International/National Cohort
William L. Allen, III, Chapel Hill. Will is the Vice President of Conservation Services and Director of Conservation Planning and Integrated Services at The Conservation, overseeing the Freshwater Institute, the Resourceful Communities Program, Strategic Conservation Planning, and the Conservation Leadership Network. wallen@conservationfund.org
Janice Astbury, London. Participation/community building, involved in supporting citizen engagement, experiential education and community initiatives in various ways and places for 25 years. janice.astbury@gmail.com
Katrine Claassens, Cape Town. Artist. In her paintings, South African artist Katrine Claassens explores urban ecology (particularly that of suburbs), climate change, and the Anthropocene. katrine.claassens@gmail.com
P.K. Das, Mumbai. An architect and activist, devoted to participation and open data. Heavily involved in Mumbai city plan, and creating the first maps of Mumbai open space and slum areas. Jane Jacobs Medal winner in 2016. pkdas.arch@gmail.com
Paul Downton, Melbourne. Ecocity architect, Australian urban ecologist and climate obsessive whose travel-bloated eco-footprint keeps him in fear of failing his grandchildren. paul@ecopolis.com.au
Martha Cecilia Fajardo, Bogotá. Landscape architect, CEO of Grupo Verde, has planned, designed and implemented sound and innovative landscape architecture and city planning projects that enhance the relationship between people, the landscape, and the environment. Leader of the Latin American Landscape Initiative. mfajardo@grupoverdeltda.com
Cecilia Herzog, Rio de Janeiro. Green activist, president and co-founder of Inverde Institute, which aims to educate and raise public awareness about green infrastructure and the role of biodiversity and ecosystems services in cities to build resilience and lower the ecological footprint. ceciliapherzog@gmail.com
Mark Hostetler, Gainesville. Ecologist, conducts research and outreach on how urban landscapes could be designed and managed to conserve biodiversity. hostetm@ufl.edu
Nina-Marie Lister, Toronto. Planner/ecologist, associate professor in the School of Urban + Regional Planning at Ryerson University in Toronto; she is the founding principal of PLANDFORM, a creative studio practice exploring the relationship between landscape, ecology and urbanism. Her recent book is Projective Ecologies. nm.lister@ryerson.ca
Shuaib Lwasa, Kampala. Geographer whose recent work has been in the fields of climate change mitigation, adaptation of cities to climate change, urban environmental management, spatial planning, and disaster risk reduction, as well as urban sustainability with links to livelihood systems and vulnerability to climate change. shuaiblwasa@gmail.com
Patrick Lydon, Seoul. Environmental artist, founder and director of SocieCity, a socially-engaged network of artists, writers, and sustainability practitioners, inspiring empathic relationships between people, nature, and the places we live. pmlydon@gmail.com
David Maddox, New York. Ecologist/artist, founder and executive director of The Nature of Cities.com, and instigator of the “Transdisciplinary Summit of Ideas on The Nature of Cities.” An ecologist by training, with expertise in statistics and monitoring, he has worked for government, civil society, and the private sector. He is also a published playwright and composer. david.maddox@thenatureofcities.com
François Mancebo, Paris. Planner, director of the International Research Center on Sustainability and of the Institute of Regional Development, Environment and Urban Planning. francois.mancebo@univ-reims.fr
Franco Montalto, Philadelphia. Licensed civil/environmental engineer and hydrologist with 20 years of experience working in urban and urbanizing ecosystems as both a designer and researcher. His experience includes planning, design, implementation, and analysis of various natural area restoration and green infrastructure projects. fmontalto@coe.drexel.edu
Diane Pataki, Salt Lake City. Ecologist, Professor of Biology and Associate Dean for Student Affairs in the College of Science, University of Utah. She is a plant and ecosystems ecologist who studies the role of urban landscaping in local climate, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and water resources. Interested in collaboration between ecologists and planners. diane.pataki@utah.edu
Rob Pirani, New York. Rob is the program director for the New York-New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program at the Hudson River Foundation. HEP is a collaboration of government, scientists and the civic sector that helps protect and restore the harbor’s waters and habitat. It is one of 28 such programs around the country authorized under the Clean Water Act. Rob@hudsonriver.org
Andrew Rudd, New York. Urban Environment Officer for UN-Habitat’s Urban Planning & Design Branch in New York, where he leads substantive advocacy for the urban dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. andrew.rudd@unhabitat.org
Laura Shillington, Montreal. Gender/justice advocate, Two research projects: urban political ecologies of nature and children; and gender, environmental justice, and the political ecologies of ’emotions’. The latter project focuses on Managua, Nicaragua. lshillington@gmail.com
Phil Silva, New York. Phil's work focuses on informal adult learning and participatory action research in social-ecological systems. He is dedicated to exploring nature in all of its urban expressions. philip.silva@gmail.com
David Tittle, Coventry. Design integrator, Head of Design Advice at Design South East and chair of the Design Network. Design South East is an independent organization promoting good design in the built environment, working with local authorities, developers and designers throughout the South East of England, including London. tittle@me.com
Chantal van Ham, Brussels. EU programme manager, Nature Based Solutions and responsible for IUCN’s activities on urban biodiversity and the cooperation with subnational governments in Europe. chantal.vanham@iucn.org
Diana Wiesner, Bogotá. Landscape architect, proprietor of the firm Architecture and Landscape, and director of the non-profit foundation Cerros de Bogotá. dianawiesner@dianawiesner.com
Lorena Zárate, Mexico City. Housing rights, president of Habitat International Coalition. She has participated in the elaboration of the World Charter and the Mexico City Charter for the Right to the City. lorenazarate@yahoo.com
Local Cohort
Kathleen Brennan-Hunter. For the past 20 years, Kathleen has worked on conservation and access to nature. She is currently the Director of Conservation Programs for The Nature Conservancy in Oregon. Prior to joining TNC in December 2016, Kathleen served as Director of Parks and Nature for Metro Regional Government in Portland.
