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

Full Separator

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, World Green Building Council

Chrissa Pagitsas, Senior Advisor, McKinsey & Company

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 | Innovation for Planetary Health Cities

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