Digser Abreu is an Environmental Planner for the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) Real Estate Division. Through her work, she supports public and private entities in achieving compliance with Federal, State, and Local environmental regulations for new construction, rehab, and development rights projects. She is an Urban Design Forum 2019 Forefront Fellow targeting climate change through the lens of intersectionality.

Rhonda-Lee works at the Housing Specialist at Lantern Community Services where she manages housing transitions for young adults who have aged out of foster care. She is passionate about the role sustainability and environmental stewardship play in promoting livable urban communities for all New Yorkers. She earned her Master of Urban Planning from CUNY Hunter College.

Dorraine's work is situated at the intersection of resilient infrastructure, workforce development and community engagement. She helps manage RISE: NYC, a $30 million Superstorm Sandy business recovery program, that aims to deploy innovative new technologies that make the city more resilient. Dorraine is also exploring the emerging offshore wind industry in the US North East; focusing on workforce development and best practices for creating robust pipelines that can equitably connect New Yorkers to ‘green jobs’.

Lydia designs programs and organizational strategies that promote equitable economic development and climate adaptation. She recently led a program design and financial strategy process for the historic Greenwood Park in Baton Rouge, and also recently supported the historic and inclusive transition of Judge Lina Hidalgo, Harris County’s first female County executive, with a countywide policy workshop and canvass survey process that engaged over 11,000 residents and 200 organizations.

​As a landscape architect and urban planner, Gloria ​focuses on the intersection of public space, resilient infrastructure, and equitable design. ​As Director of Projects ​at​ Open Architecture/New York, ​she implements pro-bono design projects for underserved communities. Prior to ​joining ​Stantec, Gloria worked at HNTB and SWA/Balsley. She holds a MLA and MCP from University of Pennsylvania.

Manuela is an Urban Designer at the NYC Department of City Planning (DCP). Within the Zoning Division, Manuela serves as the project manager for Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency, a zoning initiative that encourages the adoption of building-scale resiliency measures within the City’s floodplain. Prior to DCP, she worked in Brazil as an architect and a city planner and was a CNPQ research scholar, specialized in design for aging and ethnographic landscapes. Manuela earned her Master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University and her Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Urbanism from Universidade Estadual de Londrina in Brazil.