Economic Development

For over 30 years, John has guided HR&A’s real estate advisory practice.
John’s work focuses on development finance, the revitalization of urban communities, regional economic development, waterfront redevelopment and asset planning for institutions. John’s core skills include structuring public-private partnerships, development finance, building parklands, and creating innovative development strategies.

John’s wide-ranging practice is national and international in scope ranging from New York to Cincinnati, San Antonio to London. His work focuses on large-scale urban transformations, as well as discrete real estate transactions. Since founding the New York office of HR&A in 1984, he has led bold plans that have reshaped important waterfronts, downtown districts and neighborhoods.

John held several positions in city governments and brings his experience in public budgeting and public finance to his practice. He served as the City Manager of Santa Monica, California, where he was responsible for the planning and development of the Third Street Promenade.

John is a regularly requested speaker for conferences and events hosted by large professional organizations throughout the United States and internationally. Recently, he has held speaking engagements for the Urban Land Institute, the New York City Bar Association, WNYC, the New London Architecture Centre, and the International Skyrise Greenery Conference.

John holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University and a Doctorate from the University of Massachusetts.

Kenneth K. Fisher is a member of the law firm of Cozen O'Connor whose practice concentrates on the public realm of the metropolitan area, including real estate development, zoning and land use matters; administrative and regulatory law; government contracting; counseling clients on negotiations, litigation and investigations. He also represents a number of not-for-profit organizations in employment, governance and real estate matters. Working with Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, he advocates for clients with government decision-makers at the local, state, and federal levels.

J. Devereaux Hawley manages real estate at Yale University. He leads the strategy behind campus planning and pre-development along with Yale’s commercial property in New Haven, a total portfolio of over 17 million sf. He also manages all operations for the campus, an organization of over 900 staff. Previously, Dev was the Global Head of Capital Projects at Goldman Sachs, where he managed over 12 million sf and the interior development of Goldman Sachs Worldwide Headquarters in New York and new campuses in London and Bangaluru. He served as Director of Real Estate Development at The Walt Disney Company, where he helped develop the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Downtown Disney at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA. Dev holds Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture II degrees. He currently also serves as Vice Chair of the Salvadori Center.

James von Klemperer is President and Design Principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates where he began as a young architect in 1983. His work ranges in scale from a house to a city, and he contributes closely to these efforts from conception to completion. In addition to focusing on his own projects, he leads the community of designers within the firm in exploring shared architectural agendas and goals. As President of the firm, he is responsible for leading the staff of 550 people in 6 offices around the world.

A major focus of Jamie’s work has been to heighten the role that large buildings play in making urban space. He has explored this theme in major projects in Asia including the China Resources Headquarters in Shenzhen, Plaza 66 and the Jing An Kerry Centre in Shanghai, China Central Place in Beijing, and the 123-story Lotte World Tower in Seoul. In New York, his design for One Vanderbilt will link Midtown's tallest tower directly to Grand Central Terminal. Each of these projects creates strong symbiotic relationships between program space and the public realm. At the larger scale, his design for New Songdo City extends this challenge to the scope of urban planning.

Jamie’s designs have been recognized for the marriage of efficient program with adventurous form. His Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington DC, Dongbu Financial Center in Seoul, Park Fifth residential project in Los Angeles, and Riverside 66 urban market in Tianjin have all received AIA design awards.

In London, Jamie is leading the design of the Wanda hotel and residential towers in One Nine Elms. He is also active on the continent, in particular in Paris, where he is completing a building for the Ministry of Justice at the Parc du Millénaire and in Lyon where he is designing a series of buildings within the Part Dieu station precinct.

