Shaun Abrahamson

Co-Founder & Managing Partner Urban.Us

Biography

Born in Cape Town, Shaun leads Urban.Us, the venture fund for startups that make cities better. Shaun is an entrepreneur, angel investor and author. He helped build govWorks, Starmedia and MediaSentry. He’s funded companies like ZocDoc, Refinery29 and Skycatch in the US, EU and Latin America. Shaun went MIT, where he studied Computer Aided Design and also the Berlin School of Creative Leadership where he wrote his thesis that became Crowdstorm, his first book. Shaun lives in Miami with his wife and artist Andrea Nhuch and two kids, Max & Oli. If he is not with his family, he is probably working, but you may find him Onewheeling, swimming or voiding a warranty.

Muneeb Ali

Co-Founder Blockstack

Biography

Muneeb is a co-founder of Blockstack, a new decentralized internet where users own their data. Muneeb received his Masters in Computer Science from Princeton University and did PhD-level research in distributed systems at Princeton working in the systems group and at PlanetLab—the world’s first and largest cloud computing testbed. Muneeb was awarded a J. William Fulbright Fellowship and a Princeton Graduate Fellowship and gives guest lectures on cloud computing at Princeton. He has built a wide range of production systems and published research papers with over 900 citations.

Her Excellency Dr. Aisha Butti Bin Bishr

Director General Smart Dubai

Biography

H.E Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr is the Director General of the Smart Dubai Office, the government entity charged with overseeing Dubai’s citywide smart transformation, engaging with leadership in the public and private sector to make Dubai a global benchmark smart city.

Ralph Clark

President and CEO SST, Inc.

Biography

Ralph Clark is president and CEO of SST, Inc., the world’s only wide area acoustic gunshot detection and surveillance solution, which is deployed and used to combat gun violence in over 90 cities. A veteran of numerous successful technology startups, he brings 30 years of extensive corporate, financial and organizational leadership to his role as an entrepreneurial CEO. Before joining SST, Inc., Clark was CEO of GuardianEdge Technologies Inc., where he led the transformation of the company into a leader in endpoint data protection and was instrumental in its acquisition by Symantec.

Prior to GuardianEdge, Clark served as vice president of finance for Adaptec through its acquisition of Snap Appliance, which he helped engineer as Snap Appliance’s chief financial officer. While at Adaptec, he was responsible for worldwide financial planning and analysis.

Early in his career, Clark held executive sales and marketing roles at IBM. Post-business school, he was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, where he was instrumental in many successful technology transactions.

He is a member of the board of directors for Tactical Survey Group and is Chairman of the Board of Pacific Community Ventures. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of the Pacific and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.

Scott Corwin

Managing Director Future of Mobility Leader Deloitte Consulting

Biography

Scott L. Corwin is a Managing Director in Deloitte Consulting’s Strategy and Business Transformation Practice based in New York.

Over the past three decades, he has helped senior leaders address disruptive change in their industries and markets. He works with clients across a wide range of industries including automotive, technology, industrials, media, consumer products, retail, healthcare, telecom, public sector, not-for-profits.

Scott leads Deloitte’s Future of Mobility Practice. He and his team work closely with leaders in business, government and local communities to shape the emergence of the future mobility ecosystem.

Under his leadership, Deloitte’s FOM Practice has been systematically studying and analyzing how a series of converging forces are giving rise to the emergence of a new mobility ecosystem. He is the lead author of “The Future of Mobility – How transportation technology and social trends are creating a new business ecosystem” and ”The Future of Mobility: What’s Next?”.

