See below for the program. Additional session details coming soon.
Landscapes of Abundance (Morning Keynote)
Speaker: Gena Wirth, Design Principal and Partner, SCAPE
Building a More Sustainable Future for Urban Centers: A Detroit Story (Midday Keynote)
Speaker: Anika Goss, Chief Executive Officer, Detroit Future City
My Park, My Planet: An Auto-Park-ography (Afternoon Keynote)
Speaker: Melvin Carter, former Mayor of Saint Paul, MN
Art as Infrastructure: Building Community Resilience Through Tactical Urbanism in Atlanta Parks
Speakers: Arelious Cooper, Jr. (Art In The Paint), Victor Emerson (Senior Manager of Multicultural Marketing at Anheuser-Busch), Shelton Hawkins (Project Manager, Project Backboard), Aaron L. Wiener, PLA, PMP (Outdoor Recreational Planner, National Park Service)
Learn how art-driven tactical urbanism builds community resilience in public parks. Art In The Paint shares lessons from revitalizing recreation spaces across Atlanta through artistic resurfacing, youth co-design, partnerships, and activations—reducing blight, fostering stewardship, and strengthening trust. This session offers strategies to activate parks for belonging and public health.
Building a Climate Resilient ATL
Speakers: Chandra Farley (City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience), J. Olu Baiyewu (City of Atlanta), LaToria Whitehead (LS Whitehead Group LLC)
Atlanta’s Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience is developing Climate Resilient ATL, the city’s first community-led, data-driven Climate Resilience Action Plan. Hear more about how resilient parks support resilient communities when building healthy, connected, and climate-resilient neighborhoods.
Collaborating with Youth Corps to Advance Park Resilience
Speakers: Jonathan Johnson (Student Conservation Association), Anamarie Ngala-Bey (West Atlanta Watershed Alliance), Tierney Mountain (Student Conservation Association), Matt Gray (Student Conservation Association)
In 2025, the Student Conservation Association’s Atlanta Urban Green Program launched its third African American Women Crew season, creating a space for Black women to build skills and explore conservation careers. Crews complete projects—from habitat restoration to trail work—strengthening the resilience of Atlanta’s parks, communities, and 30 emerging environmental leaders.
Collective Ground: Co-Creating Resilient Public Spaces
Speakers: Revonda Cosby (Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance), Kofi Boone (North Carolina State University), Jennie Lynn Rudder (Gresham Smith), Carley Rickles (Martin Rickles Studio)
Parks thrive when shaped by community voices. This session highlights how designers, academics, land managers, and local stewards collaborate with residents to create equitable public spaces. Learn innovative, community-driven approaches to park design and planning that align civic, economic, and environmental goals for lasting impact.
Ecological Resilience in Atlanta
Speakers: Lisa Kruse (Georgia Department of Natural Resources), Michel Kohl (University of Georgia), Taryn Heidel (City of Atlanta Department of Parks & Recreation)
Hear from local experts on Atlanta’s urban ecosystems — why they matter locally and statewide, how wildlife relies on our natural areas and what they show us about resilience, and ways to better manage natural spaces.
From Metrics to Meaning: Using Community Engagement to Shape Purposeful Park Design
Speakers: Mandi Fung (Land Collective), Candy Isabel (Khamai Strategies), Brian Staresnick (Land Collective), Tessa Lippmann (Land Collective)
Landscape architects and a community engagement expert explore how humanizing data fosters connection and shapes beloved parks. Drawing on work in Detroit, MI, New Castle, DE, and Kent County, MI, speakers will share how building trust, elevating voices, and advancing equity result in culturally relevant, better-loved parks.
Growing and Cooking Healthy Food in Parks
Speakers: Terri Carter (University of Georgia Extension), Charlie Monroe (Cobb County)
Edible landscapes transform parks into interactive, nourishing spaces where residents learn, gather, and heal. By integrating fruit trees, herbs, medicinal plants, and culturally meaningful crops, parks become hands-on classrooms and community hubs — boosting biodiversity, improving soil health, strengthening social bonds, and inspiring pride and stewardship.