Jamie has lectured at Harvard, Columbia, Tsinghua, Tongji, Seoul National, and Yonsei Universities, the ESA in Paris, AMO in Lyon, and at Yale, where he taught as a Saarinen Visiting Professor. He recently spoke at the fourth Nobel Laureates Symposium on Global Sustainability, hosted in Hong Kong. After graduating from Phillips Academy Andover, he received a BA from Harvard in 1979, Magna Cum Laude in History and Literature. In 1980 he was the Charles Henry Fiske Fellow at Trinity College Cambridge. He received his MArch from Princeton in 1983. Jamie serves on the Board of Directors of the Skyscraper Museum, the Storefront for Art and Architecture, as well as the Urban Design Forum. Jamie is also a Trustee of Bard College.

Timur Galen was recently named Executive Vice President at Hudson Yards. He will help the executive team in the continued development of the Hudson Yards, particularly by overseeing the development of seven million square feet of commercial property.

Mr. Galen formally served as global co-head of Corporate Services and Real Estate (CSRE) at Goldman Sachs where he led the development of 200 West Street, the firm's global headquarters, and the transformative redevelopment of the broader New York/New Jersey campus, including 30 Hudson Street and the Conrad New York hotel and retail complex. He also oversaw the evolution of the balance of Goldman’s global campus, including significant projects in Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Paris, Moscow, Chicago, São Paulo, Salt Lake City and major new developments in London and Bengaluru.

Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Galen worked as an executive with The Walt Disney Company, Reichmann International, BPT Properties and Hines. While at The Walt Disney Company, he worked alongside Ken Wong, COO of Related Companies and has been a friend, and sometimes collaborator, with L. Jay Cross, President of Related Hudson Yards, since his days at Hines. An architect, he completed his professional apprenticeship with Pritzker Prize winners Robert Venturi and Fumihiko Maki. He is chair of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, an executive committee board member of the Regional Plan Association, special advisor to the New York Public Library, a founding director of the Forum for Urban Design, and a member of the US Department of State’s Overseas Building Operations Industry Advisory Group. Mr. Galen is also a trustee of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and the Canadian Centre for Architecture, a member of the board of managers of Haverford College, and the former vice chair of the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association. He earned a BA in Physics from Haverford College in 1978, a Master of Architecture and Master of Civil and Urban Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984 and was a Henry Luce Foundation Research Fellow at Tokyo University in 1982 and 1983.

Daniel H. Fuchs is Director of Capital Planning at the New York City Department of City Planning. He brings experience in infrastructure development, waterfront revitalization strategies, public-private real estate transactions, economic and fiscal impact analysis, and multidisciplinary project management. He has supported strategic planning efforts for clients in the public, private and nonprofit sectors, and is currently working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on real estate strategy for the $9 billion Access to the Region's Core tunnel project, and with a multidisciplinary team analyzing the removal of the elevated Gardiner Expressway along Toronto's waterfront. Other recent work includes two pier redevelopment efforts in the Hudson River Park, a downtown plan for Austin, Texas, an economic development strategy for the State of Connecticut, and projecting the economic and fiscal impacts of nearly $20 billion in real estate development. Mr. Fuchs holds a B.A. from Yale University with distinction in architecture and urban studies.

Jonathan Drescher is President of Plaxall Realty and is responsible for the redevelopment of Anable Basin. Prior to joining Plaxall, Jonathan was Senior VP at the Durst Organization where he supervised the analysis, planning, design, and construction of commercial, residential, retail, and institutional projects. Projects included mixed-use, residential and educational development: The New School University Center, VIA 57 West, EOS, and Halletts Point. Jonathan holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from UCLA and graduated cum laude from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., with a B.A. in Economics. He is a registered architect in New York and a LEED Accredited Professional. Jonathan is an active member of several boards, including the board of the New York League of Conservation Voters and the Board of Governors for the New York Building Foundation.

Jennifer Pehr is the City Design Practice Manager at Skidmore, Owings & Merril LLP. She received her Masters of Urban Planning at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and her Masters of Public Health from the Columbia University School of Public Health. She is an alumna of Barnard College.

