Housing

Richard Dattner FAIA founded the firm Dattner Architects in 1964. He attended the Architectural Association of London and received his Bachelor of Architecture from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has taught design at Cooper Union, City College of New York and University of Wisconsin and has often been a visiting design critic and lecturer. He was Vice President of the AIA New York Chapter, former trustee of the City Club of New York, and served on the board of the Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment National Research Council and the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission. Richard received the 1992 Medal of Honor from the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter. He received 1994 Thomas Jefferson Award from the American Institute of Architects in recognition of the significant contributions to public architecture. He is the author of Design for Play (Van Nostrand/Reinhold, 1969) and Civil Architecture - The New Public Infrastructure (McGraw-Hill 1995).

Mark E. Ginsberg, FAIA, LEED AP is a founding partner of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects, leading award-winning residential, institutional and urban design projects, which range from multi-family developments to institutional and mixed-use projects. Mark manages new construction, planning and urban design and housing projects. A registered architect in New York and New Jersey, Mark received a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater design and government from Wesleyan University. Mark is a past President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York Chapter, a former chair and current member of the Housing and Planning and Urban Design Committees, and a past director of AIA New York State.

Alexander Gorlin Architects is an internationally recognized design firm that for the past two decades has actively sought to embrace a highly diverse range of clients. WIth a portfolio spanning from high-end residences to affordable housing, places of worship to educational institutions, Alexander Gorlin Architects applies the same design excellence to each project. The firm has won numerous awards, most notably AIA Design Awards for the House in the Rocky Mountains, Ruskin Place townhouse, North Shore Hebrew Academy, and the Southampton House. In 2005, Architectural Digest recognized Mr. Gorlin as one of the country's 30 Deans of Designs. The firm was established in 1987 after Mr. Gorlin returned from a Rome Prize Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. A graduate of the Cooper Union School of Architecture and The Yale School of Architecture - where he taught as a critic from 1980-92 - Mr. Gorlin became a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2005.

Gregory Haley AIA AICP LEED AP is a New York based Associate with Grimshaw Architects. He has taught architectural design studios at NJIT, NYIT, and the Boston Architectural Center, and has served as a guest critic or lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, CCNY, Parsons, Pratt Institute, RPI, and Wentworth Institute. Gregory received his Masters of Architecture in Urban Design from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, and his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Minnesota. He is a board member of the Harvard Alumni Architectural and Urban Society and a member of the Urban Design committees within the NYC chapters of the AIA and the APA. He is also a design resource team member for the Mayors' Institute on City Design.

Mr. Shumaker brings to KPF his valuable experience in both the public and private sectors. Serving New York City for ten years, he worked to ensure a high level of design quality on projects and helped shape plans for neighborhoods as diverse as East Midtown in Manhattan, Coney Island in Brooklyn and Hunters Point South in Queens. Mr. Shumaker also worked extensively on the implementation of many of the city-wide initiatives coming out of PlaNYC and now OneNYC. Prior to his role in public service, Mr. Shumaker garnered more than 12 years of experience working in the private sector for a variety of architecture and planning firms. Jeffrey holds dual Master’s Degrees in Architecture, Planning and Urban Design from MIT and a Bachelor of Architecture with Honors from Syracuse University. Jeffrey often lectures on design and has received numerous awards for his work from the APA and AIA including the 2016 Public Architect Award from the AIA New York Chapter and DCP’s Michael Weil Award, recognizing excellence in urban design in the public realm.

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.

Carol Willis is the founder, director, and curator of The Skyscraper Museum. An architectural and urban historian, she has researched, taught, and written about the history of American city building. She is the author of Form Follows Finance: Skyscrapers and Skylines in New York and Chicago (Princeton Architectural Press, 1995: 2008), which received an AIA book award and was named "Best Book on North American Urbanism, 1995" by the Urban History Association.
Ms. Willis is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Urban Studies at Columbia University where since 1989 she has taught in the program The Shape of Two Cities: New York and Paris in The Graduate School of Architecture, Planning. From 1979 to 1991 she taught courses on the history of architecture at Parsons School of Design in New York and for eleven summers conducted walking tours on the history of French architecture for Parsons in Paris.

