Charles Waldheim is Professor and Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Waldheim’s research focuses on landscape architecture in relation to contemporary urbanism. He coined the term "landscape urbanism" to describe emerging landscape design practices in the context of North American urbanism. He has written extensively on the topic and edited The Landscape Urbanism Reader. Citing the city of Detroit as the most legible example of urban industrial economy in North America, Waldheim is editor of CASE: Lafayette Park Detroit and co-editor, with Jason Young and Georgia Daskalakis, of Stalking Detroit. On the history and future of Chicago urbanism, he is author of Constructed Ground and co-editor, with Katerina Ruedi Ray, of Chicago Architecture and Urbanism: Histories, Revisions, Alternatives. He is currently writing the first book-length history of Chicago’s OHare International Airport, entitled Chicago O’Hare: A Natural and Cultural History. His writing has also appeared in Landscape Journal, Topos, Log, Praxis, 306090, Canadian Architect, Dimensions, and Landscape Architecture Magazine. Waldheim was formerly Director of the Landscape Architecture program at the University of Toronto. He has lectured on landscape and contemporary urbanism across North America, Europe, and Australasia. He has taught as a visiting faculty member at Harvard University, the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania, and Rice University, is an honorary member of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, and in 2006 was recipient of the Rome Prize Fellowship in Landscape Architecture at the American Academy in Rome.

Lyn Menne is the director of Community and Economic Development for the City of Decatur, a position she has held since the early 1980’s. She is president of the Georgia Downtown Association and a member of the Dekalb Historical Society Board of Trustees, the Decatur Business Association Board, the Oakhurst Community Garden Advisory Board, and North Decatur Presbyterian Church. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in American Studies from Queens College in Charlotte, NC and a masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Georgia. Her husband is Doug Menne, and they have two children, Logan Menne, who will graduate from high school in 2003, and Grayson Menne, who currently attends Decatur High School. They have lived in Decatur since 1989.

Michael Paris, a Cobb County native, took the Council helm in late 2003, and over the past nine years has worked to expand the Council and to spread its mission of promoting balanced and responsible growth throughout the metro region and the state. The Council delivers its mission and works to influence policy on critical growth issues through the platforms of Advocacy, Information and Education by working closely with elected officials and staff at all levels of local, state and federal government With a degree in real estate from Georgia State University, Michael has more than 30 years of experience in real estate development, brokerage, land-use planning and association management. Michael currently serves as volunteer Vice Chair of the Metro Atlanta Voter Education Network (MAVEN) which works to educate voters on the 2012 Regional Transportation Referendum. He served for a number of years on the Cobb County Planning Commission and the Cobb County Board of Zoning Appeals. Michael is involved in numerous community and professional activities. His affiliations include the Board of Directors for YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta, the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, the Urban Land Institute, an Association Member of the Board at the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, and a graduate of both Leadership Cobb and Regional Leadership Institute. Michael and his wife Kim live in Marietta, Georgia and have two grown children.

Each and every day Kim White helps ensure downtown Chattanooga remains a vibrant and attractive centerpiece of economic, social and cultural growth for the entire region. As president and CEO of River City Company, she guides this private non-profit’s focus on not only downtown development, but also, attracting jobs, growing the residential population and cultivating retail investment; better connecting UTC with downtown; and making downtown more accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Serving River City Company since July of 2009, White is a Chattanooga native with a long history of working hard to perpetuate development in her hometown. Prior to joining River City, White served as President and CEO of Luken Holdings, Inc., where she oversaw lease negotiations, property management and maintenance of over 2 million square feet of commercial real estate throughout the Chattanooga area. White serves on the boards of Erlanger Hospital, Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, UC Foundation, UT Foundation and the Downtown Rotary Club, and is a past president of the UTC Alumni Board. In 2008, White was recognized by the American Lung Association as a Woman of Distinction. A consummate cheerleader for our fine city, White is a proud graduate of Chattanooga’s Hixson High School and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. As head of downtown Chattanooga’s economic development company, White leads the charge for positive and sustainable economic growth. For more than 25 years, River City Company has played an integral role in the revitalization of downtown Chattanooga. Through partnerships with local government and the private and philanthropic sectors, the organization works to attract, expand, and support efforts to advance downtown because it is essential to the way our entire region works, lives and plays

Bryan is a professional engineer who started working at Gwinnett County in 1995 after graduating from the University of Georgia. He started as a stormwater and drainage engineer and by 2005 had become the division director of stormwater management where he helped develop and implement the current stormwater utility. He moved to Planning and Development as Deputy Director in 2007. Bryan earned a master's degree in public administration in 2005 from North Georgia State College and University. Bryan and his wife have two sons and live in the Dacula area.

