OnDemand Panel Discussion: Resilient infrastructure – planning, prioritising and protecting critical assets

Erin Mendenhall

Mayor

Salt Lake City

Erin J. Mendenhall is the 36th mayor of Salt Lake City. Just weeks after the birth of her first son, Erin learned the air quality in Salt Lake City had become so bad that it could take two years off his life. Wanting to advance air-quality policy inside the city government and serve Salt Lake City on a wider range of issues, Erin was elected to represent District 5 on the City Council in 2013. During her six years on the Council, including one year as its chair, Erin worked for equitable progress across the city, driving road repairs and infrastructure maintenance, expanding access to transit and affordable housing, and making the city more equitable for women and girls. She is the first mayor in Salt Lake City history to have been publicly elected from the city council.

As mayor, Erin is working hard to make Salt Lake City more environmentally and economically resilient, and to take advantage of the region’s historic period of economic opportunity. She is determined to ensure every Salt Laker – no matter their neighbourhood, economic or housing status, faith, race, or sexual or gender identity – can access all the city has to offer. Erin’s love for the extraordinary people of Salt Lake City drives an unrelenting commitment to bringing people from different walks of life together in pursuit of results for the entire city.

James Nowlan

Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry

City of Toronto

James Nowlan is the Executive Director of Environment, Climate and Forestry at the City of Toronto. He oversees the team responsible for the development of corporate environment and climate policies, such as TransformTO the City’s strategy to be net-zero by 2040, the Net-Zero Existing Buildings Strategy and the Electric Vehicle Strategy, working with many City of Divisions, agencies and external partners in the community. The Division also works on a number of innovative projects that support achieving City climate goals, and oversees a number of funding programs such as the Energy Retrofit Loan program and the Home Energy Loan Program.

Katie Walsh

Global Director for Cities, States and Regions

CDP

Katie is Head of Climate Finance for Cities, States, and Regions & North America Lead for CDP, where she manages and oversees CDP’s Matchmaker project, which advances implementation of climate resilient infrastructure projects in cities worldwide. With a robust background in sustainable urban development, she has previously contributed to the Chinese Sustainable Cities Program at the Energy Foundation in Beijing, worked at the US Department of Energy’s Policy and International Affairs Office in Washington, D.C. and participated in the Chinese Flagship Program at San Francisco State University.

Kate holds a Master’s in Urban Planning from Tufts University and a Master’s in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School. With over fifteen years of experience working with local governments on urban planning, sustainable finance and climate change, her expertise includes sustainable infrastructure, mandatory disclosure practices and federal funding opportunities.

Mike Lake

CEO

Leading Cities

As President and CEO, Michael develops and establishes relationships with municipal governments, businesses and universities internationally, creating a global network of partner cities dedicated to implementing Smart City solutions that improve the quality of life in cities.

Leading Cities builds bridges between academia and action, between business and government, and between urban problems and solutions.Among its signature programs are AcceliCITY- among the largest, most prestigious smart and resilient city solutions focused competitions- and AcceliGOV—a competition of cities vying for globally sourced, expert-vetted, pre-paid pilot projects.

Michael’s career in public service spans from serving three United States Presidents as Special Assistant for White House Operations and Presidential Advance to serving the former Prime Minister of Ireland as a policy research analyst.

He is the only American nominated for the inaugural UK Smart Cities Awards 2017 in the category “Smart City Leader & Promoter and has been recognised globally as a pioneer in the space of Smart Cities for his leadership in networking cities across internationally.

Sandra Baer

USA Brand Ambassador

SmartCitiesWorld

Sandra has worked with city leaders and smart city companies, worldwide, for over 25 years, helping them discover the power of partnerships across city ecosystems to build trust, support city innovation and discover new paths to bigger, bolder urban transformation.

She leads Personal Cities, a smart city company focused on city identity and placemaking, social inclusion and equity, climate actions and the acceleration of digital technology investments to support innovators and entrepreneurs.  She is most passionate to help city leaders “think differently” and form new coalitions that will help us meet the challenges of our uncertain and continually evolving world.

She is confident that our commitment to improving urban life and our enduring collaborative relationships will enable us to create a future that all of us want to visit. 

Luke Antoniou
Senior Editor

SmartCitiesWorld

Luke has been reporting on the implementation of smart technologies that benefit citizens and the public sector since 2017.

He has a particularly keen interest in smart and sustainable mobility and its role in influencing the decisions of urban planners, citizens and governments alike.

As rapid urbanisation continues, he keeps his finger on the pulse of the myriad urban challenges facing local and central governments, making new connections in the public and private sectors and finding new angles from which to cover the latest smart city developments around the world.