A 1966 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Urban Planning from New York University in 1968, Mr. Brodsky worked for the Hudson River Valley Commission before joining his late father, Nathan, in 1971 at the family-owned, New York City-based real estate and development firm, The Brodsky Organization, where he is now Managing Partner. In leading his business, Mr. Brodsky has emphasized a principled and sensitive approach to development and community investment.

Mr. Brodsky now serves as the Chair of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is a member of the Boards of Directors of the New York City Ballet, the Lincoln Center Development Project, Inc., and New York University Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Real Estate Board of New York, where he is Vice Chair of the Executive Committee.

Drew Lang is the founding principal of Lang Architecture. He received a Master of Architecture from Yale University, and is licensed as an architect in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Louisiana.

Drew leads the studio and establishes the design direction for all projects. He works closely with design teams and with our clients to craft each project with great care and deliberation, and ultimately create buildings and spaces with enduring presence.

Born in New Orleans, Drew was influenced by the role of history and culture in the formation of place, architecture and daily life. Drew has ultimately embraced a progressive approach to architecture and the language of modernity infused with the spirit, texture and history of place.

Active within the communities of both New York and New Orleans, Drew founded a New Orleans based 501c3 non-profit organization, the Faubourg St. Roch Project. In New York, Drew is a member of the Forum for Urban Design, the Van Alen Institute and the US Green Building Council.

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.

David J. Burney, FAIA, is Associate Professor of the Pratt Institute, where he leads the Placemaking and Public Space management program. Previously, he served as Commissioner of the NYC Department of Design and Construction from 2004-2013, where he managed capital projects for a variety of City agencies including the Departments of Transportation and Environmental Protection; and for the many cultural institutions that receive capital funds. At Mayor Bloomberg's direction, David Burney launched a City-wide "Design and Construction Excellence Initiative" with the goal of raising the quality of design and construction of public works throughout New York City. Prior to joining DDC, Mr. Burney was Director of Design and Capital Improvement at the New York City Housing Authority. From 1982 to 1990 Mr. Burney practiced architecture with Davis Brody & Associates where he was involved in a variety of projects. Mr. Burney was educated at the Heriott-Watt University in Edinburgh and at the University of London.

Abby Hamlin is a New York City based real estate developer and civic thinker. In 1998, she founded Hamlin Ventures, which today, remains one of a handful of successful woman-owned development companies. Recently, the New York Times credited her eponymous company as the catalyst for a resurgence of townhouse development in Brooklyn, noting that the design of her two projects, 14 Townhouses and 9 Townhouses “set the bar high” for those who followed.

Prior to forming Hamlin Ventures Ms. Hamlin was President of Swig Weiler & Arnow Mgt. Co., Inc. a premiere Manhattan-based commercial real estate company that developed, owned and managed 8 million square feet of office properties in New York City and San Francisco, as well as the Fairmont Hotels. She worked with Swig Weiler & Arnow for almost fifteen years, spearheading a number of large-scale development projects and managing the organization for its private owners.

An active civic leader, Ms. Hamlin is a member of the board of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and has led several of its key public design initiatives, including the CLS BID Vision Plan (a streetscape plan for Downtown Brooklyn), and “Re-Imagining the Wall,” a design competition that brought works by community arts groups (Groundswell), emerging and recognized artists (Steve Powers) to Downtown Brooklyn’s blank walls.

