2022 Summit

Vidya Ayyr leads high-impact interventions to address the social determinants of health, with a commitment to health equity and improving the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable populations.

As the Director of Social Impact, she provides strategic oversight to Parkland’s community outreach investments, promotes innovation in data analytics, and mobilizes a team of Community Health Workers to drive an integrated approach to population health management.

Ms. Ayyr holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from University of Texas at Dallas and earned her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center, in 2011.

Brad Bell is the Director of the School of Architecture and an Associate Professor at The University of Texas at Arlington. Since 2014 he has also directed the Digital Architecture Research Consortium (DARC) at UT Arlington, which is a group of industry and academic partners working on the integration of advanced digital technologies and material applications into innovative building solutions. He has lectured, taught, and written on the uses of digital tool sets for the past two decades.

From 2008-2015 he founded and co-directed TEX-FAB, an organization committed to providing a platform for education on digital fabrication and parametric modeling to the professional, academic and manufacturing communities in Texas.

Professor Bell has been awarded the UT Arlington President’s Medal for Teaching Excellence in 2015 and in 2020 he was awarded the Texas Society of Architects Award for Outstanding Educational Contribution in Honor of Edward J. Romieniec FAIA.

Brad sits on the Board of the AIA Dallas, the AIA Ft. Worth, and the Dallas Architecture Forum. Over the past 20 years, his design practice has built innovative residential houses in Texas, Colorado, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design from Texas A&M and a Master of Architecture degree from the Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation at Columbia University.

Gary has led the Office of Sustainability at UT Dallas since 2018 with previous sustainability experience in higher education and municipal government. He is responsible for facilitating the integration of sustainability into campus stewardship, student life, administration, and student learning. As UTD’s sustainability program has grown in recent years, UT Dallas earned AASHE STARS Gold certification for sustainability in 2019. For continued progress, Gary advocates for greater emphasis on the connection between environmental stewardship and social justice, and has adopted the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the basis for sustainability education and service so that students better understand the connection between our society and the environment. Gary leads regional progress towards achieving the SDGs as co-founder and co-director for RCE North Texas, recognized by United Nations University as a Regional Centre for Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development, and advocate for sustainability in higher education as a member of the executive committee for the Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability. Gary believes that sustainability is a transdisciplinary field to which all can contribute, and he is always happy to grab a cup of coffee to discuss ideas for collaboration.

Kay Curtis is an architect at HKS, Inc.’s hospitality practice and holds a Master’s of Architecture and Bachelor’s of Spanish from Tulane University. In her time at HKS, she has been fortunate to have the opportunity to explore design thinking through multiple outlets. This includes research about the global pandemic’s impact on the hospitality industry, involvement in Park For Floral Farms, a project centered on advocacy & community engagement in the pro-bono Citizen HKS Program, and leadership in the HKS Global Design Fellowship, an annual program that brings designers together to tackle pressing world issues. Her work has been exhibited at the 2020 Venice Biennale, the AIA Dallas Unbuilt Awards, and featured in Hotel Management.

Jennifer Harris joined the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in August 2022 as a broadband program specialist with NTIA’s Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth. As a broadband program specialist, Jennifer works as a federal program officer for Texas where she helps with the implementation of NTIA’s grant programs. She engages with stakeholders including federal agencies, state and local governments, tribal organizations, educational institutions, membership organizations, and philanthropic organizations. She also offers technical assistance to Texas’s State Broadband Office.

Jennifer started her career at the Texas State Capitol in 2005 holding a wide range of jobs in the public sector. Her professional experience includes legislative, public policy, communications, and government affairs work with the Texas Legislature, and policy and communications work for the Florida Department of Education, along with a variety of roles on local and statewide political campaigns. Following her work at the Texas State Capitol and the Florida Department of Education, Jennifer served for three years as the State Program Director for Texas for Connected Nation, a national non-profit organization which focuses on tackling the digital divide for more than 20 years. Appointed in January 2020, Jennifer served as an inaugural member of the Governor’s Broadband Development Council. Governor Abbott re-appointed her to the Council in March 2022 and named her Vice Chair of the Council, a position which she held until joining NTIA.

Jennifer earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. She earned her Master’s degree in Public Service and Administration from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.

