People

Dr. Mark Lutter is Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Innovative Governance Research, a think tank dedicated to researching charter cities, special economic zones, and other forms of political decentralization. Prior to launching the Center for Innovative Governance Research, he was Lead Economist for NeWAY Capital, an asset management firm which made early…

I’m a perpetually traveling writer who focuses on new cities (ghost cities), the New Silk Road, and international e-commerce as seen from the ground. I am the author of “Ghost Cities of China: The Story of Cities Without People in the World’s Most Populated Country,” a book which chronicles the two and a half years…

Shaishav Dharia is the Regional CEO for Palava City, New Cuffe Parade and Lodha Commercial. He is responsible for the delivery of key business goals and profitability for these markets. He joined Lodha Group in 2010 as Head of Strategy and later moved to the role of Development Director. He has over 17 years of…

Ashlee joined NewCities in 2018 as the Senior Communications and Media Relations Manager. Ashlee has strong international expertise, having held strategic roles in the urban development, healthcare and mining sectors in the UK and Australia. Ashlee is passionate about people working together to share learning, create new ideas and drive impact.

Albert Shen is a former small landlord and Seattle city council candidate from Seattle, WA. He was also previously a former senior Obama Administration appointee at the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2014-2017 and is now a senior strategic business consultant residing in Dallas, TX.

David Glick is an associate professor of political science at Boston University. His research interests include American political institutions, legal politics, and housing policy. His work has appeared in multiple academic outlets, including the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, the Quarterly Journal of Political Science, Political Behavior, the Journal of Law…

Maxwell Palmer is an assistant professor of political science at Boston University. His research interests include American political institutions, legislative politics, and housing policy. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Politics, American Politics Research, and the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. His research has been…

Katherine Levine Einstein is an assistant professor of political science at Boston University. Her research interests include local politics, American public policy, and housing policy. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in multiple academic journals, including the American Journal of Political Science, American Politics Research, Perspectives on Politics, Political Behavior, PS: Political Science and…

Jonathan T.M. Reckford is chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity International, a global housing organization that, since 1976, has helped more than 13.2 million people build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter. Following his tenure as executive pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church near Minneapolis, Minnesota, Reckford was appointed CEO of Habitat for Humanity International…

Claudio Acioly is an architect and urban planner, a development practitioner with more than 35 years of experience. He joined UN-Habitat in 2008 as chief Housing Policy and coordinator of the United Nations Housing Rights Programme. He also coordinated the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions to the Executive Director of UN-Habitat – AGFE. During his…

Dr. Andrea Sharam is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Property, Construction and Project Management at RMIT University. Andrea has extensive experience in social research on housing and homelessness but is also highly experienced in other areas of social research including public policy and urban governance, with a focus on social and economic disadvantage.…

Richard Gerwitz is co-head of Citi Community Capital, the community development lending and investing division of Citi, with more than 30 years of experience in the tax-exempt securities and real estate markets. He began his career with Merrill Lynch in 1978 as a municipal securities analyst, subsequently moving into the investment banking division. In 1984,…