Recognized as an expert in the field of public design, Ms. Hamlin was a member of the board of the Van Alen Institute for Public Architecture from 2001-2010, and was its Chair from 2007-2010. As Chair she organized numerous public design events and design competitions including: Project Eco: Delta, Parks For The People, and Life at the Speed of Rail. Ms. Hamlin is a frequent participant in design juries. Most recently she served as a juror for the National Endowment For the Arts, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the City of New Rochelle and the Enterprise Community Foundation. This year she will serve as an advisor to the Mayor’s Institute of Design. At present, Ms. Hamlin is also a Trustee of Art Omi, an outdoor sculpture park and artist’s residency program in Ghent, New York, and a board member of Trainor Dance. She holds a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a Masters of Urban Planning from Princeton University.

Blake Middleton FAIA, LEED AP is a Partner with Handel Architects. He is Executive Architect for the Battery Conservancy's project for the New Amsterdam Plein/Pavilion. Mr. Middleton's work has won distinction with National and State AIA Awards for Inventure Place in Akron; a NY State AIA Citation for the Santa Fe Opera; numerous local and national design awards for the Flushing Natatorium & Ice Rink, the Ritz Carlton Residences in Boston, and a New York City AIA Chapter Award for Sulzberger Hall at Barnard College. Mr. Middleton holds his Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Cornell University. He is a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects, a member of the U.S. Institute of Theater Technology, the Urban Land Institute, the Boston Society of Architects, the Van Alen Institute, The Society of Fellows of the American Academy in Rome, and the Architectural League of New York.

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

Beth Greenberg has managed many of Dattner Architects’ most complex projects. A natural consensus-builder, she is skilled at navigating through the labyrinthine community and agency approvals process, working with multi-headed client groups, and leading large consultant teams for high-profile projects.

Her projects include the Columbia University Forum and Academic Conference Center, Metro East 99th Street, University of Pennsylvania Pottruck Health & Fitness Center, Hudson River Park Segments 6 and 7, and Number 7 Subway Line Extension.

Beth received her Master of Architecture from the University of Colorado and a Bachelor of Science in French and Dance Education from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She has been with the firm since 1989 and became a Principal in 2000. Beth is a registered architect in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Texas and has NCARB certification. Beth has served on the board of the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter as secretary, as chair of the Housing Committee, and as member of the Oculus Committee and the Nominating Committee. She has lectured for the Regional Plan Association, the AIA New York, and the New York State Office of General Services Minority Construction Management Intern Program. She was elevated to Fellowship in the AIA in 2015.

Gregg Pasquarelli is one of five founding principals of SHoP Architects. He worked as an investment banker at Citicorp before going back to school to train as an architect. Pasquarelli has taught at Yale University, Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, the University of Virginia, and the University of Florida. He serves on the board of directors for the Architectural League of New York and is a Young Leader’s Fellow of the National Committee on United States-China Relations. Pasquarelli received a master of architecture degree from Columbia University and a BS from Villanova University School of Business.

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.

Daniel Marks Cohen joined the NYC Housing Partnership in the Spring of 2014. He oversees the pipeline of existing and prospective real estate business as well as directs development of affordable housing and financing for private developers. He also underwrites all affordable housing transactions, coordinates and interfaces with local officials, government agencies and private developers, and supervises project managers. Before joining the NYC Housing Partnership, Mr. Cohen founded Burlingham Capital Partners – an investment firm dedicated to principal investments in affordable and market rate housing, as well as offering real estate development consulting. Prior to that Mr. Cohen served as a Mortgage Officer at the Community Preservation Corporation, which offers construction and permanent financing to housing owners and developers. He had also previously worked for ING Clarion Partners, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and The Hudson Companies, an affordable and market-rate housing developer. Mr. Cohen received his MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and he is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Grant Marani, Partner, joined Robert A.M. Stern Architects in 1984 and has been a Partner with the firm since 2000. His responsibilities have included the design and management of a broad range of projects: federal courthouses, institutional buildings, mixed-use and residential developments, resort hotels, golf clubhouses, a concert hall, a university recreational facility, and private residences in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, California, New Jersey, Ohio, Maine, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Virginia, Hawaii, Canada, France, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia. He is co-author of the monograph Designs for Living: Houses by Robert A.M. Stern Architects (2014). Currently, Mr. Marani is the Project Partner for the Georgia State Judicial Complex in Atlanta and for the master plan and design of a number of residential communities in China.

