People

Ryan Klem serves as Director of Programs and Partnerships at the Toyota Mobility Foundation, which was established in 2014 to advance the freedom of mobility for more people everywhere. He also serves a concurrent role as an executive in Toyota Motor North America’s Social Innovation group. The two roles focus on system level mobility as…

Clement Lau, AICP, has 20 years of professional experience in urban and regional planning. Currently, Dr. Lau is a Departmental Facilities Planner with the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation where he works on a variety of park planning projects. He enjoys writing about a wide range of planning issues and is on…

Will Straw is James McGill Professor of Urban Media Studies at McGill University Montreal. He is the author of Cyanide and Sin: Visualizing Crime in 50s America (Andrew Roth Gallery, 2006) and co-editor of several volumes including Circulation and the City: Essays on Urban Culture (with Alexandra Boutros) and Formes Urbaines (with Anouk Bélanger and…

Elise Thorburn is a researcher with Memorial University’s On the Move Partnership, a multi-sector research program examining employment-related geographical mobility in Canada and beyond. Her own work on this project involved interviewing workers and union leaders on the challenges low waged workers with extended commutes through the city face, especially those whose shift schedules are…

Shawn Townsend was most recently appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser as the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife and Culture in Washington, D.C. Mr. Townsend most recently served as a Supervisory Investigator at the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA), in Washington D.C., where he led a team of six investigators. He has extensive knowledge…

Born in 1976, France. Gaël Charbau is a writer, art critic and independent curator based in Paris. He founded Particules in 2003, a free and independent art newspaper that he directed until 2010. He is curator for Hermès Foundation and Audi Talents and regularly organises exhibitions in France, Europe and Asia. In 2014, he founded…

In her role, Salomé manages NewCities’ initiatives from ideation to completion and supports business development efforts to get projects off the ground. Salomé currently leads the Connected Communities and New Urban Champions projects. She is experienced in virtual and in-person workshop facilitation, managed the 2021 Wellbeing Cities Award, and played a key role in both…

Andrew Snowhite focuses on the intersection of urbanization, sustainability, experiences, and storytelling. Through his firm, Snowhite Strategies, and as a Senior Advisor to NewCities, he provides strategic advice, connections, and management services globally to a variety of organizations and initiatives. Andrew was the Chief Innovation Officer at Gale International, the master developer of the Korean…

LoriAnn Girvan joined Artscape in 2016. LoriAnn is an entrepreneurial leader with over 25 years of experience in urban revitalization, affordable housing, community planning and non-profit management in Canada, the United States and Africa. She is known as a problem-solver and bridge-builder, able to test new practices, bring together diverse stakeholders, and scale and sustain…

Expertise: Climate, energy and transport, eco-citizenship, public policies; chair of the board of directors of the Climate Reality Project Canada, an organization founded by Al Gore. Credentials: Bachelor’s degree in political science, master’s degree in international relations Passions: Politics, writing, biking, hockey and building big Lego creations!

Stéphane Guidoin is Director of the Montreal urban innovation lab (MUIL); Since June 2017, he has been working on the transformation of the smart and digital city office into the urban innovation lab. He has piloted major projects, including the candidacy of the City of Montréal to the Smart Cities Challenge of Canada, which the…