Robert Paley is the Director of Transit-Oriented Development with the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Robert Paley previously served as Senior Development Officer for AvalonBay Communities, Inc. He has collaborated on such projects as the Atlantic Terminal Mall in Brooklyn and 15 Penn Plaza. Mr. Paley is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Real Estate Development at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.

Jay Cross is President of Hudson Yards, leading the Related Companies’ development efforts of the 26-acre Hudson Yards site on the west side of New York City.

Cross was formerly President of the New York Jets LLC where he was responsible for all business operations of the NFL team, including finance, marketing, community relations, broadcast and game operations and the team’s 50% share in the New Meadowlands Stadium a joint venture with the New York Giants. Cross joined the Jets in 2000 from the Miami Heat of the NBA where he was the President of Business Operations and led the development of the America Airlines Arena, creating a public-private partnership between the Heat and Miami-Dade County to manage the project. An accomplished sailor, Cross has been a member of three Canadian Olympic Teams and won 10 World, North American and National titles.

Cross holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Toronto and a Master’s degree in Architectural Technology from Columbia University.

Regina Myer became President of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership in October 2016. Previously, she served as President of Brooklyn Bridge Park, transforming the formerly industrial Brooklyn waterfront into a world-class open space that welcomes millions of visitors a year.

Prior to Brooklyn Bridge Park, Regina was the senior vice president for planning and design at the Hudson Yards Development Corporation, and the Brooklyn Borough Director for the New York City Planning Department, where she directed the comprehensive redevelopment for two miles of the Greenpoint/Williamsburg waterfront, the rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn for high density office and apartments and numerous neighborhood rezoning efforts. She received her BA and Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan, and resides in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Madelyn Wils is the President and CEO of the Hudson River Park Trust. She began her tenure as the Trust's President and CEO in June 2011. She previously served as the Executive Vice President of the Planning, Development and Maritime Division of the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC), where her portfolio included over 100 complex projects such as the redevelopment of Willlets Point, Coney Island, East River Esplanade and Hunters Point South. Prior to joining EDC, she served as the President of the Tribeca Film Institute, managing the expansion of the organization from a 10-day festival into a diverse institution offering year-round cultural programming. From 2001 to 2005, she served as Chair of Community Board 1 in Lower Manhattan, where she played an integral role in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan following the events of September 11, 2001. She was a founding member of both the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the Hudson River Park Trust.

Mehul J. Patel is responsible for leading the transformation of Midwood into an industry-leading investment, development, leasing and management platform. Prior to joining Midwood, Mehul was the Chief Operating Officer & Chief of Staff at Empire State Development, New York State's real estate and economic development agency. Previously, as a Vice President of the Moynihan Station Development Corporation, Mehul worked with various public and private sector stakeholders to expand New York’s Penn Station into the historic James A. Farley Post Office Building. Prior to that, he was a Senior Project Manager at The Hudson Companies where he oversaw the development of J Condominium in DUMBO and was responsible for managing all aspects of the 33-story, 267-unit new construction project. Prior to joining Hudson, Mehul was a Senior Analyst at HR&A Advisors, which specializes in real estate, economic development, and public policy consulting.

Mehul is currently a Board Member of the Coro New York Leadership Center, a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and was recently named to the Global 40 Under 40 by Urban Land Magazine. He also serves as a Director on the Moynihan Station Development Corporation, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation. Previously, Mehul served as President of the Columbia Real Estate Development Alumni Association, co-chair of the Yale Alumni Real Estate Association, and co-chair of the ULI New York Young Leaders Group. Mehul received a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and Urban Studies from Yale University and a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development from Columbia University.

Lisa Kersavage has twenty years of experience in urban planning, resiliency planning and historic preservation, as well as extensive in non-profit leadership experience. She is currently the Director of Special Projects and Strategic Planning at the City of New York’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the largest municipal preservation agency in the nation. At the LPC she supervises the work of the Research, Archaeology and Environmental Review Departments, manages special research projects and executes planning exercises related to high-level agency and interagency projects.

