ALT Liam Young is an architect, director, and BAFTA-nominated producer working at the intersection of design, fiction, and future thinking. Dubbed by the BBC as “the man designing our futures,” his visionary films and speculative environments serve as both imaginative glimpses of what’s ahead and critical reflections on today’s most pressing environmental issues. He currently leads the innovative MA program in Fiction and Entertainment at SCI-Arc in Los Angeles. He is also the author of several books, including Machine Landscapes: Architectures of the Post-Anthropocene and Planet City, which imagines a single city for the entire human population.

ALT Cecil Konijnendijk has 30 years of experience studying, teaching, and advising on aspects of urban forestry and nature-based solutions. From Utrecht, The Netherlands, he co-leads the Nature Based Solutions Institute, a think tank for the evidence-based greening of cities. Cecil has held full and visiting professorships in Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Hong Kong, and Sweden. He has advised, national and local governments in more than 30 countries, as well as international organisations such as FAO and UNECE, on the formulation and implementation of green space and urban forestry policies and programs. His books include ‘The Forest and the City: the cultural landscape of urban woodland’ and ‘Rethinking urban green spaces’. In 2021 he launched a new evidence-based guideline for urban greening, the so-called 3 30 300 rule, which is now used by municipalities, regional governments, and organisations across the world.

ALT Dr. Nadina Galle is a Dutch-Canadian ecological engineer, bestselling author, and the pioneer of the "Internet of Nature" (IoN) movement, which fuses technology and ecology to create resilient, nature-rich communities. Her book, The Nature of Our Cities (HarperCollins), became a #1 Amazon bestseller, featured by NPR, Bloomberg Cities, and The Globe and Mail. As a National Geographic Explorer and former Fulbright scholar at MIT’s Senseable City Lab, Nadina’s work—spanning AI-powered heat mapping to tree sensors that achieve 99% survival rates—has earned accolades from the European Space Agency and Forbes’ "30 Under 30." Through her writing, speaking, and Internet of Nature Podcast, she champions innovators and their solutions to biodiversity loss, public health, and the human-nature disconnect.

ALT Niklas Skovholt Mortensen is an Interaction Designer by education, a design strategist by experience, and a nerd at heart. For over two decades, he has worked at the intersection of technology, design, and strategy. He’s partnered with the public sector, global enterprises, grassroots start-ups, and volunteer organizations. At every turn, he has championed a human-centered approach. In his role at Designit, Niklas leads a multidisciplinary team united by the mission of designing what matters. A board member emeritus at the IxDA - (Interaction Design Association), he has dedicated more than a decade to building the IxDA community - co-founding IxDA Oslo and spearheading the Interaction Awards. Additionally, he serves on the board of Consulting Norway – Part of Hovedorganisasjonen Virke (Enterprise Federation of Norway), where he advocates for the strategic importance of design across industries.

ALT Nikolaj Sveistrup is CEO and founder of @urbanagendadk - a Copenhagen-based organization that provides ideas, assistance and new solutions for urban development - and Foof, Fire and Thoughts, Associated partner at @cphfutures. His mission is to create regenerative, inclusive, and liveable cities that support human flourishing while safeguarding planetary wellbeing. With a focus on liveability, biodiversity, and climate, he seeks place-based solutions for sustainable urban development. As the leader of the Urban Futures initiative and EVOLVE platform, Nikolaj explores the future of urbanism by identifying trends, crafting scenarios, and shaping narratives through global keynotes and workshops.

ALT Omar Degan is the principal of Do Architecture Group, an international practice with offices in Mogadishu, Italy, and the USA. Specializing in post-conflict reconstruction, disaster response, and climate adaptation, he creates culturally and environmentally responsive architectural solutions that foster resilience and social cohesion in fragile contexts. A collaborator with organizations like UN-Habitat and IOM, Degan's work has made a global impact, especially in the Horn of Africa, South America, and South Asia, earning recognition from The New York Times and BBC. Named an Obama Foundation African Leader in 2022, he founded FragilityLab in 2023 to address the intersection of climate resilience and urban design in fragile environments.

ALT Melissa Sterry is an acclaimed design scientist, systems theorist, and biofuturist, known for her groundbreaking contributions at the crossroads of science, technology, and design. As the founder of initiatives like Bioratorium®, Bionic City®, and Panarchic Codex®, she continuously challenges the limits of sustainable innovation. Her work in biomimicry and ecological systems has inspired the concept of panarchic architecture, which envisions urban environments modeled after the resilience and adaptability of natural ecosystems.

ALT As a hands-on visionary and globally recognized thought leader, Stefan is a senior expert and Senior Design Director at McKinsey. Stefan brings 20 years international experience from leadership roles at Global companies, award-winning agencies and as advisor across industries. As a thought-leader on service design, future of work and innovation he helps clients to empower employees to deliver stellar customer experience and unlock growth. Stefan has worked with governments, public-sector organizations, and global brands including IKEA, LEGO, Ericsson, Amex, Nordea, Disney and adidas.

ALT Laura Splan is an American artist working at the intersections of Science, Technology, and Culture. Her research-based studio practice and interdisciplinary collaborations culminate in multimedia artworks, exhibitions, and events. Through embodied encounters that leverage sensations of touch, light, and sound, Splan’s work engages audiences with complexity through curiosity, wonder, and play. With an approach grounded in what she calls the “tactical tactile”, her work cultivates intuitive comprehension of the interconnectedness of cultural and biological systems. She reframes posthuman artifacts to interrogate the “GUI/gooey” or liminal spaces that mediate our relationship to nature and to our bodies.