Scott has worked extensively with the public and private sector on economic development and innovation. Noteworthy efforts include:
• Leading the Partnership for NYC’s study to evaluate the economic impact of the September 11th tragedy and which formed the basis for determining level of federal aid provided
• Advising the Board of the NY Public Library on developing a strategy to determine the role of a pre-eminent global library in the digital age
• Serving as an Advisor to the Skolkovo Economic Innovation Zone in Moscow

Scott has a BA in Politics from Brandeis University and an MBA in Finance and International Business from New York University Stern School of Business. Prior to joining Deloitte, Scott was a Partner at Booz & Company/Booz Allen Hamilton, Vice President with A.T. Kearney, and a Vice President with Caliper Corporation

Mark Dowd

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Senior Advisor to the Secretary U.S. Department of Transportation

Biography

Before joining the White House, Mark was a senior member of President Obama’s Auto Task Force where he worked on the historic restructuring of General Motors and Chrysler from 2009 to 2011. He received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Gold Medal as well as awards from the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office (Southern District) for his work on the bankruptcies.

More recently, Mark served as a Senior Advisor to both the White House Council on Environmental Quality in 2012 and the Hurricane Sandy Task Force in 2013, and a director and assistant general counsel at the Association of Global Automakers from June 2013 to June 2015 where he worked on policy development for advanced vehicle technologies. Mark practiced law for thirteen years in New York City at the law firm of Schulte Roth & Zabel, specializing in transactions, restructuring, litigation, and regulatory matters as they relate to environmental and energy issues. Mark attended Rutgers College and Seton Hall University School of Law.

Rich Kassel

Executive Vice President Capalino+Company

Biography

Rich directs Capalino+Company’s Energy, Environment and Sustainability practice group, advising businesses and not-for-profit clients on a wide range of issues to help them thrive in the New York market.

Prior to joining Capalino+Company, Rich Kassel spent more than two decades working on a wide range of air, energy, climate, land use, parks, and transportation policies and projects at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and directed the New York office of Gladstein, Neandross & Associates, a leading environmental consulting firm.

In those roles, Rich created NRDC’s “Dump Dirty Diesels” Campaign, which resulted in the clean-up of New York City’s transit buses and new federal programs to reduce diesel emissions by more than 90 percent, worked closely with the Bloomberg and de Blasio administrations on the transportation components of their PlaNYC and OneNYC programs, played a major role in the creation of the Hudson River Park, and co-founded an international organization that led the successful campaign to eliminate leaded gasoline worldwide.

Rich serves as co-chair of the NY chapter of Environmental Entrepreneurs and EPA’s Mobile Sources Technical Review Subcommittee where he advises the EPA on transportation and air quality issues.

Joshua Kauffman

Founder and General Partner Wisdom VC

Biography

Joshua Kauffman is a globally-active designer, futurist and venture capital investor with a lifelong passion for cities and technology.

Joshua studied and instructed in urbanism at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He’s initiated numerous city design projects, ranging from transportation in Kenya to water infrastructure in India and urban migration in China. He’s an advisor to DesignX, MIT’s new design accelerator for the advancement of physical space and city design.

As a founder of Wisdom.vc, Joshua aims to invest in and propel entrepreneurs who share the vision that cities are increasingly vital sources of creativity, community, and new models of economic and social exchange.

Currently captivated by African Urbanism, Joshua was born in Toronto and lives in San Francisco.

Rasmia Kirmani-Frye

Director, Office of Public/Private Partnerships New York City Housing Authority

Biography

Rasmia Kirmani-Frye was appointed Director, Office of Public/Private Partnerships, for the New York City Housing Authority in March 2015. She develops and manages NYCHA’s strategic relationships with external entities including not-for-profit organizations, philanthropic investors and private sector partners. Ms. Kirmani-Frye is also the founding President of the Fund for Public Housing, a new 501(c)(3) organization that serves NYCHA residents and their communities.

Prior to joining NYCHA and the Fund for Public Housing, Ms. Kirmani-Frye served as Director of The Brownsville Partnership, an initiative of the national not-for-profit organization Community Solutions. A founding member of The Brownsville Partnership, Ms. Kirmani-Frye spearheaded the effort to build this collective impact neighborhood network of 31 organizations by working together with community residents, many of whom live in public housing. Ms. Kirmani-Frye launched a multi-sector employment effort in Brownsville, bringing together funders, residents, government, and non-profit organizations all working toward the same goal to employ Brownsville residents and build economic sustainability.