Mike Houck, Director, Urban Greenspaces Institute, has worked for over 40 years to integrate nature into the urban environment in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region; his motto, In Livable Cities is Preservation of the Wild, inspires his work to make cities livable and ecologically sustainable. mikehouck@urbangreenspaces.org
Robert Liberty, Director of PSU Institute for Sustainable Solutions and Urban Sustainability Accelerator, joined PSU in 2012 and has more than three decades of work in sustainable development policy and practice. He has served as staff attorney and executive director of 1000 Friends of Oregon, and was elected to the Metro Council in 2004. rliberty@pdx.edu
Kaitlin Lovell, Fish ecologist, environmental lawyer, and engineer, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. Co-Authored Regional Conservation Strategy Climate chapter; and co-authored city/county Climate Preparation Strategies. kaitlin.lovell@portlandoregon.gov
Toby Query, Natural Resources Ecologist Watershed Revegetation Program, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, manages several hundred acres of forests and wetlands in the city. Under his watch, over 3 million native seedlings and many tons of native grass and wildflower seeds have been planted. He is also the founder of Portland Ecologists Unite!, a monthly discussion group working to improve best land management practices and increase the resiliency of the community of ecologists. toby.query@portlandoregon.gov
Carol Mayer Reed, Landscape architect, community activist in landscape architecture community, is curious by nature and captivated by the world around her. The fields of landscape architecture and urban design are the intersections of art, science, technology and sociology. Whether we are restoring a stream bank, creating great civic places or planning creature comforts for people at a light rail platform, she finds there are endless ways we as designers can shape the environment. carol@mayerreed.com
Bruce Roll, Watershed management department director for Clean Water Services, manages staff working on water resources infrastructure, watershed ecology, and policy and marketplace development. Prior to joining Clean Water Services, he served as assistant director of public works for Whatcom County in Bellingham, Washington where he oversaw stormwater management and water resources protection programs. RollB@CleanWaterServices.org
Bob Sallinger, Conservation director, Audubon Society of Portland, directs local, regional, and nation conservation policy initiatives, wildlife research initiatives, the Backyard Habitat Certification Program, and Wildlife Care Center. Bob’s passion for conservation developed in the woods of Massachusetts and later on solo hikes from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. bsallinger@audubonportland.org
Peter Schoonmaker, Pacific NW College of Art, MFA in Collaborative Design, which applies design and systems thinking to complex environmental, social and economic issues. Peter is past science director of Ecotrust, vice president of Interrain Pacific and current president of Illahee, non-profits focused on designing new models for cooperative environmental/social/economic problem solving in the Pacific Northwest. pschoonmaker@pnca.edu
Judy BlueHorse Skelton, PSU Indigenous Nations Studies Program, worked with federal and state Indian Education programs throughout the Northwest for 18 years, creating cultural activities focusing on traditional and contemporary uses of native plants for food, medicine, ceremony, and healthy lifeways. judybluehorse@comcast.net
Mike Wetter, Executive director, The Intertwine Alliance. Prior to becoming executive director of The Intertwine Alliance, Mike was senior advisor to former Metro Council President David Bragdon. In this capacity, he managed the Metro Council’s strategic planning initiative, founded Metro’s Regional Leadership Initiative, and helped launch The Intertwine Alliance. mike.wetter@theintertwine.org
Steve Whitney, Senior program officer, The Bullitt Foundation, formerly served as a natural resource specialist with the National Parks Conservation Association and board member of several non-profits, currently serves on the Advisory Council for Portland State University’s Institute for Sustainable Solutions, swhitney@bullitt.org
Desiree Williams-Rajee, Equity specialist, Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, one of 10 individuals recognized from across the country as White House Champions of Change for Climate Equity. Led an effort to authentically engage organizations in a new improved Climate Action. Desiree.Williams-Rajee@portlandoregon.gov,
Owen Wozniack, Project manager with The Trust for Public Land, leading conservation projects and related policy work in Oregon and Washington, focusing on urban community gardens, parks and natural area acquisitions, community forests, and habitat protection on private land. owen.wozniak@tpl.org
Phil Wu, Retired pediatrician, Kaiser Permanente; The Intertwine Alliance board; leader in Health-Nature cohort for the Alliance; pediatrician and member of the Community Benefit team at Kaiser Permanente Northwest; and works to promote healthy, equitable communities through policy advocacy and system changes through the lens of the “social determinants of health. philip.p.wu@nsmtp.kp.org