Speakers

David Crane
CEO, NRG Energy Inc. & Chairman, 2010 Regional Assembly

David Crane has been the President and CEO of NRG Energy, a leading wholesale power generation company, since December 2003. Under his leadership, NRG became a Fortune 500 company that doubled its size to nearly 24,000 megawatts--enough to power approximately 20 million homes. Crane is a leading voice on climate change and the power sector's role in reducing greenhouse gases from the next wave of new power generation while meeting growing energy needs. He is outspoken on the need to advance climate legislation and support clean energy resources and technologies critical to our transition to a low carbon society.

As part of Crane's commitment to low and no carbon generation, in 2007 NRG submitted the first application in 30 years to build new American nuclear power, has brought three onshore wind projects online and owns the largest photovoltaic solar field in CA. The Company is also developing biomass and offshore wind initiatives as well as a commercial-scale carbon capture demonstration. Prior to joining NRG, Crane was CEO of International Power. He has also worked for Lehman Brothers and ABB Energy Ventures. Crane holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.

William A. McDonough
Founder, William McDonough and Partners

William McDonough is an internationally renowned designer and one of the primary proponents and shapers of what he and his partners call 'The Next Industrial Revolution.' Time magazine recognized him in 1999 as a 'Hero for the Planet' stating that "his utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that -in demonstrable and practical ways-is changing the design of the world." Time Magazine again recognized McDonough and Michael Braungart as "Heroes of the Environment" in October 2007. In 1996, McDonough received the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, the nation's highest environmental honor and in 2003 earned the U.S. EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award. In 2004 he received the National Design Award for exemplary achievement in the field of environmental design. In October 2007, McDonough was elected an International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

McDonough is the founding principal of William McDonough + Partners, an internationally recognized design firm practicing ecologically, socially, and economically intelligent architecture and planning in the U.S. and abroad. He is also principal of MBDC, a product and systems development firm assisting prominent client companies in designing profitable and environmentally intelligent solutions.

McDonough is a Venture Partner at VantagePoint Venture Partners in San Bruno, California. VantagePoint is one of the leading Clean Technology investment firms in the world with a prestigious team of industry luminaries and experts in their fields.

McDonough is Consulting Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University. He also became Chairman Emeritus of the U.S. Board of Councilors of the China-U.S. Center for Sustainable Development in January 2010 after having served as U.S. Chair since 2001. He is on the Advisory Board for the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL). From 1994 to 1999, McDonough was the Edward E. Elson Professor of Architecture and Dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia.

McDonough's leadership in sustainable development is recognized widely, both in the U.S. and internationally, and he has written and lectured extensively on his design philosophy and practice. He was commissioned in 1991 to write The Hannover Principles: Design for Sustainability as guidelines for the City of Hannover's EXPO 2000, and in 1993 to give the Centennial Sermon at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. More recently, McDonough and Michael Braungart co-authored Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, published in 2002 by North Point Press.

Richard Burdett
Centennial Professor in Architecture and Urbanism, London School of Economics, Founder and Director, LSE Cities Program

Ricky Burdett is Centennial Professor in Architecture and Urbanism at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), director of LSE Cities and the Urban Age programme. He was Chief Adviser on Architecture and Urbanism for the London 2012 Olympics from 2006 to 2009, architectural adviser to the Mayor of London from 2001 to 2006 and is now a advising the Olympic Parklands Legacy Company on the future development of London's Olympic site. He has curated numerous exhibitions including 'Global Cities' at Tate Modern, was Director of the 2006 Architecture Biennale in Venice and chairman of the Jury for the 2007 Mies van der Rohe Prize. He is architectural adviser to the cities of Genova and Parma, and a member of the Milan Expo 2015 masterplan team. He is a Council member of the Royal College of Art and sits on the Mayor of London's Promote London Council. He is the editor of 'The Endless City', published by Phaidon in 2008, and author of numerous publications on architecture and cities.

Adolfo Carrión
Director, White House Office of Urban Affairs

Adolfo Carrión is the first Director of the White House Office on Urban Affairs and Deputy Assistant to the President.

Director Carrión is charged with coordinating the policies of 10 cabinet agencies into an effective agenda for urban America. Carrión brings a record of success on issues ranging from housing, to employment, to drug control, in urban areas. Serving as Borough President of the Bronx for 7 years prior to assuming his current appointment, Carrión oversaw significant increases in affordable housing, urban employment, and progressive change to one of the country's most dynamic and challenging counties.

Carrión's career began as a school teacher in the Bronx when, after becoming increasingly involved in the needs of students and their parents, chose to pursue urban planning as a means to positively effect change. Earning a Masters in urban planning from New York City's Hunter College, Carrión worked for 3 years in the Department of Urban Planning. After overseeing the development of a major transportation hub, his community elected him as their District Leader in 1992 and then elected him to the City Council in 1997.

After serving one term in the City Council, Carrión was elected Bronx Borough President, representing the borough's 1.4 million residents. His election as Borough President made him New York State's highest ranking Latino elected official. Under Carrión's leadership, total investment in the borough increased from $361 million/year in 2002, to almost $1 billion/year in 2008. Unemployment dropped by five percent, a decline due in part to Carrión's aggressive pursuit of employment assurances for members of the Bronx community during residential or commercial construction. Almost no project passed muster without a Community Benefits Agreement.

Assuming his new role on March 2, 2009, Carrión stepped-down from the borough presidency with the following record: 40,000 new housing units in development; 50 new schools built or in construction; and 2 million square feet of additional office space created.

Carrión has served as the President of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) and as Vice President of International Affairs for the County Executive of America. He is also a former Aspen-Rodell fellow at The Aspen Institute.