Ms. Kirmani-Frye has also served as the Director of Community-Based Policy at the Full Frame Initiative, a start-up non-profit organization which finds and partners with innovative people, organizations, and allies committed to excellent, accountable, place-based work in marginalized communities.

Prior to the Brownsville Partnership, Ms. Kirmani-Frye worked as a community organizing and strategic planning consultant for non-profit organizations and agencies throughout New York City. She also served as Brooklyn Outreach Coordinator at Partnership for Parks. She launched her career at the Times Square Business Improvement District under the direction of Gretchen Dykstra.

A recognized leader in the field of collective impact and community building, Ms. Kirmani-Frye is a frequent speaker on those topics throughout the country. She earned a Master of Science degree in Urban and Public Policy from The New School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies from the College of Wooster in Ohio. Ms. Kirmani-Frye is currently a PhD candidate in Urban and Public Policy at The New School, where she has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses.

Married to a life-long Brooklyn resident, and a 20-year resident of Brooklyn herself, Ms. Kirmani-Frye continues to live in Brooklyn with her husband and son.

Rob Meikle

Chief Information Officer City of Toronto

Biography

Rob Meikle is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the City of Toronto. In his role as CIO, Rob provides visionary leadership for the delivery of flexible and integrated information and communication technology solutions that enable and drive Service Excellence.

Rob is a strategic business leader who is innovative and results driven with a proven track record of 20+ years experience planning, developing, and implementing award winning global business and technology solutions in the private, public and not for profit sector. He has received globally recognition for his visionary leadership and ability to maximize the potential of teams to achieve transformational results.

Rob became the first Canadian municipal CIO to be named on the prestigious global CIO 100 honoree list. In addition, he has received the Global Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leadership Award and the National Government (GTEC) Next Generation Leadership Award.

Prior to the City of Toronto Rob was the Chief Information Officer at the City of Brampton and has held various leadership roles in the private sector including Global Operations, Customer Service, Marketing, eBusiness and Information Technology.

Rob is a graduate of the University of Waterloo and holds an Honours BMath in Computer Science & Business Administration. He holds a Masters Certificate – IT Executive Leadership Development from Ryerson University.

Mark Price

Vice Chairman US Public Sector Leader

Principal and OwnerDeloitte Consulting LLP

Biography

Mark is a Vice Chairman of Deloitte and leader of our US Public Sector practice across our four businesses – Consulting, Advisory, Tax and Audit. He also leads our smart cities initiative, coordinating across our industry sectors including public sector, telecom, automotive, technology and energy. Mark has lived and worked in North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe and has more than 25 years’ experience leading strategy, operations and technology transformation programs for government, healthcare and higher education clients.

Mark has worked across healthcare, human services, transportation, motor vehicles, energy, resources, finance, administration, technology, digital government and other program areas. Mark has also led major transformation projects for some of the leading higher education institutions in the US.

Prior to joining Deloitte, Mark served as Head of Strategy and Business Planning for the University Hospital of Wales, one of the largest healthcare providers in the UK, where he worked directly with the CEO and Board. Previously, Mark served as consultant with a boutique strategy firm in the UK where he conducted international strategic planning engagements.

Mark oversees Deloitte’s public sector research programs and publications and has been called upon to speak on the topic of transformation in government, healthcare and higher education across the US and overseas. Mark holds a degree in Business Economics from the University of Wales, UK.

Spencer Reeder

Senior Program Officer, Climate and Energy Vulcan, Inc.

Biography

Spencer Reeder leads Vulcan’s climate and energy work within its philanthropy group. Spencer’s career spans over two decades of academic, government, and private-sector work in domestic and international science, technology, and related policy, including leading USAID’s climate work in Vietnam under the agency’s Climate Change Resilience Development program. Spencer served as a climate policy strategist within Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire’s administration and prior to that conducted geophysical field research in Central Asia, South America, and Antarctica. Spencer is a lead author for the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the 2014 National Climate Assessment and earned an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington. He was twice selected as a finalist for NASA’s astronaut program.