Mr. Marani, a graduate of the University of Melbourne (B.Arch., 1979) and Cornell University (M.Arch., 1984), is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the Architectural League of New York, the Skyscraper Museum, and the Storefront for Art and Architecture. He has lectured on courthouse design for the Academy of Architecture for Justice.

From 1989 to 2001, Mr. Marani served as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Design on the faculty at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University, where he directed the second-year housing studio. He has also served as a guest critic at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Yale School of Architecture. In 2002 Mr. Marani served as a peer reviewer for the New York City Department of Design and Construction. Mr. Marani currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the University of Southern California American Academy in China, the Education Committee of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City and the International Area Committee of the Australian Institute of Architects. In 2015 he served as Chair of the Australian Institute of Architects' International Architecture Awards Jury. Mr. Marani also served as a trustee for the Grace Church School in New York.

Mr. Marani's work has been published in Architecture Australia, A+U, Progressive Architecture, Oculus, Architecture, Architectural Digest, Builder, Metropolis, and Newsweek.

Prior to joining Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Mr. Marani worked for Edward Durell Stone, Architects, New York, and with Edmond & Corrigan, Architects and Urban Designers, Melbourne, Australia. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. Mr. Marani is a registered architect in the State of New York and other jurisdictions, and NCARB certified.

Mary Elizabeth Rusz, AIA is a Senior Architect and Urban Designer with the Office of Design, of the New York City Housing Authority. She has been the design lead for a number of large scale, urban revitalization projects under both the HUD Choice Neighborhood Initiative and the prior HOPE VI Program. She is currently the Project Manager for the Historic Preservation Study of the NYC Housing Authority's entire development portfolio, in support of a Programmatic Agreement with the NY State Historic Preservation Office.

Ms. Rusz is a graduate of Columbia University, GSAPP [M.S.A.U.D.], and the University of Toronto, Faculty of Architecture [B.Arch.], including study abroad at Paris’ Unité Pedagogiques d’Architecture Six.

Ms. Rusz is a long standing member of the American Institute of Architecture - New York Chapter’s Housing Committee, and the City Club of New York’s Urban Design Committee. She is also an avid Watercolorist [See website: "Watercolor Works"], and an active Member of both the National Association of Women Artists, and The Salmagundi Club of New York.

In 2015, Ms. Rusz founded TORONTO - NEW YORK, a new platform by which designers of these two great cities may share innovations and best practices with the common goal of enhancing the built environment [akin to the UDF's NEW YORK - LONDON exchange]. The first exchange, on the topic of HOUSING, was held at the AIA NY Chapter, in Taffel Hall, on September 26, 2016. It is hoped that TORONTO - NEW YORK will become a more integrated activity in future with the UDF.

In 2017, Ms. Rusz will embark on an abbreviated "Grand Tour" as a travel / study program through Italy, to document seminal works of Architecture and Urbanism, in order to prepare a "primer for young designers". This document will be focused on High School Students who may be considering studying the design professions in College / University; the content and format of this primer will be developed in conjunction with the AIA NY Chapter's Center for Architecture.

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.

Louise Carroll is Associate Commissioner for Housing Incentives at the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). She was previously Assistant Commissioner for Inclusionary Housing and, prior to that, Associate General Counsel for Tax Incentives and Inclusionary Housing at HPD. Ms. Carroll is part of the team that wrote the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program that was approved by the City Planning Commission on February 3, 2016, and was also part of the team that wrote the 2009 changes to the Inclusionary Housing provisions of the New York City Zoning Resolution. She also drafted the current inclusionary housing rules. In 2014, Ms. Carroll successfully streamlined the Inclusionary Housing program to produce record numbers of affordable housing units (3,000 plus units of housing in fiscal year 2015, more than double the best year since the IH program’s 1987 inception). She has advised and closed on millions of dollars of inclusionary housing transactions. In April 2016, Ms. Carroll was awarded the Ibo Balton Community Planner award by the Citizens Housing Planning Council. Ms. Carroll holds a JD from Tulane Law School, an MBA from the University of Leicester, England, and a B.Sc. from the University of Wales at Aberystwyth.