ALT Joshua Ashish Dawson is an India-born, Los Angeles-based film director known for framing the built environment as a central character in his films. In his body of work titled “Speculative Climate Futures,” he leverages his training as an architect to seamlessly blend CGI and live-action to explore pressing issues like water politics, resource extraction, and climate change’s impact on low-income communities. Joshua’s work, which has been featured at international film festivals and museums, has garnered awards and received widespread attention in both design journals and mainstream media.

ALT Nancy Diniz is a registered architect, educator, and co-founder of bioMATTERS, LLC. She leads the Masters in Biodesign at Central Saint Martins UAL, with a teaching background spanning the US, China, UK, Italy, and Portugal. She has co-curated international exhibitions like ‘Biocalibrated’ at UAL London 2023 and ‘Artificial Realities’ at the Lisbon Architecture Triennale 2019. Nancy’s work has been showcased globally, including at NYCxDesign Week and the London Design Biennale. She co-edited “Data, Matter, Design” (Routledge 2020) and is the chief editor of a Cambridge University Press journal. Nancy’s accolades include prestigious grants, fellowships, and residencies worldwide.

ALT Mark Wee is an artist, architect, and educator. He is a design thinking and experience design pioneer in Singapore. From 2018-2022, he was the Executive Director of the DesignSingapore Council where he led the Council in driving and implementing national policies on design to make Singapore an innovation-driven economy and a more loveable city. With a belief that creativity is the key to Singapore’s future, Mark is now on a mission to unlock the creative confidence of Singaporeans through a national life design movement through the Designing Your Life Institute (DYLI) which he co-founded with Professor Bill Burnett of Stanford’s Life Design Lab and co-author of the international best selling book Designing Your Life. The Institute’s mission is to help Singaporeans design their lives using the innovation principles of design thinking to create sustainable careers and joyful lives, at every stage of life’s journey. Mark is also the Managing Director SEA of MINIWIZ.

ALT Gavin has been the Director of the Nature Positive Initiative in WWF International for 5 years, joining from WWF Hong Kong where he was the Conservation Director. He previously served as the Head of Forest Campaign then Head of Climate & Energy Campaign at Greenpeace International. Gavin brings a wealth of conservation knowledge and expertise, helping secure important breakthrough successes such as conserving the Great Bear Rainforest in Canada working alongside First Nations peoples, an Amazon soy moratorium, a Hong-Kong ivory sales ban and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. His experience in business engagement in Asia includes collaborating with the shipping industry on the carriage of threatened wildlife products, founding a sustainable finance programme, and partnering with businesses to ensure sustainable seafood in their supply chains, all of which leveraged his Executive MBA and private sector networks.

ALT Marcelo Coelho is Head of Design at Formlabs and Faculty at the MIT Department of Architecture, where he directs the Design Intelligence Lab. Spanning a wide range of media, processes, and scales, his work seeks to create new forms of expression and collaboration between human and machine intelligence. Marcelo’s work has been exhibited internationally, including places such as the Rio 2016 Paralympic Ceremonies, Times Square, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and Ars Electronica, and can be found in museums, private collections, and billions of products sold all over the world. Recognition for this work includes two Prix Ars Electronica awards, Design Miami/ Designer of the Future Award, Red Dot Design Award, and Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Award. Marcelo holds a doctorate degree from the MIT Media Lab and teaches courses that bring together design and artificial intelligence.

ALT Matthew Morgan is the Director and co-Founder of the Quality of Life Foundation, a charity that carries out research, engages communities, delivers services and influences policy so together we can create healthy, happy homes and neighbourhoods. He is responsible for setting strategy with the Board of Trustees, overseeing the organisation’s commercial services and delivering lasting impact with the Quality of Life team. With over 20 years’ experience in writing and communications, Matthew has previously worked with architects, engineers and developers; in book and magazine publishing; and with charities and start-ups. A published author and mental health advocate, he is particularly interested in how communities are formed and how to help them thrive, an interest he developed while growing up in an intentional community in Kent.

ALT A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and hailed as “one of the 50 most creative and influential minds” by Creativity magazine, Manuel is the founder of VisualComplexity.com and currently a Senior UX Manager at Google. With over fifteen years of experience, he has made significant contributions to companies like Codecademy, Microsoft, Nokia, R/GA, and the Museum of the Moving Image. Manuel is a passionate advocate for big ideas and ambitious projects, fostering talented teams through empowerment, mentorship, and a love for fun and passion. He’s also an accomplished author and has delivered inspiring talks to millions worldwide at prestigious venues like TED, Harvard, MIT, and more.

ALT Head of Unit EU Policy Lab: Foresight, Design and Behavioural Insights | Joint Research Centre European Commission. Thomas Hemmelgarn has been leading the EU Policy Lab at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) since 2021. The EU Policy Lab is a space for cross-disciplinary exploration and innovation in policymaking and applies collaborative, systemic and forward-looking approaches to help bringing scientific knowledge into EU policymaking. It brings together teams with expertise on foresight, design and behavioural insights. He holds also the position of Deputy Director for Innovation in Science and Policymaking at the JRC.

ALT Terry Irwin is a Professor in the School of Design and Director of the Transition Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. From 2009 – 2019, she served as Head of School, leading a multi-year process to place ‘design for society and the environment’ at the heart of all programs and curricula. Along with Gideon Kossoff and Cameron Tonkinwise, she is one of the co-originators of Transition Design, a transdisciplinary approach for addressing the many complex, wicked problems confronting 21st century societies.

ALT Oen Michael Hammonds, a Distinguished Design executive, operates at the intersection of design and business to create meaningful and valuable products and services. With a diverse background in advertising, graphics, interactive, environmental, and service design, Oen leads teams to enhance employee experiences. He drives alignment and integration between programs, organizations, and tools, focusing on employee needs. Through strategic projects, Oen transforms organizations to build iconic, high-quality, human-centered products and services.