Jeff Speck is a city planner and urban designer who advocates internationally for more walkable cities.
As Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 through 2007, he presided over the Mayors' Institute on City Design and created the Governors' Institute on Community Design. Prior to his federal appointment, Mr. Speck spent ten years as Director of Town Planning at DPZ & Co., the principal firm behind the New Urbanism movement. Since 2007, he has led Speck & Associates, an award winning private design consultancy serving public officials and the real estate industry.
Jay Salinas; Wormfarm Institute
Dedicated to integrating culture and agriculture, the Wormfarm Institute is an evolving laboratory of the arts and ecology and fertile ground for creative work. With the mission to integrate culture and agriculture, Wormfarm’s work brings together farming, conservation, and the arts to rekindle cultural expression and enhance the economic possibilities of our region while celebrating its unique natural and human history.
Wormfarm expands the concept of sustainable agriculture which reconnects consumers with the source of their food—by connecting urban and rural, people and land, culture and agriculture. It extends the notion of sustainability to include not just nourishment to live, but a vibrant, creative community in which to thrive.
Dennis Fraise and Jason Hutcheson
Develop This! podcast is published weekly and explores topics related to transformational community leadership including economic development, non-profit engagement, organizational management, and policy development. It is a candid conversation with veterans of the economic development profession along with inspiring interviews of today’s thought leaders.
Dennis is a progressive, yet seasoned economic development professional with an eclectic background as a small business owner, public speaker, and a perpetually optimistic big idea guy. He’s led not one, but two economic development organizations in setting Guinness World Records. A self-proclaimed meeting snob, Dennis is always willing to challenge the business as usual, status quo approach to getting things done.
Jason is a veteran of the economic development industry and holds the official CEcD designation to prove it. He had the great fortune to serve as the President/CEO of the Greater Burlington Partnership where he was been part of the transformation of this Midwestern, industrial river town into one of Site Selection Magazine’s Top Micropolitans for economic development deal flow.
Stephen Goldsmith is an artist and founder of Artspace Utah, a non-profit organization developing affordable live/workspace for artists and other creators, and incubator space for non-profit agencies. He has also served as the executive director of the Center for the Living City, non-profit organization that inspires civic engagement and leadership, invites creative urban solutions, and expands our understanding of the ecology of cities.