Principal of Bela Urbanism

John is an urbanist and designer whose work encompasses urban strategy, masterplan frameworks, active mobility and transportation, public realm design, and public art. A former partner at Gehl and co-founder of Rebar - the creators of Park(ing) Day - John’s passion is to create human-scale neighborhoods, great streets, and a diverse, inclusive, resilient public realm. He holds degrees in landscape architecture and environmental design, biochemistry, and sculpture. || johnbela.com || myparkingday.orgDescription goes here

Founder at GoFlyy

Joresa Blount is the founder and CEO of GoFlyy which powers fashion, beauty and wellness retailers with same-day delivery, returns and retail experiences to increase sales conversion and customer loyalty. The self-made businesswoman credits her work ethic and persistence as the reason for her success.

General Manager of Smorgasburg LA

Zach Brooks is the General Manager of the Los Angeles branch of Smorgasburg, the largest collection of weekly open-air food markets in the United States. Started in Brooklyn in 2011 as a spinoff of the Brooklyn Flea, Smorgasburg has launched dozens of small businesses and attracted millions of visitors to locations all over the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Toronto, Japan and Brazil. Before helping launch Smorgasburg LA in 2016, Zach was the founder of the blog Midtown Lunch, and the podcast Food is the New Rock, where each week he talked to a chef about music and a musician about food.

Emcee, Associate Vice-President of Commerce at Penske Media Corp. and Writer at Rolling Stone

Tim Chan is an LA-based writer who covers fashion, lifestyle and consumer tech for Rolling Stone and parent company, Penske Media. Prior to joining PMC in 2016, he worked as a producer for E! and MuchMusic in his native Canada. Most recently, he worked at Snapchat, helping to launch men’s lifestyle content for their Snapchat Discover platform. In addition to his media work, Tim has consulted for a number of fashion and lifestyle brands, spanning apparel, accessories and hospitality.

President/CEO | Long Beach Economic Partnership

Leah Goold-Haws is currently the President/CEO of the Long Beach Economic Partnership (LBEP), an economic development cooperation operating on behalf of business attraction, retention, economic growth and workforce readiness in the City of Long Beach.

Previously, Leah served on the City of Long Beach Economic Commission as the Commissioner for International Trade and has collaborated with the Port of Long Beach to relaunch the World Trade Center Long Beach under LBEP. Leah’s career in international business spans over fifteen years, having most recently served as the Statewide Director for the California International Trade Center funded under the State of California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and directing her team in assisting companies across the state in preparing for export readiness.

CEO/founder of Intertrend Communications

Julia Y.C. Huang, founder and CEO of Intertrend Communications, brings over 35 years of experience as a leading voice in Asian culture, both as the leader of her own creative agency, as the founder of numerous entrepreneurial ventures, as the promoter of cultural and artistic events and initiatives, as a speaker and recognized voice in the communication industry, and as a committed contributor to numerous non-profit associations.

While an expert creative agency leader, Julia’s path toward becoming CEO of the multimillion-dollar agency was circuitous – she lived and studied in three countries and never worked a day in her life at an advertising agency before starting her own.

CEO & Managing Partner, Sunstone Management

John P. Keisler is currently the CEO & Managing Partner for Sunstone Management Inc., a venture capital firm located in Southern California that invests in diverse early-stage technology startups through innovative public-private-partnerships that blend unique expertise across government, education, and private sectors.

Previous to Sunstone Management, Mr. Keisler spent over 20 years in public service, most recently as the Economic Development Director for the City of Long Beach. With approximately 500,000 residents, the City of Long Beach is the 7th largest city in California and a major engine of economic development for the region and the nation through its university, history of aerospace manufacturing, and its international seaport.

Director of the Long Beach State Office of Economic Research

Robert Kleinhenz, Ph.D. is the Director of Office of Economic Research at Cal State Long Beach where he teaches. He is also the Principal Economist and Founder of the firm Kleinhenz Economics, focusing on cities and regions. Dr. Kleinhenz has over 30 years of experience in urban and regional economics, including research on the creative economy locally and statewide. He is a regular contributor to the media, including NPR, CNBC, the Los Angeles Times, the Press Telegram and its sister organizations, and numerous other outlets across the state and nation.

Founder of I.D.E.A. District

Throughout his career in real estate, David has demonstrated the ability to conceptualize and implement unique solutions for each site he has encountered. No two projects are the same. Each place, whether it be primarily retail, entertainment, office, or multi-family, draws its inspiration from the site’s context and history, and is therefore fully integrated into its surroundings. This approach has resulted in places that produce long-term value for the community as well as ownership.

In 2011, David and Pete Garcia formed I.D.E.A. Partners to lead the development of the I.D.E.A. District (Innovation + Design + Education + Arts) in downtown San Diego. This transformative initiative, located on 35 city blocks in the Upper East Village, aims to create a vibrant, sustainable mixed-use neighborhood that will generate thousands of high-paying design and technology jobs in the next 10 years.

Director of Brand & Partnerships at Shinola

Philip Pirkovic serves as the Director of Brand & Partnerships for Shinola Detroit, the American lifestyle brand. He currently works and lives in Detroit, Michigan.

Previously, Philip has spent the last decade throwing concerts, attempting to start companies, going through TechStars, and holding various creative and strategic roles at some of the best creative shops, media agencies, and tech companies in the country. All while living between Chicago, San Francisco, and New York City.

