Featured Speakers

Bish Sanyal is the Ford International Professor of Urban Development and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he also directs the Special Program in Urban and Regional Studies. His work spans housing policy, urban informality, planning theory, and international development. With degrees in architecture, urban planning, and international development planning, Sanyal has advised global institutions including the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, the World Bank, the International Labour Office, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Dr. Sanyal has also advised national governments on housing policies in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

Eagle Glassheim is a Professor of History at the University of British Columbia, specializing in Central European history and environmental history. He is the author of Cleansing the Czechoslovak Borderlands (University of Pittsburgh Press), which explores nationalism, forced migration, and ecological transformation in 20th-century Central Europe. His current research focuses on the history of mining and post-mining economies and ecologies in Central Europe and North America. Glassheim has held fellowships from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Center, and the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society.

Dr. James Olson, is currently serving his second five-year term as dean of the Faculty of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia. He is also a professor of mechanical engineering and is an internationally recognized expert in forest products. His work has contributed to the sector’s evolution into a dynamic bio-products industry. A Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering, Dr. Olson has received two NSERC Synergy Awards, the 2008 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Innovation, the 2009 Fundamental Research Committee’s Van den Akker Gold Medal, and several best paper awards.

Katia Tynan is a leader and relationship-builder who currently leads the Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction team at the City of Vancouver. Katia oversees the implementation of the City of Vancouver’s Resilient Vancouver Strategy (2019) and the more recently led the development of Vancouver’s Hazard, Risk, and Vulnerability Analysis (2024), both of which advance the city’s understanding of risk and resilience in municipal planning. Her work has advanced disaster risk and climate change adaptation governance and collaboration across departments and intergovernmental working groups. Katia works tirelessly to amplify the voices and needs of communities disproportionately impacted by disasters and emergencies.

Lindsay Brown is a Vancouver writer, designer and activist. She is author of “Habitat ’76,” an illustrated history of Vancouver’s 1976 UN Habitat Conference on Human Settlements, the world’s first global conference on cities and housing. Brown is Director of Communications for Commons BC, which creates and collects data visualization of BC’s public resources, and was co-founder of the Vancouver Not Vegas Coalition, which defeated gambling expansion in Vancouver. She co-founded Ouno Design, an ongoing design criticism and research project. She has an MA in Communication from Simon Fraser University, and was on the Leaders Council of the Indian Summer Festival.

Lucy Earle is the Director of the Human Settlements Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Her work focuses on urbanization, poverty, and humanitarian crises, particularly forced displacement in cities. With expertise in low-income housing, urban social movements, and refugee wellbeing, she leads interdisciplinary research and policy initiatives aimed at improving the lives of displaced populations in urban settings. Previously, she served as an urban advisor at the UK’s Department for International Development and held a postdoctoral fellowship at the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town.

Michael Hooper is an Associate Professor at the School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), University of British Columbia. His research focuses on urban planning, policy, and politics, with particular emphasis on displacement, disasters, and densification. He has conducted fieldwork across diverse global contexts—from East Africa to Mongolia—and is passionate about comparative, empirical research in rapidly urbanizing regions. Prior to joining UBC, Hooper worked with the United Nations in New York and Kenya. He holds degrees from McGill, MIT, and Stanford, and is a certified planner in Canada, the UK, and the US.

As former premier of British Columbia, Mayor of Vancouver and City Councillor, Mike Harcourt helped British Columbia earn its reputation as one of the most livable, accessible and inclusive places in the world.  His focus on conservation and sustainable development – and his resolve to contribute to the transformation of cities and communities around the world – has played a significant role in promoting quality of life for those in Canada and abroad. After stepping down from politics, he was appointed by the Prime Minister to serve as a member of the National Round Table on the Environment and Economy, where he served on the Executive Committee and chaired the Urban Sustainability Program.  He was a federally appointed B.C. Treaty Commissioner and was Chair of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee for Cities and Communities and co-chaired the National Advisory Committee on the UN-HABITAT World Urban Forum in Vancouver in 2006.

Dr. Murali Chandrashekaran is a Professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science at the UBC Sauder School of Business. His research spans consumer decision-making, urbanization, inclusive prosperity, innovation, and customer satisfaction. He has held numerous leadership roles at UBC, including Vice-Provost, International, where he advanced the university’s global partnerships and international strategy. Dr. Chandrashekaran is also the Director of the Collaborative for Urban Resilience & Effectiveness (CURE), bringing together interdisciplinary research to address urban resilience and sustainable development challenges.

Nigel Fisher is a specialist in disaster preparedness and recovery and an officer of the Order of Canada. As a former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, he has been Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Haiti, as well as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan and Haiti and UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis. Nigel Fisher has acted as an advisor to international governments on disaster preparedness and recovery, and currently teaches real world decision-making, context analysis, problem-solving and application of engineering skills in multidisciplinary contexts – including in disaster/crisis environments.

Omar Siddique is the Head of Office for UN-Habitat in Canada, with over 20 years of experience in urban development and planning across more than 40 countries. As an urbanist and development planner, he has led complex programs addressing housing, infrastructure, climate resilience, and urban poverty in rapidly urbanizing and post-conflict contexts. Prior to his current role, Siddique held senior positions within the UN system, including with the UN Development Programme and the Cities Alliance. He began his career at the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, working with Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus. He holds degrees from Monash University and New York University.

Penny Gurstein is Professor Emeritus and former Director of the School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) at the University of British Columbia. She is the founding Director of the Housing Research Collaborative, where she leads research on housing affordability and equity in Canada and internationally. Her work focuses on the socio-cultural dimensions of planning, emphasizing marginalized communities, gender equity, and youth development. As a student in 1976, Dr. Gurstein participated in the Habitat Conference in Vancouver. As a professor of planning, she was involved in the 2006 World Urban Forum, also held in Vancouver.

Penny Kerrigan is a Haida Elder, member of Old Massett Village Council and senior consultant with over 30 years of experience in Indigenous women’s governance, community development, housing and human rights frameworks, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. She is the founder of the Aboriginal Mother Centre Society, in Vancouver, BC, Canada and served as a Liaison for the National Inquiry into Murdered Missing Indigenous Women and Girls, and is an advisor to Global Affairs Canada- Indigenous Peoples Partnering for Climate Canada, BC Assembly of First Nations, and is a member of Groots Canada and the Huairou Commission.