Joseph is a founding principal at Dover, Kohl & Partners. Joe is recognized nationally as an innovator in urban design and graphic communication. He pioneered DK&P’s use of computer imaging simulations starting in 1987 and, for the last 30 years, has co-authored many of the firm’s form-based Codes. He was also one of the founders of the Form-based Codes Institute.

Arti Harchekar is an urban designer, trained architect, and relationship builder. As the founding principal of Joyful Urbanist, she advocates for a public realm that triggers joy and cumulatively happiness by way of physical placemaking. Her work spans sixteen years and ranges from the design of individual buildings to city-wide form-based codes. A quarter of her professional career has been in the public sector and the remainder in the private sector, working collaboratively with multi-disciplinary teams through solutions-oriented processes. She brings a place-based thinking to design, planning, and zoning, and works with clients to ensure the policies and strategies are capable of implementing the community’s vision.

Marina Khoury, RA, LEED, is an expert in sustainable urban redevelopment, regional and master planning, transit-oriented developments, and form-based codes. As a partner at DPZ CoDesign, Marina has worked on the design and implementation of projects around the globe, including ground-breaking new codes around the world that mandate resilient urbanism. She speaks globally on issues related to creating economically resilient, walkable communities.

Mark Gillem, PhD, RA, FAIA, FAICP, is both a licensed architect and a certified planner. Mark is the Principal of The Urban Collaborative LLC, an interdisciplinary planning and urban design firm that has prepared master plans and form-based codes for military bases in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He is also a Full Professor in the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Departments at the University of Oregon, where he is also the Director of the Urban Design Lab.

Hayley Spring, MPA, is based in Jacksonville, Florida, and currently serves as a policy coordinator for the Blue Zones Project Jacksonville. Using zoning code updates, demonstration projects, and capacity-building initiatives, Spring works with municipal leaders and community stakeholders to improve food access, mobility, and quality of life in Jacksonville’s neighborhoods. She was a member of the SGA ZEST Cohort in 2025.

M. Nolan Gray, AICP, is the senior director of legislation and research for California YIMBY and an expert in urban land-use regulation. He is the author of Arbitrary Lines: How Zoning Broke the American City and How to Fix It. Gray previously worked as a planner in New York City, where he worked on the front lines of zoning. He is a widely published author, with work appearing in outlets such as The Atlantic, Bloomberg CityLab, and The Guardian.

Jesse Kanson-Benanav is the Executive Director of Abundant Housing MA, where he oversees all aspects of the organization's mission to stand up for abundant housing for all in communities across Massachusetts. Jesse brings to this role nearly 20 years of experience in the affordable housing industry, where he's worked as a community organizer, policy consultant, and most recently as a developer of affordable homes at a number of nonprofits serving Massachusetts and New England.

Laura Foote became a housing activist in 2014, when she became one of the key founders of the YIMBY movement. As a Founder and the Executive Director of YIMBY Action, Laura has grown the organization into a thriving grassroots political organization with tens of thousands of activists. As of 2022, YIMBY Action has nearly 40 chapters in cities across the country. Laura is widely recognized as an authority on effective housing activism in the US. Her work building the YIMBY movement has been covered in Forbes, The San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, the book Golden Gates, and more.

Katharine Burgess is the Vice President of Programs and Operations at Smart Growth America, where she manages organizational administrative initiatives and oversees programmatic work, with a focus on housing, development, and climate. She brings SGA twenty years of experience in urban planning, research, and non-profit management, including work in the U.S., the UK, and Germany.