Paola Antonelli joined The Museum of Modern Art in 1994 and is a Senior Curator in the Department of Architecture & Design, as well as MoMA’s founding Director of Research & Development. She has curated numerous shows at MoMA and in other international institutions. She has lectured worldwide in settings ranging from peer conferences to global interdisciplinary gatherings such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, and she has served on several international architecture and design juries. She has taught at the University of California, Los Angeles; the Harvard Graduate School of Design; and the MFA programs of the School of Visual Arts in New York.... Read more about Paola Antonelli

Thomas Bender is University Professor of the Humanities and Professor of History at New York University, where he has taught since 1974. He also served as Dean for the Humanities in the 1990s. His work has focused on the intellectual and cultural history of the United States, with a particular interest in the cultural and physical forms cities, the history of modern universities and the intellectual professions, and questions of historiography and narrative.... Read more about Thomas Bender

Ira Harkavy is Associate Vice President and Founding Director of the Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania. An historian with extensive experience building university-community-school partnerships, Harkavy teaches in the departments of history, urban studies, and Africana studies, and in the Graduate School of Education.  As Director of the Netter Center since 1992, Harkavy has helped to develop academically based community service courses, as well as participatory action research projects, that involve creating university-community partnerships and university-assisted community schools in Penn's local community of West Philadelphia.  He has authored  and edited  five books and has published numerous articles and chapters on university civic and community engagement.

Alex Krieger, FAIA has combined a career of teaching and practice, dedicating himself in both to understanding how to improve the quality of place and life in our major urban areas.

Mr. Krieger is a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where he has taught since 1977.  He served as Chairman of the Department of Urban Planning and Design, 1998-2004 and 2006-2007, as Director of the Urban Design Program, 1990-2001, and as Associate Chairman of the Department of Architecture, 1984-1989.  In addition to design studios and seminar courses at the GSD, he teaches a general education class on the evolution of American cities at the College. In 2003, 2005, and 2007, he was honored as one of the outstanding teachers at Harvard University. Design Intelligence Magazine annual national survey named him one of seven “2007 Architectural Educators of the Year.”... Read more about Alex Krieger

Michael Manfredi is cofounder of WEISS / MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism, based in New York City and has been the Gensler Visiting Professor at Cornell University. Michael Manfredi was born in Trieste, Italy and grew up in Rome. He completed his undergraduate education in the United States and received his Master of Architecture at Cornell University where he studied with Colin Rowe. He won the Paris Prize, was a Cornell Fellow and was awarded an Eidlitz Fellowship. He has taught design studios at Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, Cornell and, most recently, at Harvard University. He is a founding board member of the Van Alen Institute, is currently a board member for the Storefront for Art and Architecture, and been a member of the Advisory Council of Cornell's College of Architecture, Art and Panning. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects.... Read more about Michael Manfredi

John is the Head of School at Phillips Academy, Andover.  He serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Knight Foundation.  He also serves as a director of the Data + Society Research Institute and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

John’s research and teaching focus on new media and learning.  He has written extensively on Internet law, intellectual property, and the potential of new technologies to strengthen democracies locally and around the world.... Read more about John Palfrey

David J. Skorton is the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, a position he has held since July 1, 2015.  In this role, he is the chief executive of the world’s largest museum and research institute complex.  He is the first physician to serve as Secretary of the Smithsonian.  Prior to leading the Smithsonian, he was president of Cornell University for 9 years.  During Dr. Skorton’s tenure, he restored its financial stability in the wake of the great recession, elevated its rankings across key disciplines, increased student access, and greatly expanded its presence in New York City and around the world.  Prior to becoming Cornell’s president, Dr. Skorton was president of the University of Iowa for 3 years and a faculty member for 26 years.... Read more about David J. Skorton