Growing Urban Forests – Beyond 2025: Jurisdiction, Capacity, and Landscape Performance
Speakers: Tiffany Giacobazzi (City of Atlanta Department of Parks & Recreation), Hunter Lohse (City of Brownsville, TX), Ian Brown (City of Madison, WI), Gaylan Williams (City of Atlanta Department of Parks & Recreation)
Urban forestry today is about more than canopy counts—it’s about how well trees deliver real benefits. Hear from leaders from Atlanta (large city), Madison (mid-sized), and Brownfield (small) about how governance, scale, funding, and local priorities shape urban forestry strategies.
How to Increase Biodiversity, Resilience and Sustainability
Speakers: Jacob Lange (Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners PLLC), Will Medlin (Woodard Curran), William Park (City of Sandy Springs), Jim Newbury (Environment Sandy Springs)
This session explores how nature-based solutions can boost biodiversity, resilience, and sustainability as urban ecosystems face increasing stress. Experts Jacob Lange, Will Medlin, and William Park will share how thoughtful design, ecological health, and community-activated parks can deliver mutually beneficial public greenspaces.
Mapping Water, Mapping Risk: Can Parks Build Flood-Resilient Communities?
Speakers: Hannah Palmer (Author), Genia Billingsley (Canopy ATL), Daniel Krasner (Data Urbanist), Mariann Martin (Canopy ATL)
Moderated by Hannah Palmer, this panel explores how buried creeks, flood history, and resident experiences can shape stronger greenspaces. Learn how parks can manage stormwater, reduce heat, build resilience, and strengthen civic life as climate impacts intensify.
Nurturing Nature in Neighborhoods: Design for Outdoor Learning Spaces that Cultivate Community Resilience
Speakers: Karan Wood (Environmental Education Alliance), Aubrey Sabba (Starr Whitehouse), Janelle Wright (West Atlanta Watershed Alliance)
From schoolyards and playgrounds to parks, creeks, and forests, neighborhood nature experiences can spark curiosity and empower kids to become problem-solvers. This session will spotlight several site-specific greenspace designs that enrich outdoor learning, infuse cultural relevance, and contribute to community health and resilience.
Resilience in the Hot Zone: Community Storytelling and Data Mapping with UrbanHeatATL
Speakers: Dr. Na’Taki Osborne Jelks (Spelman College & West Atlanta Watershed Alliance), Destinee Whitaker (West Atlanta Watershed Alliance), Ashley Boone (Georgia Institute of Technology), Quanda Spencer (West Atlanta Watershed Alliance)
This session highlights how community-driven data and storytelling reveal extreme heat’s impacts on health and resilience. Participants will explore UrbanHeatATL maps and lived experiences to develop solutions that position parks as vital climate infrastructure. Attendees will gain practical tools to use heat data and narratives to advance cooler, healthier neighborhoods.
State of the Climate: Climate Change 101
Speaker: Mark Papier (Meteorologist)
Building resilient communities starts with understanding our changing world. Learn about the science of climate change — how long we’ve known about it, what the science says has already happened, what could happen next, and what we can do about it.
Connecting Heartbeats: Fostering Community and Ecological Resilience across Metro Atlanta Greenspaces
Speakers: Iris Chen (Brown University), Danielle Bunch (Clayton County Water Authority), Gwendolyn Stegall (Friends of Hairston Park), Tasha Messer (RPCA Naturalist), Jonah McDonald (RPCA Naturalist), Darryl Haddock (West Atlanta Watershed Alliance), Maya Teague (Historic Hunter Hills Neighborhood Association), Domi Valentine (PhD student)
In metro Atlanta, parks are spaces of gathering and refuge; Yet they hold onto unwelcoming histories and ongoing inequity. Learn from stewards about their experiences cultivating healthier and more just waterways, forests, and greenspaces as we come together to build a resilient city-wide green network.
Tree Risk Assessment Tree Walk
Speakers: Seth Hawkins (Georgia Forestry Commission), Edward Morrow (Private Arborist)
The right tree care approach protects trees, reduces costs, and keeps communities safe and beautiful. In this interactive session, learn five practical strategies for low-stress tree management. Discover why most tree issues don’t require removal, and how retention preserves history and benefits future generations.
Unlocking Park Power: Using the Landscape Performance Series to Measure What Matters
Speakers: Adam Williamson (TSW Design), Peyton Peterson (TSW Design), Samantha Rosado (City of Douglasville)
This session introduces the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s Landscape Performance Series (LPS), a national initiative helping practitioners measure and communicate the environmental, social, and economic benefits of built landscapes. Learn how the LPS case studies, metrics, and evaluation tools can be applied to projects across Georgia.