With 25 years economic development experience across the public and private sectors, my role as Chief Officer of Scotland's Towns Partnership is to drive sustainable change through collaboration and partnership. Towns are clearly back on the political agenda and our work in helping to deliver the Town Centre Action Plan has delivered a step change in thinking and tangible progress. I am also the National Programme Director for Scotland’s Improvement Districts, I lead the Scotland Loves Local Programme and sit as a Director on both the UK High Streets Task Force and the Transforming Towns Board in Wales.

Despite the numerous factors and pressures impacting our towns I believe that empowered communities and businesses can be energised to ensure that Scotland's towns remain vibrant and continue to play a vital role in our nation's future.

Wendy Steele is an A/Professor in Sustainability and Urban Planning in the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT University, Melbourne. She is the author of Planning Wild Cities: Human-nature relationships in the urban age (Routledge, 2020), Quiet Activism: Climate Action at the Local Scale (Palgrave, 2021) and The Sustainable Development Goals and Higher Education: A Transformative Agenda? (Palgrave, 2021).

Madhu Dutta Koehler is an MIT educated dreamer, designer, dancer, and entrepreneur. Dr. Dutta-Koehler has been a professor of architecture and planning for over two decades and recently founded The Greener Health Benefit Corporation. She is an award winning practitioner and has lectured worldwide on issues where human development and climate change collide. Her mission is to make the world a better place by creating people, plant, and planet-friendly greenprints, policies, and movements, for equitable, green, and healthy environments.

For more information, please visit madhudutta.com

Mayor Mitchell has served on Whitby Council for over twenty six years, twelve as a local councillor, eight as a Regional Councillor and is in his seventh year as Mayor.

Born and raised in Brooklin, Don attended Meadowcrest Public School and Anderson Collegiate before obtaining an Honours B.A. from Trent University and a law degree from Queen’s University. He practised law for seven years before taking over the family lumber business in Brooklin. Don has been married to Liz for 44 years, and they are the proud parents of Julia and Chris, and grandparents of Oliver and Lucy.

Mayor Mitchell’s focus has always been on building a safe and complete town with strong, walkable downtowns and maintaining the high quality of life enjoyed by Whitby residents.

Don has always been involved in local sports. He coached minor hockey, lacrosse and ringette. He was inducted into the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame with the 1970 B & R Transporters Junior B lacrosse team. He is a member of the Whitby Curling Club and the Whitby Men’s Hockey League.

Locally, Mayor Mitchell has served on various boards and committees, including:

- Chair of the Planning, Operations and Budget committees

- Whitby Public Library Board, Accessibility Advisory Committee and the Active Transportation and Safe Roads Advisory Committee and Groveside Cemetery Board.

At the Region, Mayor Mitchell’s involvement includes:

- Chair of Works Committee from 2018 to present

- Chair of Finance & Administration from 2010 to 2014

- Durham Region Roundtable on Climate Change from 2009 to 2018

- Chair from 2009 to 2014.

- Durham Region Transit Executive from 2007 to 2019

- Durham Non Profit Housing from 2018 to present

Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority (CLOCA), Chair from 2014 to 2018

Elexicon Energy Corporation Board of Directors

Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM)

 Auto Mayors Group

Lauren Rickards is a Professor in the Centre for Urban Research at RMIT University, Melbourne. A human geographer by training, Lauren is Director of the Urban Futures Enabling Capability Platform at RMIT, and co-leader of the Climate Change Transformations research program. Lauren’s research examines the complexities of society’s climate change responses and she is a Lead Author with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.

Hugh Bartling is an Associate Professor of Public Policy Studies at DePaul University, Chicago Illinois (USA). His research is focused on environmental and urban policy.

“I am particularly interested in the ways in which local governments are managing the transition to a low-carbon economy and adapting to changing climate conditions.”

Paul Zimmerman is an elected councillor, representing the Pok Fu Lam constituency in Hong Kong, and CEO of Designing Hong Kong, a not-for-profit organization devoted to promoting sustainability, quality of life and good design as core values in planning, development and governance. Its aim is to improve Hong Kong’s collective ability to plan and deliver a ‘beautiful’ city. It promotes collaborations on interventions wherever it sees bad planning and wherever it sees that policies or institutions are not working the way they should. Designing Hong Kong is a member of the World Urban Campaign by UN-Habitat.

Designing Hong Kong Projects include “Drink Without Waste””; “Walking With Wheels”, “Designing Hong Kong Harbour District”; “Save Our Country Parks”; and many others. For more information, see www.designinghongkong.com, www.paulzimmerman.hk, www.countryparks.hk; www.drinkwithoutwaste.org

Born in the Netherlands, Paul arrived in Hong Kong in 1984. He has a Masters in Social Science (Economics) from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and a Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning from The University of Hong Kong. Prior to his public work, he built and sold a successful graphic design company and was the Executive Director of MF Jebsen International with responsibility for travel and automotive businesses. Paul was awarded an Honorary Membership of the American Institute of Architects (HK) for his role in improving the harbourfront of Victoria Harbour.

As a pioneer Catherine has broken through a number of glass ceilings – initially a woman in information technology, an entrepreneur co-founding three businesses and sitting at boardroom tables as a consultant and adviser.  Her leadership, strategic thinking and execution intent is what helps those she works with to implement desired actions. 

Today Catherine’s focus is community and non-profit work in the South Georgian Bay region. She is a co-founder and member of the leadership team for Collingwood Climate Action Team and 100 Women Who Care South Georgian Triangle and a chair of the Sustainable Future Design Team for the Institute of South Georgian Bay. 

Catherine is an avid outdoors person with a high degree of risk and adventurist spirit – both on land and water. Some of her best ideas have come through experiences in nature and she brings that element of open thinking to everything she does.