Born in Manhattan's Lower East Side and raised in the Bronx, Carrión, the son of a Pentacostal Minister, is a product of New York's public school and university systems. After completing high school, Carrión served as a youth pastor in what is now one of New York's most active congregations. During that time, Carrión earned his bachelor's from King College in the Bronx.

Carrión, 48, is married to Linda Baldwin, an attorney. He is the proud father of three daughters and one son and is an active cyclist, runner, and reader of non-fiction.

Elliot G. Sander
Group Chief Executive, Global Transportation for AECOM, Inc., RPA Board Chair

Elliot G. Sander is a key leader in setting AECOM's course for the future. Appointed Group Chief Executive, Global Transportation, during January 2010, Mr. Sander is responsible for the strategic direction and growth of AECOM's Transportation business in all modes, including highways, transit, freight rail, ports and marine, and aviation.

Mr. Sander rejoined AECOM during 2009 after serving from January 2007 to May 2009 as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the world's largest public transportation agency. At the MTA, he implemented a highly successful turnaround program focused on improved operational performance, dramatic institutional reform, customer service workforce development and significant cost reductions.

He has extensive private and public sector experience executing large, complex, and high-profile transportation programs and projects in the New York metropolitan area. Prior to joining the MTA, he was Director of Strategic Development for AECOM's legacy DMJM Harris operation, having previously served as the firm's Metro Group Manager and New York Unit Manager, overseeing the firm's extensive and acclaimed work in transit, highways and bridges, marine, and aviation projects in the metropolitan area.

Mr. Sander also spent 20 years in the public sector managing large transportation programs and implementing progressive transportation policies. His experience includes serving as the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation and Senior Transportation Advisor to the mayor of the City of New York, Director of Transit for the State of New York, General Manager for The New York City Transit Department of Buses' Manhattan Division, Executive Director of Operational Services for the Bureau of Traffic Operations at NYCDOT, and Deputy Director of the Division of Parking at NYCDOT.

In 2006, Mr. Sander was appointed by the U.S. Congress to the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission, which he is currently serving on.

Mr. Sander is Chair of the American Public Transportation Association's Transit 2050 Vision campaign. He co-founded the Empire State Transportation Alliance, which has played a critical role in funding New York State's transportation capital program. In 1996, he founded the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, a leading transportation policy institute, at New York University, where he also is an adjunct professor of public administration.

Mr. Sander is a graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Richard Ravitch
Lieutenant Governor, New York State

Richard Ravitch serves as Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York. He was appointed by Governor David A. Paterson on July 8, 2009.

Prior to his appointment, Lieutenant Governor Ravitch was a Partner in the law firm Ravitch, Rice & Co. and served as Chairman of the Commission on MTA Financing, which Governor Paterson formed to examine financing options for the MTA.

Lieutenant Governor Ravitch began his career as an attorney for the Government Operations Committee of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., from 1959-1960. He then joined HRH Construction Corporation as a principal and was responsible for supervising the development, financing and construction of over 45,000 units of affordable housing in New York, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and other locations. In 1975, Governor Hugh Carey appointed him to serve as Chairman of the New York State Urban Development Corporation, a financing and development agency with 30,000 housing units under construction.

In 1975 and during the following year Lieutenant Governor Ravitch assisted New York City and State officials in resolving the City's defaults. The Lieutenant Governor negotiated long-term federal guaranty arrangements with President Gerald Ford's administration and acted as an intermediary between the city and the leadership of the municipal unions and their pension funds in negotiating labor's contribution to the overall resolution. As part of such resolution and bailout of the city's default, the State created Municipal Assistance Corporation (MAC), a new special purpose financing agency.

In 1979, Lieutenant Governor Ravitch was appointed Chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), overseeing the operation of the New York City subways and buses, the Long Island Railroad and MetroNorth commuter lines, and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. Mr. Ravitch completely reorganized the MTA and its functions and began to recruit operating officials from the private sector with experience in marketing as well as management and operations. He developed a long-term capital plan and budget for a system wide upgrading of operating equipment, roadbed and signal capabilities, and he designed the financing plan for such improvements. For his work at the MTA, Lieutenant Governor Ravitch was awarded the American Public Transit Association's Individual of the Year Award in 1982.

Following his MTA service, the Lieutenant Governor led an effort to recapitalize The Bowery Savings Bank and helped to arrange for its acquisition from FDIC by an investor group and his serving as Chairman and CEO. He serves as principal partner in Ravitch Rice & Company LLC with Donald S. Rice, a lawyer and business partner, who has assisted him in prior undertakings including the UDC and Bowery bailouts.

Lieutenant Governor Ravitch was the first Chairman of the Corporation for Supportive Housing. He helped create the organization and served as Chairman for almost 10 years. In 1999, Congress created the Millennial Housing Commission to examine the federal government's role in meeting the nation's growing affordable housing challenges. The Lieutenant Governor was appointed to serve as Co-Chair of the Commission, which led a diverse group of 22 housing experts in an intensive 17-month process to rethink America's affordable housing policy.

Lieutenant Governor Ravitch is a graduate of Columbia College and received an LLB from Yale University School of Law.

J. Andrew Murphy
Executive Vice President & Regional President, Northeast, NRG Energy Inc., RPA Board Member

Drew Murphy is Executive Vice President and Regional President, Northeast of NRG Energy, Inc., a Fortune 500 company. NRG owns and operates a diverse portfolio of power generating facilities, primarily in Texas and in the Northeast, South Central and West regions of the United States. Previously, Mr. Murphy was Executive Vice President and General Counsel of NRG from December 2006 to February 2009. Prior to joining NRG, he was a partner with the law firm of Hunton & Williams where he was the head of the Energy & Project Finance Team and a member of the firm's Executive Committee. Mr. Murphy has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College and a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University.