Dr. Bloom began his career as an economist before becoming an educator and administrator for the New York City public schools. He later joined Teachers College, Columbia University as a research director focused on urban education. He became an assistant commissioner at the New Jersey Department of Education in 1983 and changed statewide competency testing from basic to higher order skills; established the first statewide curriculum content standards; initiated statewide preschool programs;established over 20 model urban effective schools; and initiated the first high school academies for science and technology. In 1990, Dr. Bloom joined NJIT as a vice president before becoming founding dean of the Albert Dorman Honors College in 1998. He has been NJIT's president since 2011. During his tenure, Dr. Bloom has established NJIT as a Top 100 National University and among the top 2% out of more than 4,000 colleges and universities for alumni mid-career earnings; more than doubled enrollment; established a pre-college program to prepare underrepresented students for the STEM disciplines; led NJIT's rise to #1 nationally for student upward mobility; completed a $400 million campus transformation that added 1 million square feet of teaching and research facilities; grew annual research to more than $160 million, earning NJIT an R1 rating from the Carnegie Classification; created the New Jersey Innovation Institute, an NJIT corporation that partners with industry and government; and increased NJIT's annual economic impact on New Jersey to $2.8 billion.

A native of Newark, whose family has lived in the City for more than 80 years, Mayor Baraka’s progressive approach to governing has won him accolades from grassroots organizations to the White House. With a forward-thinking agenda that reduced crime to its lowest levels in five decades, addressed affordability while maintaining steady growth, lowered unemployment, and returned local control of schools after more than two decades, Baraka has defied expectations since taking office in 2014. Mayor Baraka’s futurist agenda includes the implementation of a groundbreaking partnership called Hire. Buy. Live. Newark, a program that marks the first time that any US city has sought to transform its economy by combining employment, procurement, and residential strategies. As part of his commitment to strengthen Newark’s position in the expanded technology space, the City launched LinkNWK (pronounced Link Newark). This communications network of sidewalk kiosks provides Newark residents and visitors with free, gigabit Wi-Fi, mobile device charging, phone calls to anywhere in the U.S., access to municipal services, maps and directions, and real-time local information on city streets at no cost to taxpayers or users. Mayor Baraka is also recognized nationally as a thought leader in the space of urban revitalization and his defiance of a hostile Presidential directive targeting the immigrant community with an executive order designating Newark as a sanctuary city solidified his status as one of the country’s most progressive elected officials.

Shirley Franklin was elected the first African American woman mayor of a major southern city in 2002 and served two-terms as Mayor of Atlanta until 2009. The mayor is term limited in Atlanta. Currently she serves as Executive Chairman of Purpose Built Communities, a non-profit consulting firm that works side-by-side with local leaders to plan and implement a holistic neighborhood revitalization effort. She currently serves as President of Clarke-Franklin and Associates, Inc. She co- chairs the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta's Regional Commission on Homelessness, serves as the Chair of the National Center of Civil and Human Rights and serves on the board of the Volcker Alliance and Purpose Built Schools Atlanta. Additionally, Franklin serves on the Board of Directors of Mueller Water Products and Delta Air Lines. During her eight years as Mayor, the city of Atlanta experienced unprecedented growth and afforded Franklin the opportunity to partner and collaborate with many local and regional leaders in addressing urban policy challenges, which included urban planning, economic development and infrastructure. She is best known for advocating for and tackling major government operations and ethics reform, launching the Atlanta Beltline, planning and executing over $5 billion in airport and water infrastructure improvement, leading the acquisition of the Morehouse College Collection of Martin Luther King Jr. Papers, launching the Atlanta Regional Commission on Homelessness and developing successful business and public sector partnerships and alliances. Aside from her role as a public official, her community service spans over 40 years in Atlanta and includes her active participation in the arts, homelessness, higher education and politics.