Prior to joining the LPC she was the Project Manager of Changing Course, an ambitious design competition to reimagine a more sustainable Lower Mississippi River Delta, bringing teams together from around the world to create innovative visions for one of America’s greatest natural resources. She was responsible for the planning, development and initial implementation of the project, in collaboration with staff from the Environmental Defense Fund and Van Alen Institute, as well as the New Orleans-based Leadership Team, institutional and corporate partners, and consultants.

Before joining EDF and VAI, she was the Senior Director of Preservation and Sustainability at the Municipal Art Society of New York, where she also served as the Director of Advocacy and Policy and the Kress/RFR Fellow for Historic Preservation and Public Policy. She has held positions as a public policy consultant to the William Penn Foundation in Philadelphia, Executive Director of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation and Executive Director of Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. Lisa received her M.S. in historic preservation, with an urban planning focus, from Columbia University and her B.A. in art and architectural history from Penn State University.

Robert Garneau, a founding principal of Architecture Workshop PC, is an architect with over twenty years’ experience in a broad range of project types. The Award Winning design firm is based in NYC that provides Architecture and Interior Design services. Projects include high-end residential apartments as well as mixed-use and mixed-income buildings.
Prior to launching AWPC, Robert was an associate with the international firm of Grimshaw and a project architect at Kiss + Cathcart.
Projects have been recognized with over a dozen design awards and published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Dwell Magazine, as well as featured on television and online media.
Robert is also part of the faculty at Columbia University and Pratt Institute. Robert has also been an invited critic at Yale, Parsons, NYU, City College and NYIT.
Robert holds degrees in Fine Arts, Environmental Studies and Architecture. He is an AIA member, USGBC member, a registered architect in New York State and a LEED accredited professional

An award-winning planning and urban design consultant, Mr. Pobiner has influenced responsible planning in communities in 31 countries worldwide and 41 US states. Now a Practice Leader with Gensler, he has also previously led the global planning practice for international design firms including HOK, HKS, and Atkins, with projects representing more than 250 million total acres and $52 billion in new construction throughout the US, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East; mixed-use developments in Qatar and Libya; and numerous large-scale master plans across the US. He is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners (FAICP) and became one of CNU's first accredited design professionals (CNU-A). The Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture named him its 2012 Distinguished Alumnus, one of the few planners to receive this honor since the awards were established in 1954.

As a principal with O2 Planning + Design, Chris Hardwicke manages the firm’s Design Studio. He is a registered professional planner, a member of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada and an urban designer with over 20 years of experience. Chris is guided by the principle that urbanism is a vehicle of social change and renewal. This philosophy extends from the design of public places to embracing the broader principles of healthy cities.

His commitment to city building is internationally recognized through award winning projects such as the Waterfront Master Plan for Kaohsiung, Taiwan; exhibitions at the Dieppe Biennale, the Van Alen Institute in New York; and, publishers such as NAI Publishers, Monacelli Press, Princeton Press, Birkauser, and MIT Press.

He has directed over 100 design and planning studies across Canada that range in scale from the Centre Plan for Halifax to Museum Park at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa. His experience includes city, regional, downtown, district, campus, and new community planning in addition to park, public space, and streetscape design.

As an accomplished facilitator and an inspiring speaker, Chris has spoken about healthy cities across North America, and abroad. Chris is highly regarded for his strategic and collaborative approach to complex urban projects – including charting and leading the public engagement process and helping to bring together diverse public agencies and stakeholders around a shared vision.

Justin Garrett Moore is an urban designer and the executive director of the New York City Public Design Commission. He has extensive experience in urban design and city planning—from large-scale urban systems, policies, and projects to grassroots and community-focused planning, design, and arts initiatives. At the Public Design Commission his work is focused on prioritizing the quality and excellence of the public realm, and fostering accessibility, diversity and inclusion in the City’s public buildings, spaces, and art.