Paulina Hruskoci is a senior at UT Dallas studying geospatial information sciences. A Udall Scholar, she is interested in the applications of spatial data for climate resilience and pollution management. On campus, Paulina spearheaded a campus-wide single use plastics initiative, served as an Eco Rep for the Office of Sustainability, and worked as a Teaching Assistant for a sustainability-focused class. Her interests have led her to work as an Archer Fellow for the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., conduct field research in rural Guyana under Dr. Anthony Cummings, and intern with the Climate Reality Project, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and Audubon Texas. She hopes to pursue a PhD in Urban Planning and work for the federal government to advance urban climate solutions. In her free time, Paulina enjoys hiking and studying Mandarin Chinese.

Dr. Katherine Jack serves as the Texas Climate Program Director for The Nature Conservancy in Texas, where she leads the Chapter’s strategy for Climate adaptation and mitigation. Prior to this role, Dr. Jack served as the Dallas Healthy Cities Program Director, working with regional and state partners to advance nature-based solutions for watershed and community resilience. Dr. Jack is an experienced program manager and researcher with more than twenty years working in the local government and non-profit sectors. Her focus is the social dimensions of conservation and technological innovation, with expertise is in renewable energy, emissions science, nature-based strategies (NBS), and community conservation. Dr. Jack received her Bachelor of Arts in Environment and Society from Cornell University, a Master of Science in Environmental Resources Engineering, in the International Development Technologies Program at Humboldt State University, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from University of North Texas. Dr. Jack is a Fellow at SMU’s Hunt Institute for Environment and Humanity.

Key Initiatives include:

• The recently published Green Stormwater Infrastructure for Urban Flood Resilience: Opportunity Analysis for Dallas, TX, by TNC and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, with the City of Dallas and The Trust for Public Land, to assess potential for GSI to enhance stormwater flood management in Dallas.
• Trinity Floodplain Planning & Prioritization Tool: Collaborative effort of TNC with USACE Silver Jackets partner to identify priority floodplain areas within the Trinity basin to protect or restore for flood resilience, community benefits, and watershed health.
• Breathe Easy Dallas: A collaborative effort by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the City of Dallas, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, the Center for Advancing Research in Transportation Emissions, Energy, and Health, The Texas Trees Foundation, and public health and other community leaders to advancing the scientific understanding and application of local air monitoring for improved public health outcomes among high-risk populations.
• Cool & Connected Oak Cliff: A large-scale collaborative neighborhood tree planting for community health, with The Texas Trees Foundation and the Trust for Public Land; and
• Service on the Stakeholder Advisory Committee to Dallas’ Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan, and contributor to Resilient Dallas.

Jeff Kavanaugh is leader of the Infosys Knowledge Institute, senior business advisor, and corporate entrepreneur. In 2018 he founded the Infosys Knowledge Institute, where he drives thought leadership through research and converting expertise into insights. His research interests include modern operating models, sustainability, and durable skills development.

Jeff has advised dozens of companies ranging from VC-fueled startups to global leaders, and was managing partner for a major consulting firm. He is the best-selling author of Practical Sustainability, The Live Enterprise, and Consulting Essentials, and has served on the advisory boards for the Institute of Business Analytics and University of Texas at Dallas Jindal School of Business.

In addition to his work in the business sector, Jeff serves as adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, and has trained thousands of consultants and students. Across his Knowledge Institute research, podcast, and newsletters, Mr. Kavanaugh reaches millions. He has been published in leading publications like Harvard Business Review and speaks regularly at conferences, including United Nations, World Economic Forum, and SXSW.

Sarah Luxton currently serves as the City of Plano’s Sustainability and Environmental Education Division (SEED) Supervisor. In recent years, she also served as the Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Denton and completed her Master’s in Public Administration for the University of North Texas focusing on local government. She currently serves as the Communication’s Chair for the Urban Management Association of North Texas (UMANT).

Avery is the Sustainability Coordinator at The University of Texas at Dallas and RCE North Texas Youth Network Co-Chair. She is passionate about elevating youth voices in the environmental movement and fostering connection between youth and industry professionals.