Ben DeCosta is a nationally recognized aviation industry leader and has more than 40 years of experience including 12 years as General Manager of Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and nearly five years as General Manager of Newark-Liberty International Airport (EWR). Ben currently serves as the principal of the DeCosta Consulting, LLC, a consulting firm serving the aviation industry. He previously served on the boards of directors for the two of the world's leading aviation organizations, Airports Council International, North America (ACI– NA) and ACI–World) and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE). He has earned the accredited airport executive designation from AAAE. He also has served as Vice Chair of ACI-NA World Business Partners Board and Vice Chair of the board of the Airports Consultants Council (ACC).He has also been an AMAC board member years ago. He is currently a member of the steering committee of AAAE’s Corporate Committee and the IAAE Board. Ben also serves on several aviation–focused corporate boards including Corsair portfolio company, Vantage Airport Group. Ben holds a BA in physics from Queens College and a Juris Doctor from New York Law School. He has served as an attorney and human resources manager for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as well as Chief of Staff in the New York City Human Resources Administration. Ben also attended Harvard Kennedy School program for state and local officials.

Dr. Catherine L. Ross is a Regents’ Professor and Harry West Professor of City and Regional Planning and Civil and Environmental Engineering and director of the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD) at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has published extensively and is an internationally known transportation and urban planner. Dr. Ross is one of the world’s experts on Megaregions and sustainability – bringing together regions and cities on transportation, water, energy, land development, and health creating places that compete in a global world. Her book, Megaregions and Global Competitiveness (2009), is a leading reference on these emerging geographies. Her extensive research on regional resilience and sustainability focuses on water resources management, energy, transportation, economic development, and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). She is a member of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), former Urban Land Institute Fellow, and past president of the National Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP). Dr. Ross has served on numerous committees including the National Academies Transportation Research Board Executive Committee, University Transportation Centers Program, and on the board of directors of the ENO Transportation Foundation. She served as Deputy Director of the National Center for Transportation Productivity and Management. Ross earned a Master’s Degree and a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University and completed post-doctorate work at the University of California, Berkeley. In July 2009, Dr. Ross was consulted in establishing the first-ever White House Office of Urban Affairs. She currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Auto Club Group (American Automobile Association (AAA).

Maurits Schaafsma has worked for Schiphol Airport for 22 years as an urban planner. He developed the concepts of the airport city and the airport corridor, integrating airport development spatially in the metropolitan region. He is now working for Haarlemmermeer municipality, where Schiphol Airport is located, and is responsible for the strategic urban planning.

Kjell Kloosterziel is the Director Schiphol International of the Royal Schiphol Group. As director Schiphol international he is responsible for the international participations and partnerships of the Royal Schiphol Group. Kjell Kloosterziel has been active in the aviation industry for over 20 years and has advised many international (hub) airports around the world on their strategic development plan and major expansion projects. He currently also holds positions as Non-Executive Director of Hobart International Airport in Australia and as Director of Schiphol North America Holding and Schiphol USA inc.

Bart van der Heijden is the Program Director of Metropolitan affairs of the city of Amsterdam (cluster) Department of Spatial and Economic affairs. He is responsible for coordination of the regional and national cooperation of the city of Amsterdam. Formerly he served as team manager for the Metropolitan area of Amsterdam at the Department of Urban Planning and Sustainability of the city of Amsterdam, as well as, the Senior urban planner and policy advisor of the city of Amsterdam. Bart also served as Senior policy advisor of the Regional Transport Authority of Amsterdam and Consultant at engineering company ARCADIS. Bart received his Master’s Degree at University of Amsterdam in Urban Planning. His areas of expertise include urban and regional spatial strategy, urban planning, development of infrastructure and mobility policy, Transit Oriented Development (TOD), spatial and sustainable development, housing development.