Nathan’s expertise is land development: management, design generation, project build-out, phasing, marketing, sales, green building. He is a licensed attorney, real estate broker, accomplished speaker, and advocate for great placemaking. He works with communities on how to leverage their K-12 assets by integrating Smart Growth principles into the school planning, design and management process. A F F I L I A T IONS Congress of the New Urbanism – speaker; New Partners for Smart Growth – speaker; SmartCode Workshop – speaker; Smart Growth Schools Re¬port Card – author; Smart Growth Schools listserv – moderator; New Urban Guild – cofounder; Alabama Bar Association; Alabama Association of Realtors; New Urban Appraisal System – spearheaded creation.

Experience/Skills • Yvonne Williams has an exceptional record of successes in building public/private partnerships to expand financial resources and implement projects that have produced positive changes for communities. A visionary with extensive knowledge about Georgia and economic development, she has a particular talent for grasping a project or issue and finding solutions. • During the past 25 years, as a chief executive, she has helped mold downtown revitalization, industrial development and comprehensive economic development strategy and advocacy in various capacities with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, the Madison-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce, the Americus-Sumter County Chamber of Commerce, the Bristol Tennessee/Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. • Most recently, Williams has been the catalyst in the forming business/government partnerships to leverage $500 million in the next five years in major transportation and infrastructure improvements in metro Atlanta's important Perimeter area - one of the largest Class A office markets in the Southern United States. Williams was selected president of the newly formed DeKalb Perimeter Community Improvement District in 1999. She was appointed president of the joint DeKalb/Fulon PCIDs, which she helped organize, in 2001. • Through Williams' leadership, this precedent-setting collaborative of the largest urban communities in Georgia is spearheading projects such as the following: o $20 million in intersection and streetscape improvements to improve traffic flow, pedestrian accessibility and attractiveness o $6.5 million in Livable Centers Initiative grants from the Atlanta Regional Commission to help create "smart growth" live, work, and play centers o Accelerated construction of a $35 million Perimeter Center Parkway Flyover Bridge over I-285 to provide alternative access to commuters, residents and shoppers Recent Appointments • Governor Perdue's Congestion Mitigation Task Force • Regional Atlanta Civic League • Northside Hospital Foundation • Board member, Georgia Chamber of Commerce • Board member, Georgians for Better Transportation Education Williams has a Bachelor's degree in public relations from the University of Georgia. She is a six-year Graduate of the Institute for Organization Management, a graduate of the Economic Development Institute of the University of Oklahoma and was among 120 non-profit executives from throughout the county selected to participate in the Harvard Business School's Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management Program during the summer of 2006. Awards • While Cobb Chamber President and CEO, received the "Georgia Chamber of Commerce Certified Executive Award" from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Executives Association. • A nominee for the Atlanta Woman Magazine Woman of the Year Award for 2006 • Woman of the Year in 2005 by the Women in Transportation Seminar Atlanta chapter • Who's Who in American Business Executives and International Executives.

The City Administrator, under the direction of the Mayor and City Council, serves as the Administrative Head of the City government and manages the day-to-day operations of the City. Eric Taylor brings 15 years of combined business development, customer service and government experience, in addition to more than three years of City of Smyrna institutional knowledge to the position. The City Administrator is charged with updating Mayor and Council on City business and makes policy recommendations as well as serves as appointing authority, studies and acts on complaints and is charged with presenting a balanced annual budget to Mayor and Council for approval. The City Administrator also manages department heads for the following areas of operation: Community Development, Community Relations, Finance, Fire, Human Resources, Information Systems, Keep Smyrna Beautiful, Library, Parks and Recreation, Police and Public Works/Engineering. Taylor has served in interim positions of Director for both the Community Development and Human Resources departments with the City of Smyrna in addition to serving as Interim City Administrator all during his time as Assistant City Administrator, working alongside all department heads. He has assisted with efficiency and development projects for the City of Smyrna as well as played a role in strategic operations and budget management initiatives which have supported the City of Smyrna through the recent national economic downtown. Following a Masters degree in Public Administration with a concentration in management and public finance from Georgia State University, Taylor has served in roles covering a range of experience in municipal operations and public administration, adding to prior service in analysis, sales strategy and marketing support roles which have included service with the City of Marietta, Avondale Estates and Decatur. Taylor obtained his bachelors from Earlham College in Richmond, IN in 1992 and is a member of Pi Alpha Alpha National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the Georgia City/County Management Association (GCCMA).

About Suwanee: The City of Suwanee, perhaps best known regionally for its award-winning parks and open spaces, is a progressive, friendly community with a reputation for offering an outstanding quality of life. But Suwanee is a healthy, vibrant “home” for businesses as well. More than 2,800 businesses (including insurance and home-based businesses) operate in the City of Suwanee, which is one of 14 municipalities in thriving Gwinnett County. More than 500 businesses have opened within the City in just the past two years. Suwanee’s business mix is diverse with a high-tech/distribution corridor; several attractive business parks; an emerging, thriving Town Center; other well-designed mixed-use areas with office and retail uses; and a redeveloping historic area. Some leading national firms with locations in the Suwanee area include Avon, Dish Network, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Mitsubishi Electric, and Southeastern Freight.