Janette Monear is President/CEO of the private non-profit Texas Trees Foundation in Dallas, Texas which is dedicated to creating healthy communities using trees, technology, research, and education to empower individuals and support policy that mitigate environmental challenges and shift paradigms to support a sustainable future. Monear began her career in advertising for a large bank and she quickly transferred her skills to promote and advance forestry for the University of Minnesota Extension Service which led her to the nonprofit sector. The emphasis for urban forestry provides a platform for Ms. Monear to create partnerships that support programs and projects that improves the quality of life in communities. Since 1985 Ms. Monear has provided strong leadership through important research, reports, curriculum, and programming that helped set a national agenda for urban forestry to create cooler, greener, cleaner, and healthier communities that advance a national agenda for trees which underpins a global focus for sustainable development.

Tony Pham is the community coordinator at Walkable Arlington, a student-led organization advocating for walkability, bikeability, and sustainability in the city of Arlington, Texas. Tony is currently a third-year architecture undergrad at UT Arlington and the co-chair at the University’s Bike Coordinating Committee. Thanks to his and the team’s work, Arlington has received funding to improve its infrastructure and increase accessibility to residents, students, and businesses alike. In his free time, Tony likes to bike, fold origami cranes, and make waffles.

Mario A. Rotea is the director of “UTD Wind,” a Center created at UT Dallas for the advancement of wind energy science and engineering. He is cofounder of “WindSTAR,” an NSF Industry University Cooperative Research Center aimed at bringing together academia and industry to advance wind energy through industry-relevant research. Rotea is a professor of mechanical engineering at UT Dallas. He has over 30 years of experience in the development of advanced methods for control systems design, and their application to chemical processes, helicopters, gas turbines, machine tools and wind energy systems. He is a Fellow of the IEEE for contributions to robust and optimal control of multivariable systems.

Jennifer Sanders is Cofounder and Executive Director of the North Texas Innovation Alliance, a 501c3 public-private partnership which is the largest such initiative in the U.S., with the mission of creating the most connected, smart and resilient region in the country. In 2015, she cofounded the Dallas Innovation Alliance (DIA) a 501c3 public-private partnership dedicated to supporting Dallas’ smart cities strategy and serves as its Executive Director. While at the DIA, she has collated a network of over three dozen member organizations and over 20 departments within the City of Dallas. DIA’s Smart Cities Living Lab is the fastest-to-market smart cities initiative in the country. Currently the NTXIA is focused on cross-jurisdictional issues in financial models, connectivity, mobility, sustainability, data and economic development. Prior to these roles, she spent more than a decade in public affairs and change management consulting for clients in finance, energy, technology and economic development, among others.

She is actively involved with numerous civic organizations in Dallas, serving as a Past President of the Mayor’s Star Council, Steering Committee of the Internet for All Coalition, Board of the Suicide & Crisis Center of North Texas, Vice Chairman of Better Block, Advisory Boards for Digital Texas and the Southwestern Medical District Master Plan, among others.

In 2019, she received the UN Day Global Leadership Award for advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). She has been named to the Dallas Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 and Top Women in Technology, State Scoop’s Top Women in Technology, the Tech Week 100, and the Dallas 500. She has been honored to speak to groups at conferences around the globe including South by Southwest, Smart Cities Week, IOT World Congress, IMPACT: Cities, and the Smart City Global Congress and Expo in Barcelona. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Psychology with a minor concentration in Economics.

Lorraine Sheldon serves as the Community Engagement Librarian for the Gibson D. Lewis Library at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. In her role, Lorraine works to improve public health through access to quality health information.

This role is accomplished through educational programming and materials designed for the public, technology solutions for access, and participating in community organizations’ exhibits and committees. Her latest project is in collaboration with the HSC Office of Sustainability to help promote nutrition literacy through the perspective of sustainable practices.

As UT Arlington’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Meghna works collaboratively to foster partnerships among academic, research, and operational departments and promotes sustainability in areas of energy efficiency, waste management, transportation, education, outreach, and sustainability-focused curriculum.

She has expertise in UN SDGs, public policy, CSR, climate change, equitable food systems, transportation, conservation, and social impact.

Meghna is the Founder and Director of Regional Center of Expertise for Education in Sustainable Development ( RCE North Texas), a program of the United Nations University, and the North Texas Food Policy Alliance.

She graduated with an MBA in Sustainable Management, MS in Environmental Science, and MS in Chemistry.