Using Imagine Boston 2030 as a framework, panelists from the planning, design, and development community address how parts of the city’s vision for the future can be achieved using more inclusive and equitable practices to shape the built environment. Designers and developers are playing a significant role in shaping the future of Boston, and who gets a seat at the table impacts more than just how our city looks. We have the chance to play a key role in improving the economic opportunity for all residents, attracting and retaining a more diverse workforce, and creating a stronger, more inclusive future for Boston. Presented by the Boston Society of Architects/AIA (BSA) and DREAM Collaborative.
Natalia Urtubey is the executive director of Imagine Boston 2030, the city's first group in 50 years dedicated to comprehensive urban planning. "Imagine Boston 2030 will guide positive physical change while promoting shared prosperity, coordinated public investments, and a healthy environment and population."
Gregory Minott is originally from Mandeville, Jamaica. He moved to the U.S. in 1999 and earned dual Master’s degrees in Architecture and Infrastructure Planning at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Prior to founding DREAM Collaborative, Gregory was project architect for a number of award-winning building and urban renewal projects while working at the Boston-based firm Elkus Manfredi Architects.
Kenneth Turner has worked for Hasbro, Inc., Hallmark Cards, Inc., and was a Senior Vice President of AOL Time Warner. Most recently he was the Commonwealth’s Deputy Secretary for Administration & Finance for the Department of Veterans’ Services. He currently serves as the Director of Diversity & Inclusion at the Massachusetts Port Authority.
Kathy MacNeil is a principal at MDA Partners LLC, a joint venture of Boston-based MDA Partners and Millennium Partners of New York. She is also a real estate development manager of several complex urban projects in Boston, including the redevelopment of the Filene’s department store into a 1.4 million square foot mixed use, office, retail and luxury condominium tower called Millennium Tower/ Burnham Building.
Richard Taylor currently serves as chairman of the Taylor-Smith Companies, where he manages multiple real estate business entities. He has development experience in the residential, retail, and commercial sectors of the real estate industry, and is the former vice president of development at FMR Properties Inc., where he helped convert the old Commonwealth Pier in Boston Harbor into Boston’s World Trade Center.
Andrew Tarsy is the principal and founder of Emblem Strategic, a company that works with business leaders on strategy, public affairs, leadership development, executive coaching, and relationship engineering.