Partner and Founder, Studio One Eleven

Alan Pullman, AIA, Founding Partner of Studio One Eleven, believes in the resiliency of cities, taking an optimistic approach to making them more just, inclusive, and sustainable for all. Since founding the Studio in 2000, Pullman has led the design and integration of their architecture and urban design work, including community-driven neighborhood improvements and innovative urban interventions focusing on sustainable mobility and quality of life. In collaboration with a collective of talented and spirited designers, Pullman's projects range from bringing shade and much-needed housing to L.A.'s most vulnerable residents to providing productive public realm spaces and community amenities to sidewalks and streets.

Mayor of Long Beach

Rex Richardson is a husband, father, and the 29th Mayor of Long Beach.

Mayor Richardson’s history in Long Beach is grounded in empowering communities to have a seat at the table.

Mayor Richardson has a distinguished record of public service. Richardson’s electoral history includes serving as a Long Beach City Councilmember from 2014 – 2022, representing the Ninth District. He served two terms as Vice Mayor and is known as both the youngest Councilmember and Vice Mayor in the city’s history.

On the national level, Mayor Richardson serves on the Advisory Board of the United States Conference of Mayors. Regionally, Richardson is Vice Chair of the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency and has previously served as past President of the Southern California Association of Governments.

Mayor Richardson and his wife, Dr. Nina Richardson, are proudly raising their two young daughters, Alina and Mila, in the North Long Beach community.

Director of Artist Collaboration for Meow Wolf

Han Santana-Sayles has been the Director of Artist Collaboration at Meow Wolf for 6 years. During this time, she has curated hundreds of artists, seeking multi-disciplinary creators from every walk of life to help make their immersive installation dreams a reality. Han is responsible for all the new collaborators at Convergence Station (Meow Wolf, Denver), The Real Unreal (Meow Wolf, Grapevine) and Meow Wolf’s newest Houston exhibition (opening in 2024). She is an advocate for talented, emerging, diverse artists, passionately dedicated to amplifying important cultural voices and nurturing creativity.

Placemaking US

Madeleine Thérèse Spencer is a leader in placemaking, arts, education, community engagement, economic pipeline development and downtown management. She is the Co-Director of PlacemakingUS, the founder of Diamond Heart Enterprises, The Venus Foundation and Urban Alchemy. She is also the co-founder of the Boca de Oro Festival, a leader and advisor for an XQ Superschool - Circulos and an executive board of Community Engagement. Since 2020 her work with Placemaking US, a placemaking is dedicated to modeling standards of diversity, equity & inclusion within the United States Placemaking Network.

Associate Dean, Cal State Long Beach

Seiji Steimetz, Ph.D. is Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the California State University, Long Beach, and Executive Director of the college’s Office of Economic Research. Prior to that appointment, Dr. Steimetz served as Professor and Chair of Economics. His research specialties include transportation, urban, and environmental economics, with emphases in applied econometrics and methodology. His work has been published in leading economics and interdisciplinary journals.

Co-Founder, Sowing Seeds of Change

Dina is an immigrant of Mexico, a graduate of UCLA, and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) turned entrepreneur and community builder. Dina is the owner and founder of Feel Good Salsa and Feel Good Salsa Kitchen in Long Beach,CA. Her love for cooking led her to leaving her career of over 20 years and starting her farmer’s market business in 2018. She is inspired to help other businesses, which has led her to co-founding Sowing Seeds Of Change Urban Farm where she can use her entrepreneurial spirit and network of connections, as well as her skills as a BCBA to enrich the lives of Sowing Seeds of Change participants

Co-Founder, Space Time Collaborative

David Hedden is an intentional designer and urban farmer with a focus on projects that provoke an awareness for sustainable and creative thinking. He is the creator of makerspaces, innovation spaces, educator of industrial design at CSULB, and co-founder of Space Time Collaborative, which creates innovative tech and art projects and events that inspire wonder and curiosity. David has years of experience designing and developing a wide array of projects ranging from kid’s toys and consumer products, medical devices and life support systems, interactive art installations, advanced urban agriculture, 3D printing technology, as well as large scale automation systems at the major Ports of California. He fuses technical knowledge merged with hands-on ability and out-of-the-box design-thinking to provide practical problem solving strategies.

Co-Founder, Sowing Seeds of Change

Lindsay is a graduate from CSULB with 10 years experience as a special education teacher in Long Beach Unified School District. Her passion for sustainability, community, and education led her to leave her career to co-found Sowing Seeds of Change. She is also the founder and owner of Greensmith Goodness that strives for GREENESS! This means she has a social mission to divert food waste by creating hand-crafted value added products from shared, gleaned and diverted food waste. Aside from being an educator turned entrepreneur, she remains very active in her community and local food system, building strong relationships that promote positive change. She sits on the advisory board of Long Beach Fresh, is a member of the LB Beekeepers club, a Leadership Long Beach Alumni, a CASFS Alumni (Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems), and is a Horticultural Therapist. Her vision is to continue to use her passions and skills in partnership with like-minded organizations to create a healthier and more equitable community in Long Beach and beyond.

Founder & Director, MAYE Center

Healing and Health Promotion Instructor

Laura immigrated to Long Beach from the refugee camps in Cambodia and remained a resident ever since. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry, and finished her Pre-Med curricula as a person and student with PTSD. After college, Laura spoke up for a small portion of Long Beach to be designated as Cambodia Town to help her people heal from the destruction of their homeland and to build a new home here.

She continued to do medical missions in Cambodia from 2000 to 2014 with an agenda to recover her memories. Laura founded The MAYE Center, which focuses on building a center of excellence as a space and community for people to cultivate their self-healing and academic advancement and to build a holistic integrated Healthcare system in Long Beach.