Rick Cotton became the Executive Director of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on August 14, 2017. Prior to joining the Port Authority, since January 2015, Mr. Cotton served as Governor Cuomo's Special Counsellor for Interagency Initiatives, serving as the point person within the Governor's office for most of the Governor's major downstate infrastructure priorities including LaGuardia and JFK Airports, the Moynihan Train Hall and Penn-Farley Complex, the new Tappan Zee Bridge, the expansion of the Javits Center, and the MTA's Second Avenue Subway project. Mr. Cotton joined the administration following 25 years at NBC Universal, where he held a number of positions beginning in 1989, including 20 years as EVP and General Counsel and four years in London as President and Managing Director of CNBC Europe. He also served as Executive Secretary to the Department at the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare under Secretary Joseph A. Califano, Jr. and Special Assistant for Renewable Energy to Deputy Secretary of Energy John Sawhill at the U.S. Department of Energy. Mr. Cotton received an A.B. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Yale Law School, and served as a law clerk to Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kevin J. O'Toole was nominated to the Board of Commissioners by Governor Chris Christie. He joined the Board on July 2, 2017. He was elected Chairman of the Board on August 3, 2017. As the founding and managing partner of O'Toole Scrivo, Kevin O'Toole's law practice encompasses toxic tort, environmental law, risk management, class actions, complex litigation, and corporate investigations. He is routinely called upon by Fortune 500 companies to obtain cost-effective, early resolution of complex matters and sought out to provide detailed analyses of sophisticated matters, evaluate case preparation, predict outcomes and assist in the development of strategic risk management planning. Kevin has served as both National Coordinating Counsel for corporate clients and operational leader of multi-jurisdictional litigation teams that have been responsible for trying dozens of high profile multi-million dollar matters. Mr. O'Toole earned his bachelor's degree in political science and public administration in 1986 from Seton Hall University and his juris doctorate in 1989 from Seton Hall University School of Law. Mr. O'Toole has had a long and distinguished career in public service at the local and state level in New Jersey. He served on the Cedar Grove Town Council from 1989 to 1996 and as Mayor in 1990, 1993 and 1995. He was first elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1995 and served until May 2001. He then served in the State Senate from May 2001 until January 2002. Kevin was elected again to the General Assembly in 2001 and re-elected twice. He was elected to the State Senate in 2007 and re-elected in 2011 and 2013. Kevin retired as a State Senator on July 1, 2017 to begin his term as a Commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. During his career as both a lawyer and legislator, Kevin has been named the 2015 NJ State Chamber of Commerce Legislator of the Year, Legislator of the Year by the New Jersey Police Benevolent Association, Trailblazer Award recipient by the Asian Pacific Lawyers Association of NJ, honored for Outstanding Contributions to Women and Families presented by Displaced Homemakers Network of NJ, the CLM Professionals of the Year Award Winner for Outside Counsel, and the Lipman-Franks Award winner for State Legislative Service presented by Legal Services of NJ. Kevin is also a Life Member of the Cedar Grove Fire Department, and National Committee Member for the Council on Litigation Management (CLM) and serves on their Product Liability Committee.

Piyushimita (Vonu) Thakuriah is Dean of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy in Rutgers University, Distinguished Professor of Transportation and Urban Informatics, and Director of the Rutger Urban and Civic Informatics Lab. Vonu’s research interests are on transportation planning and operations; big data and social and economic cyberinfrastructure; and smart cities and urban informatics. Vonu was previously the Ch2M Endowed Chair Professor of Transport in the University of Glasgow, UK, and (founding) director and PI of the Urban Big Data Centre, a multimillion-dollar consortium funded by UK Research and Innovation that was responsible for providing the UK’s urban big data infrastructure, through which she provided extensive support to higher education units and companies in the smart cities, smart mobility, digital health, and related innovation areas. Vonu has served as lead investigator for several national-scale studies within the US for Federal Transit Administration that were co-funded by Department of Labor, and Health and Human Services, on employment transportation, and job access transportation. She also led several regional and metropolitan-scale infrastructure projects for the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Illinois Department of Transportation and other agencies, including being a part of a team which forecasted enplanement demands for a third major airport in the Chicago area. Vonu is currently a member of the UK Office of National Statistics Data Science Advisory Board. She was recently a member of the European Commission/Eurostat’s New Techniques and Technologies for Statistics, a scientific collaborator for National ICT of Australia, and chair of the International Expert Committee for the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Smart Cities group. She has consulted on or otherwise collaborated on various transportation or data projects in Malaysia, China, India, Australia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and several European countries. She has published over 200 journal refereed articles and reports, and her research has been funded, primarily with her as the lead researcher by the world’s leading scientific research sponsors including the US National Science Foundation, European Commission, and UK Research and Innovation. She has delivered keynote addresses and plenaries in leading venues such as National Academy of Sciences, European Commission in Brussels and Luxembourg, Royal Academy of Engineering in London, Leibnitz Center for Informatics in Germany, and National Institute of Informatics in Japan. Vonu was previously a European Commission Marie Curie Fellow, and her postdoctoral work was funded by a fellowship program of the National Science Foundation’s Division of Mathematical Sciences.