Alice Shay is a city planner and urban designer with the Bloomberg Associates Urban Planning practice. She contributes 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.

Stefan Al is an architect, urban designer, scholar, educator, and author, currently serving as Associate Professor of Urban Design at the University of Pennsylvania.

In his research, Professor Al aims to understand contemporary issues in architecture and urbanism, such as compact city form, urbanization in developing countries, new forms of consumerism, and adapting cities to climate change. His recent sole-authored book The Strip: Las Vegas and the Architecture of the American Dream (The MIT Press) investigates the city’s experiments with architecture and branding. He is acclaimed for his work on Asian urbanism with published books investigating China’s informal settlements and Hong Kong’s compact urban form, including Factory Towns of South China, Villages in the City, Mall City, and Macau and the Casino Complex. He co-authored the book Beyond Mobility, making the case to connect people with places through transit-oriented development. His latest research is focused on designing compact and more resilient cities, most notably in his forthcoming book Adapting Cities to Sea Level Rise. Besides his academic publications, his work has been featured in influential media outlets including The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Marketplace, and Dezeen.

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.

AJ has been practicing real estate development in New York City since 2004. He started his career as a project manager for Peter Walker & Partners on the World Trade Center Memorial in downtown Manhattan. In 2007, AJ became a founding member of Alloy Development, a boutique real estate development company based in Brooklyn, NY. At Alloy, AJ manages the acquisition, capitalization, design, construction and disposition of projects that seek to promote thoughtful design and add value to the built environment of New York City.

AJ received a Bachelor of Arts from Amherst Collect and a Masters of Architecture and Certificate in Real Estate from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught and lectured in the fields of real estate development and design at Syracuse University, Columbia University, New York University, University of Pennsylvania and Parsons. AJ servers on the board of Community Bank Delaware, is a member of ULI and a supporter of the Architecture League of New York. He is a Licensed Architect, a LEED Accredited Professional and a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson. AJ lives with his wife and two children in Brooklyn, New York.

Carlos Arnaiz is an architect, educator, writer and urban design consultant. He is the founder and principal of CAZA, the co-founder of SURBA and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design at Pratt Institute where he teaches a class on the history of ideas about the city and a studio on multi-family housing. His professional experience ranges from the design and construction of large-scale mixed-used complexes to the development of strategic sustainability plans for new cities around the world. Carlos holds a Master’s Degree, with Honors, from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and a Bachelor’s Degree, Magna Cum Laude, from Williams College.

Carlos’ work has been recognized with prestigious awards such as two consecutive Progressive Architecture awards in 2008 and 2009 and the AIANY building merit award in 2008. His work and writings have been published in ARCHITECT Magazine, Metropolis, Kerb, Dialogue, and 50UNDER50. His work has also been selected as Finalist for ArchDaily’s Best Buildings of the Year, as well as Finalist for Architizer A+ Awards. He has participated in numerous international design competitions including the winning entry for the High Line competition in New York.

Prior to founding CAZA, Carlos was associate partner at SAA in charge of over 20 global projects. Carlos started his career working as a design associate at a number of world-renown architecture firms such as Office dA and Field Operations.

Keiko uses her interdisciplinary training to provide a unique perspective to her work. With nearly two decades of experience and degrees in landscape architecture, architecture, and engineering, her projects have included Paseo Verde in Philadelphia, the Hoover-Mason Trestle in Bethlehem, PA and SteelStacks Park, for which she is Project Designer. In addition, Keiko maintains her architectural license in Japan, and has worked on numerous projects abroad including the Daiichi Mutual Life Insurance Office Landscape in Kanagawa.

