Design Impact - Event Speakers
The Design Impact series brings together an outstanding roster of global leaders to share their work and vision, challenging us as a global community to use design as a tool for actionable, transformative change and healing.
ADRIANA PABLOS
MDES ’21, ARCHITECT AND URBANIST,
BASED IN CAMBRIDGE | MADRID
Adriana is an architect with a wide range of action between design, research, and teaching. She works on architectural and urban approaches to improve cities’ adaptability with a particular focus on housing. She has taught in Spain, the United States, and Ukraine and is currently pursuing a Master in Design Studies within the concentration of Urbanism, Landscape, and Ecology.
Panel Moderator in SESSION 2 on 03.31.21
ATOSSA SOLTANI
INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AND RAINFOREST CAMPAIGNER AND BOARD PRESIDENT OF AMAZON WATCH
Atossa Soltani is the director of global strategy for Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative, an alliance of 30 indigenous nations in Ecuador and Peru working to protect 86 million acres of rainforests in the most biodiverse ecosystem on Earth. She is founder and board president of Amazon Watch and served as the organization’s first executive director for 18 years. Soltani is also the Hillary Institute 2013 Global Laureate for Climate Leadership.
Panel Speaker in SESSION 2 on 03.31.21
BILL REED
AIA LEED, PRINCIPAL OF REGENESIS, FOUNDER OF IDC
Bill is an internationally recognized planning consultant, design process composer/orchestrator, and author in sustainability and regeneration. He is a principal of Regenesis Group – whose work centers on developing co-evolutionary, socio-ecological relationships and the design process and outcomes that emerges from this, or, simply, Regenerative Development. The aim: to improve the overall quality of the physical, social and spiritual life of our living places and thus the planet.
Panel Speaker in SESSION 1 on 03.31.21
CAROL SANFORD
SENIOR FELLOW OF SOCIAL INNOVATION, BABSON COLLEGE; CEO, THE REGENERATIVE PARADIGM INSTITUTE
Carol is a founder and leader of The Regenerative Business Development Community and The Regenerative Change Agent Development community. Her work is deeply rooted in the belief that people can grow and develop beyond what their leaders or anyone sees possible: to be increasingly entrepreneurial, innovative, and responsible in their business and personal actions. She is the author of five best-selling books built around case stories of specific transformations in people, business, community and bioregions.
Panel Speaker in SESSION 1 on 03.31.21
DAVID MORENO MATEOS
RESTORATION ECOLOGIST, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, ARCHITECTURE, HARVARD GSD
David Moreno Mateos, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, is a restoration ecologist interested in understanding the long-term recovery of ecosystems degraded by human development. Following his PhD from the Spanish National Research Council his academic career continued at Berkeley, Stanford, the Centre National de la Recherché Scientific (CNRS) in France, and the Basque Centre for Climate Change in Spain. David has authored more than 50 papers in scientific journals and books, and is Associate Editor at the Journal of Applied Ecology and Ecological Restoration.
Event Introduction on 03.31.21
EVA LEUNG
MARCH '12, ARCHITECT, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF NON-PRROFIT TERRA CURA INC.
Eva is a Harvard GSD alum and architect. She is a co-founder and CEO of Terra Cura Inc., a 501(c)3 bringing together designers, educators, and climate advocates at the intersection of architecture, permaculture and systemic health regeneration. Eva is also a consultant through Regenesis Group, Al Gore's Climate Reality Project Leader, Global People's Summit Fellow 2018, Somerville Urban Agriculture Ambassador 2017, and co-chair of The Regenerative Practitioner Series (New England) 2020.
Panel Speaker in SESSION 2 on 03.31.21
JAYA KADER
MARCH '88, ARCHITECT, SUSTAINABLE DESIGN, BASED IN MIAMI AND COSTA RICA
Jaya Kader, GSD March ‘88 is a mother, architect, and yoga enthusiast. An avid supporter of sustainable and regenerative design, Jaya integrates holistic approaches into her architectural practice, KZ architecture, which she founded in 2003. Recent projects focus on design for healing through implementing sustainable practices that address environmental, economic and social concerns. One of her current initiatives, www.regen-designlab.com in her native Costa Rica, explores eco-design for regenerative communities.
Event Curator Volume 4 on 03.31.21
JULIA SMACHYLO
DDES '21, URBAN PLANNER AND DESIGNER,
BASED IN PROVIDENCE, RI
A recent DDes graduate, Julia is an urban planner and designer whose research is situated in urban theory, planning and political ecology. Her recent work traces the rise of incentivized environmental conservation with a particular focus on stewardship practices. She is currently a Teaching Associate at Harvard GSD, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo.
Panel Moderator in SESSION 1 on 02.25.21
TIOKASIN GHOSTHORSE
INDIGENOUS PEACE ACTIVIST AND GUEST FACULTY MEMBER AT YALE UNIVERSITY'S SCHOOL OF DIVINITY, ECOLOGY AND FORESTRY
Tiokasin Ghosthorse—a member of the Cheyenne River Lakota Nation of South Dakota—is an international speaker on Peace, Indigenous and Mother Earth perspective. Tiokasin has a long history of Indigenous activism and advocacy. He is a guest faculty member at Yale University’s School of Divinity, Ecology and Forestry focusing on the cosmology, diversity and perspectives on the relational/egalitarian vs. rational/hierarchical thinking processes of Western society.
Panel Speaker in SESSION 1 on 03.31.21
TOM NEWMARK
CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIR OF THE CARBON UNDERGROUND
Tom Newmark is the co-owner of Finca Luna Nueva Lodge, a farm and ecolodge in Costa Rica that teaches regenerative agriculture. He is the co-founder and board chair of The Carbon Underground, past board chair of the Greenpeace Fund USA, and a founding member of the Leadership Council of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems at California State University – Chico.
Panel Speaker in SESSION 2 on 03.31.21
VICTORIA KINDRED KEZIAH
BIOMIMICRY SPECIALIST AND GENERAL MANAGER FOR CLIENT ENGAGEMENT AT BIOMIMICRY 3.8
Victoria is General Manager for Client Engagement at Biomimicry 3.8, a global consulting firm specializing in biomimetic design for land use and the built environment. Before joining Biomimicry 3.8, Victoria served as Managing Director of the Land to Market program at Savory Institute, the world’s first sourcing solution for verified regenerative food and fiber. Victoria is a certified Biomimicry Specialist and received her M.Sc. in Biomimicry from Arizona State University.
Panel Speaker in SESSION 2 on 03.31.21
WALTER MEYER
MLAUD '03, LANDSCAPE AND URBAN DESIGNER, EDUCATOR AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
Walter Rodriguez Meyer is a landscape and urban designer, educator, and community organizer for climate justice. He is co-founder of Local Office Landscape and Urban Design, teaches at The New School for Design and holds a BLA from the University of Florida and MLAUD at Harvard Graduate School of Design. His work is helping to shape local and national policy. President Obama named Walter a White House Champion of Change.
Panel Speaker in SESSION 2 on 03.31.21