Jacob Dugopolski, AIA AICP LEED AP, is an Associate Principal at WXY with fifteen years of experience advancing cross-disciplinary innovative architecture, urban design, planning and policy initiatives. He works with public agencies and private developers to shape large-scale growth, from reinventing waterfront districts and creating new mixed-use neighborhoods to planning for infrastructure and the public realm. Jacob leads WXY’s zoning and pre-construction work, with recent projects including Herkimer Williams, the Peninsula Mixed-Use District, and Stevenson Square. Policy work includes a new public-facing resource for ADUs in NYC and developing a kit of parts to prototype NYC’s Dining Out program. He was a speaker at the 2026 APA National Conference and a 2025 Urban Design Forum Global Exchange Fellow.

Charles Gans is the Senior Vice President and Project Executive of the Interborough Express, a $5.5 billion light rail expansion project which will be the first new transit line in New York City since World War II. Charles has over 20 years’ experience in construction, development, and P3 transactions. Charles has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Charles started his career in construction management working for Lend Lease (formerly Bovis), led the real estate transaction group at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and most recently worked for Trinity Place Holdings in a development role on a vertical, mixed-use development project in lower Manhattan.

Katie Martin is a Borough Planner in the Brooklyn Office of NYC Department of City Planning, and she is the co-lead for the South of Prospect Neighborhood Plan. Katie is an advocate for walkable, bikeable, and accessible neighborhoods, and she believes that equitable planning in New York City is key to thriving, vibrant communities. Katie grew up car-dependent Metro Atlanta and received her master's in city planning and public policy from Georgia Tech.

Meredith McNair is a senior community planner at Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, a non-profit organization serving East New York, Brooklyn. In this role, Meredith manages affordable housing development projects and leads neighborhood planning initiatives for climate resiliency, infrastructure upgrades, and equitable TOD. Meredith has a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from New York University and 12 years of experience working in community development in New York, Honolulu, Seattle, and Pittsburgh. She was a 2025 Big Swings Fellow with Urban Design Forum’s Global Exchange Fellowship, focusing on developing new ideas for social housing in New York.

With over 25 years of experience, Mariana is a multidisciplinary designer specializing in transportation and transit projects. She brings a people-centered perspective to her work, balancing innovative thinking and design excellence with the practical needs of passengers, communities, and project stakeholders. She currently serves as Stations Design Lead for the Interborough Express (IBX), shaping the station design vision and passenger experience across the system. Previously, she has held leadership roles as AUD lead for the Austin Light Rail project and Architecture lead for PennR.

Sideya Sherman is Director of the Department of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission, with more than two decades of experience helping to build strong, equitable communities across New York City. Sherman’s career spans city government and the nonprofit sector and is grounded in community and economic development, community-based planning, and government transformation.

Most recently, Sherman served as New York City’s first Chief Equity Officer and Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice, where she established a new city agency and led citywide efforts to advance equity through policy, practice, and structural reform across government.

With over a decade of public-sector leadership experience, Sherman previously served as Executive Director of the NYC Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity, leading cross-agency strategies to prioritize and direct resources to communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. As Executive Vice President for Community Engagement and Partnerships at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), Sherman led large-scale resident engagement, service coordination, and cross-sector partnerships to connect public housing communities to critical neighborhood resources and investment.

Jamie Torres-Springer joined the MTA in 2021 as President of MTA Construction & Development. He is responsible for better, faster and cheaper delivery of the MTA's $68.4 billion capital plan through innovative management of construction work for subways, buses, commuter railroads, bridges and tunnels.

Prior to joining the MTA, Mr. Torres-Springer served as Commissioner of New York City's Department of Design and Construction (DDC), the agency responsible for delivering infrastructure and facilities across New York City government. He led development and implementation of DDC's Strategic Blueprint for Construction Excellence, a comprehensive plan to streamline capital project delivery, and had a leading role in several programs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City's adaptation to climate change, and reform of the criminal justice system.