Matthew Gordon Lasner studies the history and theory of the U.S. built environment, with particular focus on housing, and the relationship between housing patterns and urban and suburban form. Lasner’s first book, High Life: Condo Living in the Suburban Century, published by Yale University Press in 2012, examines the emergence and growth of co-owned multifamily housing – the co-op and condominium apartment, as well as the townhouse complex — as an alternative to single-family suburbia in the twentieth century. Lasner is also co-editor of Affordable Housing in New York: The People, Places, and Policies That Transformed a City, published by Princeton University Press in 2015. His research focuses on housing, urban renewal, and urban development engages planning and the social sciences, cultural landscape studies and geography, and urban and architectural history.

He earned his PhD in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and holds an MS in urban and regional planning studies from the London School of Economics. He earned his BA in urban studies at Columbia. Before joining Hunter, Lasner was an assistant professor of history at Georgia State University, in Atlanta.

Navid Maqami is a cofounder and a design principal of S9 Architecture. His architecture is rooted in "modern contextualism", where sensitivity to contextual forces fuse with the pragmatic needs of a project to develop design narratives blurring lines between architecture, urbanism, landscape and art. With over 30 years of experience, Navid leads teams of talented designers and architects on diverse projects, from large scale mixed-use developments to small interiors. His passion for better design coupled with his expertise analyzing social, economic and regulatory parameters, and working with developers and end users has resulted in an extensive portfolio of award-winning projects including the New York Wheel, Dock72 in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Lansdowne Park in Ottawa and 205 Water Street in Dumbo. Navid received his architectural degree from the Architectural Association in London.

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.

Beatrice Sibblies is the managing partner of BOS Development, a real estate development firm based in Harlem, New York. Formed in 2005, the firm has a unique development approach as a community-focused developer. BOS Development aims to develop the spectrum of projects necessary for a vibrant community – including residential, religious, cultural, educational, hospitality and commercial developments.

In her leadership of BOS Development, she brings to bear a track record of innovation. In its debut transaction, BOS Development successfully developed 88 Morningside, a 74-unit residential cooperative apartment on a 99-year ground lease from a church which concurrently expanded and renovated the church's facilities. Following on the success of the 88 Morningside project, she is actively developing church-anchored projects in the Central Harlem core and Sugar Hill.

Prior to forming BOS Devlopment, Ms. Sibblies had a successful career in finance at J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley and also served as Assistant Vice President for Economics for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

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.

Jack Robbins joined FXFOWLE in 2012, and was promoted to Principal in 2014. Accomplished as both an architect and urban designer, Jack Robbins works with public and private clients worldwide to create vibrant, sustainable cities. He brings a design-oriented approach and international experience to creatively solving complex urban challenges. Jack has extensive experience leading large, collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams to deliver design solutions that are both innovative and realizable. His projects include multi-family residential developments, both affordable and luxury; commercial office buildings; transportation centers; and large scale master plans for public, private, and institutional clients. He has a particular expertise in waterfront and urban infrastructure-related projects.

G is a Neighborhood Planner at the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, where she conducts community-based planning to ensure that new housing is coordinated with essential infrastructure and services to support diverse, more equitable, and livable neighborhoods. She authored a metro-wide study on how to better recruit and retain diversity in the planning profession and also provides consulting services. She holds a MSc in City and Regional Planning from Pratt Institute and is a Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow.

Alison Von Glinow is co-founder and design partner of Kwong Von Glinow Design Office. Her office has won the 2017 New York Affordable Housing Challenge and was awarded the 2016 Chicago Prize by the Chicago Architecture Club. Alison holds her Masters in Architecture from Harvard University GSD and has previously worked for Herzog & de Meuron in Basel, Switzerland and SOM in both Chicago and New York.