Final Progress Advisory Panel Report - Knight Program in ...

Appendix E: Suggested Speaker List
• Jack Boyle – former Finance Vice President for Cleveland State University responsible for over $200 million
in partnership projects on or near campus
• Tony Brown – former CEO of the UpTown Partnership in Cincinnati and a New Markets Tax Credit expert;
currently Executive Director of the Riviera Beach, Florida, Community Redevelopment Agency
• Kathy Coakley – former Executive Director of Cleveland’s Warehouse District and Cleveland Public Art;
currently a consultant with Dennis Barrie regarding arts initiatives
• Carol Coletta – former CEO of CEOs for Cities; current President of ArtPlace, and a Knight Fellow
• Bill Conwsidine – CEO of Akron Children’s Hospital, Chairman of the Board of the Austen BioInnovation
Institute, and Knight Foundation Board member
• Robert Gibbs – expert on storefront retail and what Main Street can learn from the mall
• Roberta Brandes Gratz – a Jane Jacobs-inspired author (and a longtime friend of Jacobs) and specialist in
“urban husbandry” which means valuing the little things and using them as the basis for urban regeneration
instead of waiting for gigantic catalyst projects that can unintentionally screw things up
• Rick Hall – a walkability expert and member of the Duluth team (if it isn’t a conflict for him to be recommending
a speaker series that then hires him). The community could use as much education as it can get on
walkability. Dan Burden is also good.
• Ben Hecht – CEO of Living Cities
• Alberto Ibarguen – CEO of the Knight Foundation
• Chris Leinberger – Urban Land Institute housing and urban development and market expert
• Ari Maron – with MRN Development of Cleveland, involved in several mixed use and arts district projects
• Marty Mehall – with Richland Properties and building mixed-use student housing in downtown Akron
• Joe Riley – longtime Charleston, South Carolina, (also a waterfront city) Mayor and a great speaker about
the value of connections, both physical and metaphysical
• Dennis Scholl – Arts Program Officer for the Knight Foundation
• Mitchell Silver – Raleigh Planning Director, national president of the American Planning Association, and
an excellent and engaging speaker, with a lot of interesting data at his command about housing trends, the
importance of an honest-to-goodness comprehensive plan, etc.
• Lori Volk – urban housing market analyst and a Knight Fellow
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