The Planetary Health Cities initiative reimagines urban health through the lens of Planetary Health — where cities not only protect and promote the well-being of their residents but also safeguard the Earth’s natural systems and finite resources. This symposium will bring together diverse voices to advance this vital agenda, integrating innovative frameworks and strategies to address climate change, environmental degradation, and public health challenges in urban environments.
Date and time: June 16th, 2025 | 8:30 am – 3:30 pm ET
Location: Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, DC 20001
Agenda
8:30 am – 9:00 am | Breakfast and Registration
9:00 am – 9:05 am | Welcome and Opening Remarks
Seydina Fall, Practice Program Faculty Co-Director, Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health
Sam Myers, Founding Director, Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health
9:05 am – 9:30 am | Keynote Address— Planetary Health and Urban Futures: Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean
Juan Pablo Bonilla, Manager for Climate Change and Sustainability Development Sector, Inter-American Development Bank
9:30 am – 10:10 am | Leveraging the Construction Industry for Planetary Health
Gina Ciganik, CEO, Habitable
Kathleen Hetrick, Associate Principal, Buro Happold
10:10 am – 10:55 am | Turning Threats into Solutions
Francisca Rojas, Interim Director, Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation
Jane Gilbert, Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center’s Chief Heat Officer, Miami-Dade County
Brendan Owens, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense, Energy, Installations and Environment, United States Department of Defense
10:55 am – 11:40 am | From Principles to Action – Lessons in Market Transformation from the Green and Healthy Buildings Movement
Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO, International WELL Building Institute
Rick Fedrizzi, Executive Chairman, WELL Building Institute; Author of Greenthink: How Profit can save the Planet; Former CEO, U.S. Green Building Council
Chrissa Pagitsas, Chrissa Pagitsas, CEO, Pagitsas Advisors
Dr. Jin Won Noh, Founding Director, Institute for Planetary Health at Yonsei University
11:40 am – 12:00 pm | City Data Explorer: Demo
Mary Conway Vaughan, Deputy Director, Analytics, Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm | Lunch/Networking
1:00 – 1:35 pm | Planetary Health Businesses
David Martin, CEO, Terra Group
1:35 pm – 2:20 pm | Converging Paths to Planetary Health Cities: Infrastructure, Community, and Connected Intelligence
Dr. Galen Treuer, Director of Innovation, Risk + Resillience Tech Hub
Dr. Saori Kashima, Associate Professor, Center for the Planetary Health and Innovation Science, The IDEC Institute, Hiroshima University
Min Gu Jun, Director, World Health City Forum
2:20 pm – 3:00 pm | Pilot Projects in Planetary Health Cities- Cancer Alley Case Study
Dr. Peter DeCarlo, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University Department of Environmental Health & Engineering
Kelly Guilbeau, Social Scientist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Kathleen Hetrick, Associate Principal, Buro Happold
3:00 pm – 3:25 pm | Pilot Projects in Planetary Health Cities- AI and New Technologies
Carl David, General Contractor, BIA Robotics
3:25 pm – 3:30 pm | Closing Remarks— What is Next?
Seydina Fall, Practice Program Faculty Co-Director, Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health