Gill is an aviation veteran with 20 years of senior leadership experience in the industry and was appointed by the PANYNJ as the General Manager of Newark Liberty International Airport. Gill worked as a Director with the Business and Finance group at LeighFisher, advising aviation industry clients in fiscal planning and management for airports. At the Allegheny County Airport Authority (Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County Airport), he served in several leadership roles including Director of Finance, Executive Vice President & CFO, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer. He also served as CFO / Deputy Airport Director for Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority and President & CEO of Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Previously, Jim Gill was the president and CEO of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority in Grand Rapids, MI. In this role, he worked to build strategic relationships between the airport and partner organizations while attracting more customers through additional nonstop routes. He also oversaw the initial phase of a $45 million project to streamline security checkpoints, renovate a business center, and create a new post-security marketplace with a Starbucks and a new restaurant. Gill received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and an MBA from Duquesne University. He is an Accredited Airport Executive (A.A.E.), an International Airport Professional (AIP), and a Certified Public Accountant.

Allison Ladd was appointed as Director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Ms. Ladd brings a 20-year career in public service to the Mayor’s Office from the Washington, D.C., Department of Housing and Community Development, where she conducted high-level, strategic troubleshooting and problem solving as deputy director. In her most recent work, Ms. Ladd spearheaded operations of a 180-employee organization with a budget exceeding $300 million. She has led the development of new policies, programs and financing tools to preserve affordable housing, minimized foreclosures, assisted with the workforce purchasing of their first home, transformed vacant properties into vibrant assets, and created mixed income communities through inclusionary zoning.

Mr. Kelley manages economic affairs for the Governor's Office. In this role, he oversees major policy initiatives, manages large economic development projects, and works with the Governor on marketing the state to businesses around the world. Since joining the Murphy Administration, Mr. Kelley has served as the Governor’s point person for several critical issues, including the economic restart and recovery from Covid-19; the American Dream development; statewide transit oriented development; corporate relations; and foreign direct investment, including the Governor’s trips to Germany, Israel, and India, which have brought over 1200 jobs to NJ. Mr. Kelley was a Deputy Campaign Manager and Finance Director for the 'Murphy for Governor' campaign. He previously owned and operated a public affairs consultancy, working with U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, the 2012 Democratic Convention Host Committee, and NARAL Pro-Choice America, among others. In 2013, he was appointed by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer to midtown Manhattan’s Community Board, a volunteer body with oversight of zoning, land use, liquor licensing, and other economic development issues. Mr. Kelley grew up in Morristown, NJ, and is a graduate of Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.

Nat is State Programs and New Jersey Director at the Regional Plan Association. He is responsible for engaging stakeholders and building support for RPA programs to expand economic opportunity, improve infrastructure and adapt to climate change across the region, and leads RPA’s research, planning and advocacy activities in New Jersey. An expert in transit-oriented development particularly, and coordinated land use and transportation planning more generally, Nat has extensive experience building collaborative relationships to advance policies, plans, programs, and projects that strengthen communities and meet transportation performance tests at the same time. Prior to joining RPA, Nat led the opening of transportation planning firm Fehr & Peers’ East Coast office in Washington, DC; served as an Assistant General Manager at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in charge of planning, real estate, parking, and sustainability programs; and worked in the Secretary’s Office of the Maryland Department of Transportation. Nat has a master’s in public policy from the University of California at Berkeley and a bachelor’s in government from Harvard.

