Keynote Speakers and Plenary Panels

Tuesday, November 13  

KEYNOTE:Transportation and Mobility

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• Randall "Keith" Benjamin II, Director, Department of Traffic and Transportation, Charleston, South Carolina

Keith Benjamin has led the city of Charleston, South Carolina’s Department of Traffic and  Transportation since April 2017.  In this position, he oversees all transportation maintenance, planning and partnerships at the local, county and state level. Benjamin previously served in the Office of Policy Development, Strategic Planning and Performance as well as led the Office of Public Liaison at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Prior to his federal service, Benjamin was the community partnership manager for the Voices for Healthy Kids Community Consortium with the Safe Routes to School National Partnership. At the national, regional and local level, he provided technical assistance to policy campaigns in underserved communities, built coalitions, increased leadership capacity, engaged elected officials, created advocacy resources and led the Nation Active Transportation Diversity Task Force. Benjamin has also previously represented the Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO, advocating on behalf of 200,000 members and retirees. He has also served on Capitol Hill, working for former Senator Carl Levin (Michigan), the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, the Committee on House Administration, former Representative Kendrick Meek  (Florida), and the late Representative Donald Payne, Sr. (New Jersey).

A 2018 Next City Vanguard Fellow, Benjamin has served as a member of the National League of Cities Advisory Panel on Health Disparities, the Better Bike Share Partnership Equity Panel, the National Working Group on Healthy Food Access with the Food Trust and the National Urban League and the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, Citizens Advisory Committee. He is a graduate and deans awardee of Swarthmore College.  [CM .75]

PLENARY PANEL: Building Livable Communities Through Citizen Engagement

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Engaging citizens to enhance where they live through their skills and life experiences is essential to creating livable communities, and older adults — the “Experienced Class” — are leading the charge. People age 50-plus are involved in their communities and with causes they champion. In this session, city leaders will share how the contributions of “experienced” residents and people of all ages are helping to solve challenges and inspire change. [CM .75]

• Myung J. Lee, Executive Director, Cities of Service

The nonprofit Cities of Service helps mayors build stronger cities by changing the way local government and citizens work together. Myung Lee previously served as a deputy commissioner with the City of New York Administration for Children’s Services. She has extensive nonprofit management experience and has led organizations focused on homeless assistance, domestic violence and early childhood development. 

• Byron W. Brown, Mayor, Buffalo, New York 

The four-term mayor of New York’s second largest city, Byron W. Brown has directed and delivered on major projects in every section of the city, improving and strengthening neighborhoods throughout Buffalo. His goal is to make Buffalo a place “where no one is left out, and no one is left behind.”

• G.T. Bynum, Mayor, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Prior to being elected mayor in 2016, G.T. Bynum served for eight years on the Tulsa City Council, becoming the council’s youngest chairman ever. Throughout his time in city government, Bynum’s focus has been on fiscal restraint, public safety and infrastructure.

• Karen Freeman-Wilson, Mayor, Gary, Indiana

As the mayor of her hometown since 2012, Karen Freeman-Wilson is the first woman to lead the city of Gary and the first African-American woman to be a mayor anywhere in the state. A former state attorney general and director of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, Freeman-Wilson holds leadership roles with the United States Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities. 

• Joe Micheli, Head of Commissioning, Early Intervention, Prevention and Community Development City of York Council, United Kingdom

With a three-decade career in community development, Micheli is a member of the Cities of Service coalition and has led the development of volunteering and social action strategies in York and Barnsley, where as the head of stronger communities, he developed the council’s award-winning community engagement programs. 

PLENARY PANEL: Conversations with Anchor Institutions

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“Anchor institutions” can bring skills and resources that complement efforts to create and encourage livable communities for people of all ages. In this session, representatives from the philanthropic, nonprofit and public sectors talk about their experiences working with anchor institutions. [CM .75]

• Susan T. Mosey, Executive Director, Midtown Detroit, Inc. 

Detroit’s University Cultural Center and New Center districts make up the city’s midtown, where the nonprofit Midtown Detroit, led by Susan T. Mosey, works on community improvement projects, real estate and small business development, arts programming and marketing.  

• Nora Moreno Cargie, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship, Tufts Health Plan President,, Tufts Health Plan Foundation

Leveraging the resources of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, Nora Moreno Cargie and her team build relationships with nonprofi t organizations, businesses, municipal leaders, community members and older adults in support of stronger, vibrant communities that are great places to work, grow up and grow old. 

• Alan DeLaTorre, Research Associate, Portland State University, Institute on Aging 

An urban gerontologist, Alan DeLaTorre has been involved in Portland’s age-friendly initiative since 2006. He also serves as coordinator of PSU’s Senior Adult Learning Center, chair of the Environmental Design Committee for the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education and as an appointed volunteer with AARP Oregon.

• Patrick Pontius, Senior Community and Economic Development Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Prior to recently joining the Federal Reserve, Patrick Pontius  served as the executive director of the White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities, where he led an interagency team that piloted an innovative model of federal-local collaboration.