Justin is a former Senior Urban Designer for the NYC Department of City Planning where, for over a decade, he was responsible for conducting complex urban design plans and studies of the physical design and utilization of sites including infrastructure, public spaces, land use patterns and neighborhood character. His projects included the Greenpoint and Williamsburg Waterfront, Hunter’s Point South, the Coney Island Plan and the Brooklyn Cultural District. He received degrees in both architecture and urban design from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation where he is now an Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture in the urban design and urban planning programs.

He is the co-founder of Urban Patch, a social enterprise based in Indianapolis that focuses on community revitalization and design in American inner cities. His professional affiliations include the American Institute of Certified Planners, the Urban Design Forum, and Next City’s Vanguard. In addition to ioby, he also serves as a board member for Mary Miss—City as Living Laboratory, and Made in Brownsville.

Mr. Rui Qian holds a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from Harvard GSD, and a Master of Urban Design degree from TCAUP, University of Michigan. Mr. Qian was recently nominated as the International Research Associate of National Research Center of Rural Planning and Development of China. Along with that, he has been serving as the VP of UM Beijing Alumni Association, in charge of bridging Sino-US institutions. He has worked as an urban designer with Cooper Robertson and Partners, Goody Clancy and Associates and China Sustainability Center of AECOM Beijing Office. He also serves as the overseas editor for several professional magazines in China.

Alice Shay is a city planner and urban designer with at BuroHappold. Previously, Alice was at Bloomberg Associates Urban Planning, where she contributed to the team’s full range of strategic planning and public realm projects including waterfront infrastructure, public space redevelopment and land use instruments.

Previously, Alice worked with WXY Architecture and Urban Design, an architecture and planning firm that works closely with government agencies and private stakeholders on public realm projects. Alice also consulted for the UN-HABITAT City Development Strategies program in Indonesia with Solo Kota Kita (SKK). With the support of AECOM, Alice and SKK used a participatory charrette process to create Firm Foundation, a waterfront public space, for a low-income neighborhood in Banjarmasin. Documenting the process with SKK, Alice co-authored the Firm Foundation Social Design Field Guide.

Alice exhibited at the 2013 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture in Hong Kong, conducted research in residence at the Strelka Institute in Moscow in 2012 and has consulted on public realm strategies in London. Alice has a B.A. from Brown University and a Master in City Planning from MIT.

Stephen Fan is an adjunct assistant professor in the art history and architectural studies department at Connecticut College. His research focuses on user-centered, evidenced-based design informed by psychology and anthropology. He is the curator and editor of SubUrbanisms: Casino Urbanization, Chinatowns, and the Contested American Landscape, which has received awards from the Vernacular Architecture Forum, American Planning Association, among others. He has lectured on topics such as peripheral urbanization, crowding, and informal suburbs, including at Columbia University, Hong Kong University, National University of Singapore, UCLA, and Yale.
His work has been featured in Architectural Record, The Atlantic's City Lab, Metropolis, Next City, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Shinkenchiku, Urban Omnibus, and the World Journal.
Stephen holds a Masters in Architecture and Bachelors Degree from Harvard University, where he has also taught art history. He serves on the Board of the VAF New England Chapter.

Lena has extensive experience merging data, policy, and grassroots organizing. As a Policy Coordinator at the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), Lena integrates quantitative research, geographic analysis, and coalition based campaign planning to inform ANHD's equitable economic development agenda. Lena holds a B.A from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Regional Planning from Cornell University.

Working at the intersection of the public and private sectors, Erin leverages her experience with urban planning, economics, and real estate to contribute to the vitality of cities and the public realm. Her work includes leveraging transit plans for economic growth and dense, resilient development, creating open space programming and revenue generation strategies, and developing large-scale master plans that will have critical economic and fiscal benefits.

