Kicking off the fifth annual MICD Just City Mayoral Fellowship — a collaboration between MICD and the Just City Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) — speakers will discuss strategies for using planning and design interventions to address challenges in our cities.
Speakers
Secretary Jacob R. (Jake) Day (2023 MICD Just City Mayoral Fellow) leads the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and serves as a member of Governor Wes Moore’s Cabinet. As a member of the Governor’s Executive Council, Secretary Day is the Governor’s senior advisor on housing and place-based economic development. He is also the chief executive officer of the State’s housing finance agency, managing $2.5 Billion in annual spending, $9 Billion in assets, and more than 500 staff members. Prior to his nomination to lead the Department, Secretary Day served as the 28th Mayor of Salisbury, Maryland. Born and raised in Salisbury, he previously served as City Council President.
Tiffany Chu is the Chief of Staff to Mayor Michelle Wu. Tiffany comes from a background in design, urban planning, and entrepreneurship. Prior to joining the City of Boston, she was the CEO & Co-founder of Remix, a collaborative software platform for transportation planning used by 500+cities around the world. Previously, Tiffany was at Code for America, Y Combinator, Zipcar, and Continuum. She’s been named in Forbes’ 30 Under 30, LinkedIn’s Next Wave of Leaders Under 35, and featured at SXSW, Helsinki Design Week, the New York Times Cities for Tomorrow Conference, and more.
Mayor D.C. Reeves (2023 MICD Just City Mayoral Fellow) has been mayor of Pensacola since November 2022. His focus is on public safety, economic development and maintenance of city assets. Previously, Reeves was a sports journalist, author, community builder and entrepreneur. He also served as the CEO at The Spring Entrepreneur Hub advocating for small businesses in Pensacola. In 2017, Reeves founded Perfect Plain Brewing Co., which quickly became a staple of downtown Pensacola and one of Florida’s busiest craft beer taprooms. The business expanded to four locations and had over 40 employees before. sold to New Orleans-based Urban South Brewery. D.C.’s community focus led him to serve as board chairman of Visit Pensacola, Pensacola’s tourism marketing organization, in 2021. He was named 2021 Emerging Leader of the Year by the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce.
Moderator
A nationally recognized design leader, researcher, writer, and educator, Katie Swenson has served as a Senior Principal of MASS Design Group since 2020. Katie has over 20 years of experience in the theoretical and practical application of design thinking and is a talented global public speaker and thought leader. A prolific writer, she authored Design with Love: At Home in America, and In Bohemia: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Kindness, and co-authored Growing Urban Habitats: Seeking a Housing Development Model. Katie was awarded the AIA Award for Excellence in Public Architecture in 2021. Prior to joining MASS, Katie was the vice president of Design & Sustainability at Enterprise Community Partners, where, as a member of the second class, she led the Enterprise Rose Fellowship. Katie lives in New York City, where she serves on the board of the Van Alen Institute and teaches at Columbia University and Parsons School of Design.
The 2025 MICD Just City Mayoral Fellows are:
Bloomington, IN Mayor Kerry Thomson
Gainesville, FL Mayor Harvey Ward
Jackson, TN Mayor Scott Conger
Portsmouth, VA Mayor Shannon Glover
Flagstaff, AZ Mayor Becky Daggett
Montgomery, AL Mayor Steven L. Reed
San Bernardino, CA Mayor Helen Tran
Suisun City, CA Mayor Alma Hernandez