People

Otis Williams is the Executive Director of the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC). The Corporation is responsible for bringing people, jobs, and investment to the City. Prior to joining SLDC, Otis Williams served over 28 years in the U.S. Army and retired at the rank of Colonel. Key assignment included duty as Chief of Staff…

David R. Noble is the Director of Community and Economic Development for Midland States Bank and oversees their Community Development and Community Reinvestment Act activities in execution of their Corporate Community Economic Development Plan. He is an experienced, astute Senior Banking Leader with a triumvirate combination of experience in application of the Community Reinvestment Act…

In April 2017, Lyda Krewson won a historic election to become the first woman to serve as mayor of St. Louis. Prior to the election, Lyda served as 28th Ward Alderwoman. She is also a CPA and served as the CFO for an international design firm until her election as Mayor in 2017. As Mayor,…

A native St. Louisan who holds her PhD in Public Policy with an economic development focus, Patricia Hagan spent some 20 years at Saint Louis University in a variety of roles, including Associate Provost for Research, and was the founding Executive Director for the Audubon Center at Riverlands, serving as Vice President of the National…

James Carras is the principal of Carras Community Investment, Inc., a nationally recognized boutique community and economic development finance consulting firm. He is also an adjunct lecturer at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. Carras has facilitated the creation of over fifty community development corporations and development financial institutions…

After a successful career as a television and radio host, producer, and manager, Bruce is one of Vancouver Island’s most familiar faces. He is an engagement professional with a unique ability to create successful and effective partnerships and collaborations. Bruce is a community and communications strategist and consultant, and a community business advisor. As Interim…

Tiffany Muller Myrdahl is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies and the Urban Studies Program at Simon Fraser University on unceded Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw, Tsleil-Waututh (səl̓ilwətaɁɬ), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm territory, Vancouver, Canada. She completed a master’s in public policy, followed by a doctorate in geography with a certificate in feminist studies from…

George Heyman was first elected as the MLA for Vancouver-Fairview in 2013, and was re-elected in May 2017. Born and raised in Vancouver, George has lived and worked here and throughout northwest BC. George currently serves as the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, and he previously served as the Opposition Spokesperson for Environment,…

Mary is President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute. An impassioned civic leader with diverse experience in the business, government, not-for-profit and philanthropy sectors in Canada and the US for over 30 years, Mary has been a steady advocate and champion for place-based approaches to building livable and resilient cities, and community-driven local economies.…

Kamala Todd is a Metis-Cree mother, community planner, filmmaker, curator, and educator born and raised in the beautiful lands of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Skwxwú7mesh-speaking people, aka Vancouver. She has a Masters degree in Urban Geography from UBC. Kamala is the City of Vancouver’s first Indigenous Arts and Culture Planner. In previous years, she was Vancouver’s…

Josipa Petrunic is the Executive Director & CEO of CUTRIC. She is leading the formulation of several national transportation technology trials related to zero-emissions transportation and “smart vehicles” innovation, including the Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration & Integration Trial, the Pan-Canadian Hydrogen Fuel Cell Demonstration & Integration Trial, and the National Smart Vehicle Demonstration Project. Dr.…

José Roberto Moreira is Senior Professor of Energy at the Institute of Energy and Environment, University of Sao Paulo, in Brazil. Prior to his current position, he worked as a nuclear physics researcher at the University of Sendai, Japan and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1975), he was also an Energy Researcher at the…