Christopher Rice is a New York-based Urban Planner. He completed his MSc in City & Regional Planning at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and is interested in climate resiliency, green infrastructure and social inclusion. Christopher is originally from Ohio, where he completed his undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at Oberlin College. He recently joined WXY Studio where he is working on the Brooklyn Navy Yard Master Plan and researching public school system admissions policies. Previously at the New York City Council, he managed large-scale neighborhood re-zonings. Outside of the studio, you can find Chris biking around the city, snapping photos with his 35mm camera, or listening to house music.

Tiffany is an Urban Planner with experience in transportation and economic development. Through her experience in and around New York City, she has had the opportunity to take part in complex but transformative projects. Tiffany holds a Masters degree in City & Regional Planning from Pratt Institute.

Alan Waxman, MLA Harvard 2014, works in landscape design for health and resiliency. He models real-time psychosocial datascapes through dance biorhythms with Mark Morris Dance, is facilitating an ecology of deliciousness in public housing evaluated by hospital data with Claus Meyer, and is designing parks with Quennell Rothschild & Partners.

Paul Travis is Managing Partner of Washington Square Partners, a real estate development advisory firm in New York City which he founded in 1994. Over the years he has worked with corporations, non-profit institutions and government entities to reconfigure real estate assets and solve land use issues. He is also a partner in Kingsbridge Development Partners, a real estate development firm that developed the River Plaza center with Target Stores, at the time the first major private commercial development in the Bronx in twenty years.

Since its inception, his firm has been responsible for several major redevelopment initiatives including Moynihan Station Redevelopment, New York Historical Society, Downtown Brooklyn Redevelopment, Cooper Union, Harlem Park, River Plaza, Theatre Row, Long Island City and Skyland Center in Washington, D.C. Mr. Travis is currently a partner in the 1.8 million square foot mixed use City Point project in Downtown Brooklyn

Prior to founding Washington Square Partners, Mr. Travis served as Chief Operating Officer of Forest City Ratner Companies in New York City where he was responsible for the development and leasing of MetroTech Center, a 4.5-million-square-foot complex in Brooklyn, New York. He was also responsible for the revival of Lincoln Road and the development of the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, the first new convention center hotel in that City. Mr. Travis had previously been Director of Real Estate for the Price Company, the predecessor to Costco, and Senior Vice President of the New York City Public Development Corporation (now EDC). At PDC, he directed the 42nd Street Development Project in Manhattan and was responsible for commercial and industrial development projects throughout the City, including the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square.

Mr. Travis is a member of the Urban Land Institute and serves on the Board of Directors of Playwrights Horizons, the Milano School at the New School University, and the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs at The University of Albany.

Mr. Travis received his Bachelors in Political Science (cum laude) from the University at Albany in 1975; his Masters in Policy Analysis from the New School University in 1977.

MaryAnne Gilmartin is president and chief executive officer of Forest City Ratner Companies, the New York office of Forest City Realty Trust, Inc.

Gilmartin has been point person in the development of some of the most high-profile real estate projects in New York City, including Pacific Park Brooklyn, The New York Times Building and New York by Gehry. In addition to these projects, Gilmartin has managed the commercial portfolio at MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn.

Gilmartin graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Fordham University, where she also completed her Master’s Degree.

She served proudly for more than seven years on the New York City Ballet Advisory Board. Currently, Gilmartin serves as a board trustee for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a member of the executive committee and board of governors of the Real Estate Board of New York, and as a member of the Industry Advisory Board of the MS Real Estate Development Program at Columbia University. Most recently, she was named co-chair of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, a member of the board of directors of the Jefferies Group LLC, a global investment banking firm, and a member of the board of trustees of New York Public Radio.

Gilmartin has been recognized as a top professional in her field, earning the Woman of the Year honor in 2007 from WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate. In addition, she was made multiple appearances on Crain’s New York Business’s annual list of New York’s 50 Most Powerful Women.

