Megan O’Hara, Jury ChairPrincipal and Partner, Urban Design AssociatesMegan O’Hara, AICP, LEED-AP is a principal and partner at Urban Design Associates. She has 15 years of urban design, architecture, and planning experience focused on promoting social, economic, and environmental resilience. Megan leads projects that build equity and stabilize neighborhoods, particularly in places that have experienced disinvestment. She works with communities to create consensus visions and with cities, authorities, and developers to implement. Notably, Megan led the housing and neighborhood plans for seven awardees of the HUD Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant. She has also led recovery and resilience work in Paradise, California following the 2018 Camp Fire and along Lake Street in Minneapolis following the 2020 uprisings. Megan's expertise in housing policy, land use, zoning, incentives, and financing brings together partners to implement community visions. Megan earned a Masters in Sustainable Urban Development, with distinction, from the University of Oxford and sits on the Oxford Sustainable Development Advisory Board. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame. |
Jennifer SettleSenior Associate, Opticos DesignJennifer brings over 15 years of experience in transforming the built environment to enhance people’s everyday lives. In her career she has led numerous community design charrettes and played a critical role in neighborhood, city, and regional master planning projects. These visions formed the basis for innovative comprehensive and zoning plan overhauls, as well as the future build-out of important development sites. Advocating for intentional communities and resilient neighborhoods, she seeks to enrich the lives of each individual within a model of diverse housing where everyone receives access to vibrant and beautiful places. Jennifer collaborates with cities seeking to make their regulations better align with the goals of their community and realities of their place. She recently led the zoning code update for the City of South Bend, winner of the 2021 Richard Dreihaus Form-Based Code award, followed by the design of pre-approved buildings that help implement Missing Middle and infill housing. Jennifer has recently rejoined Opticos Design as Senior Associate and lead of their Chicago branch office. She earned a Master of Urban Design from University of California, Berkeley and holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame. |
Krupali Uplekar KruscheDirector, DHARMA and Director, DVARCAKrupali Krusche is the Director of DHARMA (Digital Historic Architecture and Material Analysis) and the Director of DVARCA (Development and Advancement of Resilient Cities Alliance) research teams. She teaches urban and architectural design and her expertise is in digital documentation. Since 2007, she has founded and directed DHARMA Lab research specializing in 3D documentation of World Heritage Sites using advanced mapping techniques. Beyond DHARMA, Krusche is the Director of DVARCA Lab. DVARCA, is a team of scientists and researchers tackling issues related to climate change, including sea level rise as it relates to regional and urban design interventions. This research brings together scientists that are examining incremental changes in sea level rise with practitioners who are planning and building transformative cities to build more resilient cities that can act as net zero, positive green contributors in reduction of carbon emission and heat island effects on the climate. Krusche has written multiple papers, conference proceedings and books. The first of the two books on the forum have been published recently titled, From Pen to Pixel Studies of the Roman Forum and the Digital Future of World Heritage. Prof. Krusche co-authored a book titled Rediscovering the Hindu Temple: The Sacred Architecture and Urbanism of India. |
Patrick SiegmanPrincipal, Siegman & AssociatesPatrick Siegman is a transportation planner and economist. He is the founder of Siegman & Associates, a transportation planning firm devoted to the creation of sustainable communities. Patrick has led the transportation component of more than 70 citywide, neighborhood, district, and campus plans. His projects have been honored with national awards from the American Institute of Architects, the American Planning Association, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Society for College and University Planning. In addition to his work as a practitioner, Patrick teaches workshops and short courses for organizations such as the American Planning Association, the American Institute of Certified Planners, and the Campus Transportation Demand Management Institute. He has written for Planning, Planning for Higher Education, Public Square, and a variety of other publications, and contributed to books such as New Urbanism: Best Practices Guide, Parking and the City, Reflective Planning Practice, and Sustainable Transportation Planning. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, with Honors, from Stanford University. |
