Mike Aziz, AIA, LEED AP, is a partner at Cooper Robertson and a leader of the firm’s urban design and campus planning practice. With more than 15 years of experience working across the United States and internationally, his portfolio includes large-scale waterfront master plans in San Francisco, New York, and New Jersey, along with planning projects for the University of Maryland, the George Washington University, and the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute.

Jenna is a transdisciplinary designer focused on advancing equity in the public realm, and as a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction, she has designed and managed a breadth of public and private design/build and architectural projects in the U.S. and abroad. Jenna is Co-Founder of New York City-based design firm RUEd’ ARCH, as well as Deputy Director of Urban Design & Policy at the NYC Public Design Commission (PDC), where she authored Designing New York: Streetscapes for Wellness and oversees interagency public realm design and policy initiatives.

Recently, Jenna contributed to Streets Ahead: Five Routes to a Thriving City as an Urban Design Forum Fellow and Team Lead of the Care Working Group. Jenna holds a M.Arch from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and a B.A. in Architecture and Environmental Studies from Wellesley College, and she previously served as a member of both the Wellesley College Board of Trustees and the Columbia University Senate, participating in committees that oversee institutional issues related to gender equity, architectural and campus planning. She strives to promote and develop creative strategies for improved equity and excellence of design in the City.

Chris Reed is Founding Director of STOSS, where he leads the design and content of each project. A designer, researcher, strategist, teacher, and advisor, Chris is recognized internationally as a leading voice in the transformation of landscapes and cities and was a recipient of the 2012 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award in Landscape Architecture. While running STOSS and its projects, Chris is also a Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. His commitment to teaching is not only a way to develop the next generation of landscape architects, but also keeps STOSS on a constant quest for new ways of seeing, thinking, and doing, which has helped put the firm at the forefront of the profession.

Tony Kostreski, PLA is a landscape technology enthusiast bringing municipal, institutional, mixed-use, and high-end residential site design proficiency to his role as senior landscape product specialist at Vectorworks, Inc. Kostreski has consulted dozens of design-build and landscape architecture firms to help increase their efficiency by implementing best practice workflows in design, modeling, documentation, GIS, and BIM for landscape. Kostreski has also provided universities with customized workshops showcasing essential workflows students can take into the workforce.

Mark Fusco, LEED AP, GRP is the National Sales Manager for Bison Innovative Products and has comprehensive rooftop deck and green roof construction experience. A decade of experience with Bison and a decade of experience at Denver Botanic Gardens have given Mark the expertise to assist architects, developers, designers, and installers with all their project needs. The synthesis of combining rooftop amenity spaces, pools, pergolas, and green roofs has now become the focus of Mark’s work. Mark is most fulfilled when working with the Bison Sales Team, assisting clients with solutions for their projects. His vision and ability to nurture relationships lead to long-term solutions and success. Mark has degrees in Landscape Design, Environmental Science, and Marketing.

Mette Skjold is a partner and CEO of SLA and has more than 20 years of experience in sustainable urban planning and architecture, solving some of today’s most challenging urban problems. Thus, Mette deeply understands creating high-quality, green public spaces to improve public health and stimulate social interactions while helping urban challenges regarding climate, sustainability, economy and social diversity. Besides her master’s degree in architecture from Aarhus School of Architecture, Mette holds an international master’s degree in Leadership and Innovation from Copenhagen Business School.

As Principal at Karp Strategies, a NYC-based urban planning consultancy, Ali is a trusted adviser to City agencies and private firms including NYCEDC, NYCHA, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ), Two Trees Management, the SoHo Broadway Initiative (SBI) and Brooklyn Public Library.

Since joining Karp Strategies as the firm’s first full-time employee in 2016, Ali has played a key role in the firm’s growth from a one-woman startup to one of the leading WBE-certified community-economic development advisory firms in the region.

The common thread across all of Ali’s work is a commitment to creating healthier, more equitable and inclusive communities. Driven by the understanding that a person’s urban environment has a profound impact in shaping their mental/physical health, Ali leads with human centered design, elevating community voices to ensure thoughtful analysis and outcomes that not only benefit, but are driven by, the needs of local residents.

Examples of Ali’s work that demonstrate her commitment to community-centered planning include the equitable development feasibility analysis for the team re-envisioning the Long Island City waterfront; the creation of the widely referenced Soho Zoning Guidebook in partnership with SBI; stakeholder engagement strategy for Atlantic Shores’ east coast wind farm initiative; and the strategic plan for NYCHA’s Connected Communities Initiative pilot, which supported the Authority’s publication of an award-winning guidebook for public housing design.

Ali is a member of CoreNet New York’s Public Policy Committee and the Fund for Public Housing’s Advisory Board, and a Fellow of the Urban Design Forum. She holds a Bachelor’s in History and American Studies from Princeton and a Master’s in City Planning from MIT.

Marek Kozikowski, AICP, MPA is the Director of Land Use for the City of Middletown, Connecticut with 18 years professional experience working in municipal and regional planning and development. Marek oversees the administration of land use policies and regulations in the areas of planning, zoning, wetlands, open space, and agriculture for the City of Middletown.

Mark Lamster is the architecture critic of the Dallas Morning News and a lecturer and Loeb fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. His biography of the late architect Philip Johnson, The Man in the Glass House (Little Brown, 2018), was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography.

Timothy A. Schuler is an award-winning journalist and magazine writer whose work focuses on the intersection of the built and natural environments. An editor at Landscape Architecture Magazine since 2015, his writing has appeared in Metropolis, Bloomberg CityLab, The Architect’s Newspaper, Places Journal, Curbed, and FLUX Hawaiʻi, among other outlets. His essay, “The Middle of Everywhere,” was included on a list of the most notable science and nature writing in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2020. He lives in Kansas.

Signe Nielsen, FASLA is a Founding Principal of MNLA and has been practicing as a landscape architect and urban designer in New York since 1978. Her body of work has renewed the environmental integrity and transformed the quality of spaces for those who live, work, and play in the urban realm. A Fellow of the ASLA, she is the recipient of more than 100 national and local design awards for public open space projects and is published extensively nationally and internationally. Signe is a professor of urban design and landscape architecture at Pratt Institute in both the graduate and undergraduate Schools of Architecture and is the former President of the Public Design Commission of the City of New York. Born in Paris, Signe received a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in Urban Planning from Smith College; a Bachelor of Arts in Landscape Architecture from City College of New York; and a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from Pratt Institute.

Marty Wood is the Program Director for The Architect’s Newspaper’s Facades+ Conferences and other AN events and initiatives that bring together AEC professionals to share their stories, expertise, and projects. As a writer, he’s contributed to The Architect’s Newspaper, Metropolis, and other design publications. He is also a visiting instructor at Pratt Institute. Wood has a BA in Communications from San Francisco State University and a M.S. from Columbia University GSAPP.

Albert is Brand Development Manager for mmcité USA & Canada. He has a background in architecture, planning and was practicing Landscape Architect. He has 14+ years in design experience. He has been a bartender, truck driver, commercial photographer, & helped grow 3 successful business along the way. Albert understands the value of wonderful open spaces and the public realm. He is well traveled and has a love for words and artful expressions.