Presenters

Conference Facilitator: Gail Lindsey, FAIA, is the founder and president of the Wake Forest, NC company, Design Harmony, Inc. A leader in environmentally conscious architecture, the firm’s work has been published in several books as examples of good green design. She consults on architectural projects, undertakes green building research, and provides sustainable design training and “greening” charrette facilitation. She is an internationally known consultant, facilitator, and speaker. She has given over 200 workshops and presentations on green architecture. Lindsey has been instrumental in the following: The Greening of the White House, The Greening of the Pentagon, The Sustainable Design Initiatives for the National Park Service, the Department of Defense’s Sustainable Design Training Program, and she is one of the creators of the interactive CD ROM Green Building Advisor. She has been closely involved with (from their earliest inceptions) the LEED rating system, the North Carolina Triangle J High Performance Guidelines, the Army’s SPiRiT rating system, and the International Green Building Challenge Assessment Tool. She is a member of the LEED Advanced faculty and one of the first of twelve USGBC trainers of the LEED Rating System.

Leadership: Mark W. Johnson, FASLA, is recognized as a visionary and a powerful influence in effecting change in urban conditions through design that integrates landscape and urbanism. Johnson is currently leading the urban design efforts for the rehabilitation of the Los Angeles River into a green amenity and a community asset, the design of the 30-acre Museum Park along Miami’s Biscayne Bay, and the planning and design of a new neighborhood in the heart of Charlotte, NC. A founder and president of Civitas Inc., Johnson’s influence is evident in his designs for transformative urban projects that demand resolutions of complex economic, legal, political and public issues three riverfront parks in Denver as catalysts for booming downtown development; the largest redevelopment project in the country, Denver’s Stapleton International Airport, including a parks and open space master plan for this 4700 acre site; a land use and transportation vision plan for Balboa Park in San Diego; a waterfront redevelopment master plan for Memphis, Tennessee; and a 1.5 mile corridor plan to connect historic neighborhoods for Brooklyn’s busiest artery, Atlantic Avenue. Johnson is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He holds a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture/Urban Design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Johnson has received numerous awards from the community and his peers, such as the ASLA President’s Award of Excellence for his Stapleton Park and Open Space Plan. Principal, Civitas Inc.

Transportation: Catherine L. Ross, Ph.D, is the Director of the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD) and Harry West Professor for Regional Planning at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Dr. Ross also organized and served as the first Executive Director of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA). This innovative regional entity was created in 1999 by the Georgia Legislature in response to the federal government’s elimination of transportation funding when the Atlanta region was found in violation of clean air standards. She began her career at Georgia Tech as an assistant professor in the Graduate City Planning Program, becoming associate professor, and then full professor in 1990. She has published more than 250 articles, research reports, books and monographs in the fields of urban planning, transportation planning, quality growth and land planning. Ross was recently inducted as a Fellow with the National Academy of Public Administration. Locally, Ross serves on several boards and committees, including the Urban Land Institute (ULI)-District Council Steering Committee, and the Board of Directors for both the High Museum of Art and the Midtown Alliance. Ross earned a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University, a master’s degree in regional planning from Cornell University and a doctorate in city and regional planning from Cornell, in addition to completing post-doctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley.

Design: Bill Valentine, FAIA, is Chairman and Design Principal of HOK, a global architectural design and services firm. A 44-year veteran of HOK, Valentine serves as a vocal advocate for sustainability with employees and clients, as well as leading the design of several projects each year and developing strategies for pursuing new projects. He actively promotes his definition of ‘good design’ as a simple idea, elegantly executed and inspiring, with social significance and in harmony with the environment. Valentine’s diverse, award-winning design portfolio includes projects representing the Corporate, Education, Justice, Aviation, and Science + Technology sectors. Representative projects include the Biogen Idec Research and Development Campus, San Diego, CA; Natural Sciences 1 and 2, University of California, Irvine; Adobe Systems Inc. World Headquarters, San Jose, CA; Symantec, Los Angeles, CA; Apple Computer R&D Campus, Cupertino, CA; Levi’s Plaza, San Francisco, CA; Microsoft Augusta Campus, Redmond, WA; Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA; Phoenix Municipal Courthouse, AZ; Fukuoka International Airport, Fukuoka, Japan, and King Khaled International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Valentine holds a Master of Architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Architecture fromNC State University.

Partnership: Daniel Iacofano, Ph.D, FAICP, ASLA, is a founding principal of MIG with over 25 years of experience in urban, downtown, environmental and land use planning projects throughout the country. He has managed and participated in a wide range of planning studies, addressing issues related to land use, growth strategies, urban development and revitalization, river and watershed management, parks and recreation, habitat conservation, and natural resource management. Iacofano is expert in managing multi-disciplinary projects, developing and implementing public and stakeholder outreach strategies, and building consensus among multiple interests. He is recognized locally, nationally and internationally as an expert and innovator in downtown revitalization, integrating elements of the physcial, economic and social realm for successful and vibrant community and strategic planning projects. Iacofano holds a Ph.D. in environmental planning from the University of California at Berkeley, a M.S. in environmental psychology from the University of Surrey, England and a Bachelor of Urban Planning from the University of Cincinnati.

