopment projects, negotiating capital placement terms and overseeing the use of those funds until the project...

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, where he oversaw a complete redesign of the bus network that has resulted in Houston being one of the few US cities that are increasing transit ridership....

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 founding consultant to the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and helped it develop its strategic plan and Innovation Fund. He also consulted closely with the Urban...

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 and plans across California and has taught professional and university courses in energy management, sustainable...

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 statewide, CA Fwd has been the consistent advocate for comprehensive governance reforms that will lead to...

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 contribution to the field of design. She founded the first design department in a major advertising agency and as president, grew the division to...

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 during a massive water contamination event that sparked transformative dialogue around safe drinking water. Her...

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 has a bachelors of science in Geology, a masters in Civil Engineering...

Topic: Smart Growth and Livable Communities Series – building relationships and keeping rural communities rural Guest & Organization: Kim Dolbow Vann brings more than 20 years of experience and dedication to economic development and the improvement of rural life. As USDA Rural Development State Director, Vann oversees a $6.7 billion portfolio, more than 40 programs and 18 offices resulting in average annual investments of $1 billion into rural California. Previously, Vann spent eleven...

Topic: Urban Resilience – heat impacts and cooling centers Guest & Organization: As Environmental Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, Cynthia is tasked with advancing policy goals that align with WE ACT’s Northern Manhattan Climate Action (NMCA) project, which seeks to increase community participation, within and outside of the government and build neighborhood capacity in response to climate change. Prior to working at WE ACT, Cynthia served as a NASA Climate Change Research Fellow,...

Topic: Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Environmental Justice and Equitable Development series – the significance of the Anacostia River to Washington DC Guest & Organization: Katrina D. Lashley is Program Coordinator of Urban Waterways at Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. She received her BA in English Literature and Italian at Rutgers University and earned an MA in History (Public History track) at American University, with a focus on the British Caribbean. Ms. Lashley has...

Topic: Adaptation and Livable Communities Series – how communities can prosper economically despite transitions Guest & Organization: Kate Gordon is an internationally recognized expert on the intersection of clean energy and economic development. She wears a number of hats including Partner on the sustainability team of RIDGE-LANE Limited Partners; Senior Advisor at the Paulson Institute; and non-resident Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Kate may be...

Topic: Smart Growth and Livable Communities Series – transportation, climate change and sustainability goals Guest & Organization: Sam Arons is the Director of Sustainability at Lyft. Sam oversees the company’s sustainability and climate impact efforts. He plays an essential role in helping Lyft achieve its Climate Impact Goals to address the threat posed by global climate change, and make the long-term vision a reality. Sam comes to Lyft after 10 years at Google, where he developed...

Topic: Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Environmental Justice and Equitable Development series – Taking a Look at Food Insecurity Guest & Organization: Sharon Thornberry is the Community Food Systems Manager at the Oregon Food Bank. Sharon has been a grassroots organizer, trainer and advocate for community food systems, rural communities, and anti-hunger work in Oregon since 1986. She grew up on farms, was very active in 4-H and Girl Scouts, and was one of the first female members of...

Topic: Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Environmental Justice and Equitable Development series – revolutionary air quality monitoring Guest & Organization: Veronica Eady is Assistant Executive Officer for Environmental Justice at the California Air Resources Board. In this capacity, Ms. Eady is responsible for overseeing Environmental Justice activities of the Board.Her role will be to serve as the primary internal and external contact for CARB on environmental justice issues and...

Topic: Adaptation and Livable Communities Series – funding and financing resilience Guest & Organization: Joyce Coffee, is founder and President of Climate Resilience Consulting, a Certified B Corp. She is an accomplished organizational strategist and visionary leader with over 25 years of domestic and international experience in the corporate, government and non-profit sectors implementing resilience and sustainability strategies, management systems, performance measurement,...

Topic: Smart Growth and Livable Communities Series – importance of cities as the center of industry and life Guest & Organization: The Research Program is led by Dr. Steven Cohen, Professor in the Practice of Public Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He is also Director of the Master of Public Administration Program in Environmental Science and Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and the Director of the...

Topic: Urban Resilience - urban green spaces designed with a purpose Guest & Organization: Fred Smith is the Director of Stringfellow Health Fund Grants at the Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama.  He has an Associate of Science degree from Southern Union Community College, Bachelor’s degree in marketing and a Master’s degree in Public Administration—both from Jacksonville State University. Fred is also a graduate of the Alabama Association of Not for Profit Executive Leadership...

Topic: Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Environmental Justice and Equitable Development Series – serving diverse communities and the watershed movement Guest & Organization: Fred Tutman is a grassroots community advocate for clean water in Maryland’s longest and deepest intrastate waterway and holds the title of Patuxent Riverkeeper and organization that he founded in 2004. He also lives and works on an active farm located near the Patuxent that has been his family’s ancestral home for...

Topic: What you eat can help save the planet. Guest & Organization: John W. Roulac is the founder and CEO of Nutiva, the world’s leading organic superfoods brand of hemp, coconut, chia, and red palm superfoods. John founded Nutiva in 1999 with a mission to nourish people and planet. Through his leadership, Nutiva has become the fastest-growing superfoods company on the planet, with a 55 percent annual growth rate since 2002, and has for five years in a row been named one of Inc....

Topic: Smart Growth and Livable Communities Series – data-driven tools to assist in decision making Guest & Organization: Joe DiStefano is Principal and Co-Founder of UrbanFootprint (formerly Calthorpe Analytics). He leverages more than 20 years of experience in land use and transportation planning in leading the development and deployment of the UrbanFootprint software platform. His career has focused on the implementation of actionable, data-driven tools that bring critical...

Topic: Urban Resilience Series – public transit that reflects your values Guest & Organization: Jarrett Walker is an international consultant in public transit network design and policy, with 25 years of experience planning public transit in North America, Europe, Russia, Australia, and New Zealand.  His firm Jarrett Walker and Associates, based in Portland, Oregon, provides transit planning and executive advice to clients worldwide. He has worked in about 100 cities, including...