Summit Speakers Announced

This year's distinguished keynotes will bring regional and cross-sector collaboration issues to the forefront with cutting edge presentations on Thursday, May 15th.Shelley Poticha - Breakfast KeynoteShelley Poticha serves as the director of the Urban Solutions program, building the National Resources Defense Council’s work for better cities that support thriving people.  Urban Solutions brings the place-based work of NRDC together into a coordinated strategy and includes promoting transportation choices through mobility options, scaling up building energy efficiency, model green and equitable neighborhoods, sustainable food systems, green infrastructure and climate preparedness.  Urban Solutions is the culmination of NRDC’s thinking and work for sustainable communities since the organization adopted the area as an institutional priority.

Shelley is a longtime partner of NRDC in multiple initiatives including transportation policy reform, LEED-ND, and the creation of Smart Growth America.  Prior to joining NRDC, Shelley was a senior advisor and director of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.  Before joining HUD, she served as President and CEO of Reconnecting America, where she became a national leader for the reform of land use and transportation planning and policy with the goal of creating more sustainable and equitable development, particularly around transit stations.  And prior to that, she served as Executive Director of the Congress for the New Urbanism.Shelley holds a Master of City Planning from the University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Santa Cruz.  She works in NRDC’s Washington office.

Dr. David Rusk - Lunch KeynoteDavid Rusk combines strong analytical skills with practical political experience. He is a former federal Labor Department official, New Mexico legislator, and mayor of Albuquerque.Now a consultant on urban policy, Rusk has worked in over 120 US communities as well as in Canada, England, Germany, South Africa, and The Netherlands.The Congressional Quarterly called Rusk’s Cities without Suburbs (now in its fourth edition) “the Bible of the regionalism movement.” “A must read for all practicing local government officials, elected or appointed,” said the Government Finance Review of Inside Game/Outside Game.The founding president of Building One America, Rusk has a longstanding relationship with the Pittsburgh area.  He has consulted with the Heinz Foundation and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, served on the Board of Visitors of the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and is currently a member of its Center for Metropolitan Studies Advisory Committee.Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto to deliver welcoming remarks and participate in Mayor RoundtableWe are proud to announce a new addition to the 2014 Community Development Summit schedule—a Mayor Roundtable!  Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto will be joined by a couple of his regional counterparts and a renowned moderator to discuss the role of neighborhoods and government in creating the cities of tomorrow. The Roundtable will immediately follow the afternoon Keynote Address provided by Dr. David Rusk and will be the conclusion of the Summit.  Check our website, Facebook page, or follow us on Twitter (@PghCRG) at #cdsummit14 for updates on who will be joining us for this thought-provoking new feature of the Summit.For more information on PCRG's Community Development Summit, please contact PCRG's Neighborhood Policy Manager, Katie Hale, at khale@pcrg.org or (412) 391-6832 ext. 207.