Verónica Crossa is an urban scholar whose work explores public space, street vending, informality, and inequality in Mexico City. Her research asks what happens when efforts to “improve” public space collide with the livelihoods, relationships, and everyday lives of the people already using it.

World Business Chicago — Chicago’s public-private economic development agency, working to drive inclusive economic growth and job creation across the city and greater Chicagoland region. Its work spans business attraction and expansion, workforce development, innovation, research, and regional partnerships, while promoting Chicago as a global destination for business and investment.

In Sunamganj, Bangladesh, communities work with government engineers to build and dismantle portions of a submersible embankment each year—protecting rice crops before harvest while allowing seasonal flooding afterward. The project combines local knowledge, ecological adaptation, and community participation in an unusual model of co-produced infrastructure.

Tinisch Hollins is a San Francisco-born organizer, policy advocate, and civic leader working at the intersection of public safety, economic justice, and Black community power. As co-founder of SF Black Wall Street, her work asks a fundamental city-making question: who gets to stay, build wealth, and help shape the future of a place?

Majora Carter argues that communities facing persistent poverty need talent-retention strategies just as businesses do. Building from her maxim that no one should have to leave their neighborhood to live in a better one, she offers an approach to community development rooted in keeping local talent and opportunity.

SF Black Wall Street works to strengthen Black economic power, entrepreneurship, and community in San Francisco by connecting and supporting Black-owned businesses. Through advocacy, events, business development, and community-building, the organization helps sustain a thriving Black business ecosystem while celebrating the culture, history, and contributions of San Francisco’s Black communities.

Bronxlandia is a cultural hub and multi-purpose live events venue located at 910 Hunts Point Avenue in the South Bronx, New York City. Created by community developers Majora Carter and James Chase, the space serves as a creative local venue addressing the borough's shortage of dedicated performance spaces.

Gwen Brown is a San Francisco community leader and co-founder and co-director of SF Black Wall Street, an organization advancing Black economic empowerment, cultural preservation, and community-building in San Francisco. Her work has included youth and workforce development, neighborhood investment, public-space activation, and creating opportunities for Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs; she has also served on San Francisco’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee.

Majora Carter is an urban revitalization strategist, real estate developer, MacArthur Fellow, broadcaster, and author whose work focuses on creating opportunity within historically undervalued communities. Her approach connects economic development and talent retention to the belief that people should not have to leave their neighborhoods to find opportunity.