Panelists

Kofi Boone is an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at the NC State University College of Design. His expertise is urban design, participatory design and the design of public spaces. His research interest is the role of Landscape Architecture in the Environmental Justice Movement. Boone investigates both the disproportionate exposure of low power communities and communities of color to environmental hazards as well as disproportionate lack of access to healthy green environments. Boone has presented at The Society for American City and Regional Planning History, The Sites of Memory Symposium (University of Virginia), and many other conferences. He has served on numerous juries, charettes and community assistance projects, including an AIA Urban Design Assistance Team in Randallstown, Md. Boone holds a Master of Landscape Architecture and a B.S. in natural resources, both from the University of Michigan. (Partnership Panel)

Brad Davis is a Partner of LandDesign, Inc., Planners, Landscape Architects, and Civil Engineers. He has worked with the firm since 1979, and served as president of the company from 2001-2006. The firm has 230 employees in six offices domestically and an office in Beijing, China. Davis is Partner-in-Charge of the Charlotte office. His services include directing design and planning, project administration, and management. Throughout his career, he has focused on urban design and comprehensive master planning, and in particular, the development of town and community plans which synthesize growth and environmental objectives. Davis has served on service organizations and task forces including the Governors Commission on Smart Growth, Urban Land Institute Smart Growth Committee, Voices and Choices Land Use Action Team, Charlotte 2015 Task Force, the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Charlotte Urban Forum. Davis was awarded the NCASLA North Carolina Award in 2006 “in recognition of a career of achievement, leadership, and service at the highest level by a professional who has statewide stature and has made a lifetime contribution to the profession of landscape architecture.” He holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from NC State University College of Design. (Design Panel)

Ellen Weinstein, Dixon Weinstein Architects, PA (Design)

John Hodges-Copple has served as the Planning Director for the Triangle J Council of Governments since 1992, where he coordinates the Council’s work related to land use, transportation and the environment. Prior to his position with Triangle J, he worked with a multi-state economic development organization, an environmental consulting firm and a transportation consulting firm. Hodges-Copple holds a masters degree in Regional Planning from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Duke University. He is an Eisenhower Fellow; during his fellowship he studied regional planning in New Zealand. Hodges-Copple has served on the Durham Planning Commission and taught a course on urban planning and policy at UNC-Chapel Hill. (Leadership Panel)

Bill Holman, is a Visiting Scholar at the Nicholas Institute, Duke University. He has extensive experience in legislative and administrative policy making at the state level. He worked as Executive Director of the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund – a $100 million per year clean water incentives program -- from 2001 – 2006. He served as Governor Jim Hunt’s Secretary of the Department of Environment & Natural Resources from 1999 – 2000 and as an Assistant Secretary from 1998 – 1999. Holman lobbied the NC General Assembly on behalf of the Conservation Council of NC, NC Chapter of the Sierra Club, NC Chapter of the American Planning Association, NC Public Transportation Association and others from 1979 – 1997. Holman lives in Raleigh with his wife Stephanie Bass. He graduated magna cum laude with a BS in biology from NC State University in 1978. He completed hiking the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia in 1975. (Partnership)

Dr. Wayne Place, School of Architecture, NC State College of Design (Design)

Juanita Shearer-Swink, FASLA, joined the Triangle Transit Authority in 1992. Her initial responsibilities included leading the Triangle Fixed Guideway Study from which the Regional Transit Plan for the Triangle was developed and adopted. Through her work with local governments, community and business interest groups and residents in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina, Shearer-Swink initiated the planning and implementation of compact, mixed-use, walkable development around the Triangle region’s future transit stations. Beginning with the public process through which the locations of the initial 16 regional rail stations were selected, Shearer-Swink’s responsibilities have also included management of the Rail Station Design Consultant Team, TTA’s Art in Transit Program and coordination with the Regional Rail System Line Section Engineering. Prior to joining TTA, Shearer-Swink worked in both the public and private sectors here in the Triangle and in Florida, including 11 years with the City of Miami. Juanita served on the North Carolina Board of Transportation from 1993 to 2001. She was elected to the American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows in 1995 and has served on state and national ASLA committees and currently chairs the national ASLA Public Practice Advisory Committee. (Transportation Panel)

Mitchell J. Silver, AICP, is planning director of the City of Raleigh and specializes in comprehensive planning, urban design and implementation strategies. Silver has worked as a city planner with the New York City Department of City Planning; director of the Northern Manhattan Office for the Manhattan Borough President; principal of a New York City based planning firm; and, deputy director for the Office of Planning in the District of Columbia. In public and private practice, Silver has worked in over 50 jurisdictions and has served as an expert panelist or speaker at over 100 conferences, seminars and workshops. Silver’s major accomplishments include helping to launch Harlem’s Renaissance in the 1990s, leading the successful Harlem on the River Project, developing New York City’s tower and plaza regulations, serving on the post-9/11 team to plan the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site and leading revitalization efforts in Philadelphia and Washington, DC. His most recent accomplishment was overseeing DC’s update to their Comprehensive Plan. For over 10 years, Mitchell has championed a movement to increase diversity in the planning profession at the national and state level. Silver received a Bachelors Degree in Architecture from Pratt Institute and a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from Hunter College. (Leadership Panel)