Ms. Nandan believes in sustainability as a holistic and supple design approach, integral to all aspect of design and construction. She is at the forefront of sustainability in New York, having served in various roles to help shape public policy, most recently board co-chair of the New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program Red Hook Community Committee ; member of the Homes Committee for Urban Green Codes Task Force (2012); and the Building Resiliency Task Force (2013). Gita further puts her beliefs into practice as an architectural educator, currently a visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute and the School of Visual Arts where she teaches the Green Infrastructure Studio, Sustainable and Resilient Existing Building Design and thesis. Gita received her Master of Architecture from UC Berkeley and is a registered architect in New York and New Jersey, an accredited LEED professional and Enterprise Green Communities Technical Assistant.

Purnima Kapur is the Executive Director of New York City Department of City Planning. The Department promotes housing production and affordability, fosters economic development and coordinated investments in infrastructure and services, and supports resilient, sustainable communities across the five boroughs for a more equitable New York City. Under the Mayor deBlasio's Housing New York Plan, Ms. Kapur is spearheading the Department's coordinated, ground up neighborhood planning studies and regulatory changes to promote more economically diverse communities and housing opportunities for New Yorkers at all income levels.

As Principal, Jack works with public and private clients to create vibrant, sustainable cities. He brings a design-oriented approach and international experience to creatively solving complex challenges, with a keen understanding of the designer's responsibility to the public.

Jack was convinced of his future as an architect from a young age. With an undergraduate foundation in visual arts and literature from Harvard University, he received his Master of Architecture from the Yale School of Architecture. Travel has also been formative for Jack, who grew up in various cities and began his architecture career working in Hong Kong.

Jack has lead mixed-use development projects, spanning urban infrastructure, transportation, multi-family residential developments, and large-scale master plans. An active voice in the wider design community, he teaches in the Real Estate program at NYU, frequently speaks at conferences and symposia, and his writing has appeared in Architectural Record, World Architecture, and the New York Times.

Margaret Tobin is Principal of M.Tobin Co, a firm that specializes in conceptualizing, analyzing, planning and design, negotiating with tenants, regulators and contractors, and implementing complex real estate projects, with a specialty in New York City real estate and its regulatory and political environment. Before, Margaret served as Senior Vice President of Development for the New York Convention Center Operating Corporation. Margaret was also instrumental in the formation of the Hudson River Park Conservancy as the Executive Vice President and CFO.

Jennifer is a DPhil (PhD) ​candidate ​in Social Policy at Oxford. Her research examines the process of policy decision-making in 21st century U.S. cities. She is specifically interested in economic development policy, and the case she is using for her thesis is Applied Sciences NYC under the Bloomberg administration. Jenny holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford and a bachelor'​s degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics from Yale.​ She studies at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship.​

Josh Sirefman is Head of Development at Sidewalk Labs. Josh has spent his career at the forefront of the planning, negotiation and implementation of complex growth and development strategies across the public and private sectors. As founder and President of Sirefman Ventures, he led transformative development projects for a range of corporate, nonprofit and government entities, including Cornell University’s successful effort to build a new applied sciences campus in New York City, the University of Chicago’s transformation of Hyde Park through the redevelopment of a vibrant new mixed-use district, and the repositioning of the New York Public Library’s renovation of its flagship building.

Prior to founding Sirefman Ventures, Josh was the Senior Vice President for U.S. Development at Brookfield Properties and managed a development portfolio of more than 15 million square feet across the country. Before joining Brookfield Properties, Josh held a series of high-level roles within the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, including Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding, and Interim President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Vincent is Grimshaw's Group Managing Partner. He has been with Grimshaw since 1996 and has played an instrumental role in the expansion of the practice while maintaining a commitment to the quality, rigor and reputation for excellence that Grimshaw is known for. He established the firm's New York office in 2001 and was instrumental in securing the AIA New York Chapter's Medal of Honor Award in 2015.

Vincent has led many of the practice's most notable commissions in North America including Via Verde - the Green Way, the winning entry in the New Housing New York competition, and Horno3: Museo del Acero, the adaptation of a historic blast furnace facility into Monterrey, Mexico's museum of steel. His focus on engineering and beauty is exemplified by the soaring atrium of Lower Manhattan's Fulton Center, opened in late 2014.