Mark, based in the New York area, has over 25 years’ management, planning, operations, and passenger experience including Director of Operational Planning and Manager of Corporate Planning at JetBlue, Associate and Senior Airport Planner at Arup, and Senior Manager of Airport Services at ICF/SH&E. His specialties include airport planning, aviation strategic planning, airport privatization, operational improvement, operational readiness, air service development, and enhancement of the passenger experience. Mark has completed consulting and management projects throughout the U.S. and on other continents, including aviation planning and strategy studies for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

Marilyn Taylor is Professor of Architecture & Urban Design, having recently completed eight successful years (2008 – 2016) as Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Design. Prior to her recruitment to Penn, she had served more than thirty years as partner, architect, urban designer, and partner at Skidmore Owings & Merrill, where she led the firm’s practices in airports, transportation, and urban design and was elected its first woman Chairman. She is internationally known for her role in the design of large-scale and award- winning urban projects and civic initiatives including Terminal 4 at JFK, Terminal 3 reconfiguration for Continental Airlines at EWR, Terminal 3 at Singapore Changi Airport, Sky City at Hong Kong International Airport, the Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station, and the Denver Union Station District. She is very active in civic leadership, having served as a member and Rockefeller Fellow of The Partnership for New York City, President of the American Institute of Architects (New York), Chairman of the New York Building Congress, founding member of the New York New Visions, Board member of the Regional Plan Association, and Global Chairman of the Urban Land Institute. She has received numerous awards and recognitions for her design and leadership, including selection as One of the 25 Most Powerful Women in New York. Taylor attended Harvard University, MIT, and the University of California, Berkeley where she received her Master of Architecture. She holds an honorary doctorate degree from Georgetown University.

Barbara Faga is a designer of award winning projects including: Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta; Parc Diagonal Mar, Barcelona; Carter Presidential Center, Atlanta; Wharf District Park of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, Boston; Porta Nuova, Milan; and the Atlanta BeltLine. Barbara joined EDAW (now AECOM) in 1980, chaired the board of directors from 1996 to 2005, and later served as AECOM executive vice president, Planning, Design + Development, North America. Barbara was named one of ten AECOM Fellows in 2011. She has conducted hundreds of public meetings, served as a board member, and chaired several environmental, professional, and retail associations. She authored Designing Public Consensus: The Civic Theater of Community Participation for Architects, Landscape Architects, Planners and Urban Designers (Wiley 2006), co-edited Planning Atlanta in 2014, and has contributed chapters to several planning books. Design Intelligence named her one of the top 15 women who are changing the world of architecture. Barbara received a distinguished alumni award in landscape architecture from Michigan State University, and her PhD from Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Faga teaches at Rutgers University.

Dr. Santasieri is an environmental planner, civil engineer, and social scientist with over 35 years of experience in the public and private sectors. She has successfully secured and managed hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for projects, programs, and research studies in the fields of environmental, infrastructure, and land use planning. She has extensive experience and expertise in the planning and design of sustainable and resilient properties, communities, and civil infrastructure systems; strategic planning; brownfields redevelopment; capital programming; community visioning for redevelopment; transit oriented development; port-city relationships; identifying and analyzing a project’s impacts on socio-economic, natural, and man-made settings; and educating elected officials, government staff, nonprofits, and communities on various urban, infrastructure, environmental, and regulatory topics.

Darius Sollohub AIA is an Associate Professor at the Hillier College of Architecture and Design at NJIT and has been affiliated with the university since 1995. From 2010–2015 he served as Director of its New Jersey School of Architecture, administering graduate and undergraduate programs in architecture and planning. Prior, Darius was Director and a founding member of the School’s Infrastructure Planning Program. He teaches and consults on architecture and planning topics at multiple scales, including civic architecture, infrastructure, resiliency, housing, transit-oriented development, parking, and earth art. His interest in design pedagogy is expressed in his book, Millennials in Architecture: Generations, Disruption and the Legacy of a Profession, published by the University of Texas Press in 2019. Darius has worked closely with many institutions and agencies including the National Endowment for the Arts, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and many New Jersey State agencies. Darius has been involved in the recovery planning for New Orleans and helped lead NJIT post-Sandy efforts. He has advised the Newark NJ administrations of Cory Booker and Ras Baraka on airport, housing, parking, and bus rapid transit policies. In 2010, he was awarded the NCARB Grand Prize for Creative Integration of Practice and Education in the Academy. Darius is a registered architect in New York and New Jersey.