The revitalised transit hub is defined both by its increased ease of use and it's soaring atrium capped by Sky-Reflector Net, a clever public art installation that paints the sky across the building's interior while directing natural light deep into the station environment.

On the west coast of the United States, Vincent has guided a new master plan for Los Angeles Union Station and is deeply involved in planning and design for Pier 70, an emerging part of San Francisco.

Vincent is a graduate of Cambridge University and is a registered member of both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the American Institute of Architects.

Patrice Derrington is the Holliday Associate Professor and Director of the Real Estate Development Program at Columbia GSAPP. Prior, she taught for three years NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate. Derrington bridges the fields of education and real estate, and brings significant global experience as an executive and board director of numerous property companies to the critical tasks of educating students, integrating academe and industry, and building an innovative knowledge base for the real estate profession.

A recipient of the prestigious Harkness Fellowship, Derrington studied for her Ph.D. in architecture/civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, adding to her Masters of Business Administration from the Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Architecture degree with First Class Honours and University Medal from the University of Queensland.

Her teaching career began at Carnegie Mellon University and MIT, and has been supplemented with over 12 years of real estate industry experience on Wall Street where she worked as an investment banker and advisor to major individual and institutional clients such as David Rockefeller, Keybank, and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

Richard joined Savills Studley to strengthen its development advisory practice. Working alongside brokerage teams company-wide, Richard provides consulting capabilities in land use, entitlement procedures, feasibility analysis, financial engineering, and public-private partnerships. His extensive background in the development and municipal arenas provides him with a keen understanding of the development process and how to strategically navigate through its complexities.

Richard has more than 20 year of experience in real estate development and consulting. 10 years were spent holding state and city appointed government offices, including serving as project manager for the Grand Central Terminal Redevelopment, executive director/CEO of Harlem CDC and deputy borough president of the Bronx. In addition, he has held numerous positions in the private and non-profit sectors, managing commercial projects and initiatives throughout New York City.

While at Savills Studley, Richard has advised numerous clients in site searches and dispositions of real estate, including the United States Postal Service, the City University of New York, the National Urban League, the National Jazz Museum of Harlem, numerous commercial clients.

Elise Wagner is a partner in the Land Use department at Kramer Levin, where she concentrates her practice in land use, zoning, environmental and historic preservation law. She has substantial experience counseling for-profit and nonprofit property owners on the planning and development of new buildings and the reuse of existing buildings. She has coordinated the public approval processes for major public-private development projects involving cooperation between private developers and agencies of New York City and the state. She has negotiated numerous multiparty transactions for the transfer of development rights, and has performed due diligence on the purchase and financing of major properties.

Tim Braine is the Founder and Executive Director of The Station Alliance, a non-profit, privately funded organization established to improve the environment of New York City’s subway stations. Tim is also a veteran television producer who began his TV career at HBO where he was Executive Producer of Sports, and was Co-CEO of Popular Arts Entertainment and Pop Arts Media where he produced numerous series.

Rachel Meltzer is an Associate Professor of Urban Policy and Chair of the Public and Urban Policy M.S. degree at the Milano School of Policy, Management and Environment. Her research is broadly concerned with urban economies and how market and policy forces can shape disparate outcomes for neighborhoods. She focuses on issues related to housing, land use, economic development and local public finance. Current projects look at how market-based, natural disaster and policy “shocks” impact retail and commercial activity in urban neighborhoods. These “shocks” range from gentrification to the introduction of broadband and suburban malls to Superstorm Sandy. Dr. Meltzer is also interested in the private provision of public goods, and she has explored a number of questions related to Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and Homeowners Associations (HOAs). In addition, she has conducted research on Inclusionary Zoning, an alternative to traditional methods of providing affordable housing, including its impact on local housing markets and the political economy behind the adoption of such policies. Her work has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.