Urban Economy Forum 4, Roundtable

Ali A. Alraouf

Professor of Architecture and Urbanism (Moderator)

Ali A. Alraouf is an architect, urban designer and planner interested in research and practice related to comprehensive sustainable design and urban planning. He was a Visiting Scholar at the University of California at Berkeley-USA. Alraouf has held permanent and visiting teaching and research positions at regional and international universities. Alraouf is a registered architect and urban planner in Egypt, Bahrain and Qatar. He is an associate member of the American Institute of Architects, Middle East and Gulf Chapter. Alraouf published more than 105 journal refereed papers, critical reviews, essays, in addition to books and book chapters.

Marilyn Struthers

Principal M. Struthers & Co.

Marilyn’s work focuses on organizational development, and strategic initiatives that support sustainability and leadership in social change organizations. She was the Inaugural John C. Eaton Chair in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Ryerson University. Before joining the University she spent 14 years as a funder with the Ontario Trillium Foundation, making provincial investments in change-the-world organizations enabling new approaches, networks and collaboration to build the social sector’s capacity to innovate. Using the “landscape view” that her work in the social sector has afforded over the last 45 years, Marilyn is a facilitator, researcher, writer and coach to the social sector working from her home in Grey County.

Gregory Rozdeba

Co-Founder, Dundas Life

Gregory is the CEO of Dundas Life (www.dundaslife.com), one of Canada’s largest digital life insurance companies. Dundas Life provides coverage for Canadian families who struggle to find qualified financial services, especially in remote communities. 

Gregory has spent over 8 years in the insurance technology space working with large insurers and banks in both Canada and the United States. 

Ahmad S. Dallal

President of The American University in Cairo

Dallal currently serves as dean of Georgetown University in Qatar and previously served as provost at the American University of Beirut (AUB) from 2009 to 2015. A prominent scholar of Islamic studies, Dallal has taught at AUB, Stanford University, Yale University, Smith College and Georgetown University, where he also served as chair of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies. 

Gregory Scruggs  

Solutions Journalism Network

Gregory Scruggs is a journalist based in Seattle. He has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s degree from Columbia University. A specialist in Latin America and the Caribbean, he was a Fulbright scholar in Brazil. His coverage of the Habitat III summit and global urbanization won a 2017 United Nations Correspondent Association award. He coordinates the Seattle chapter of the Solutions Journalism Network.

Alina Turner  

Co-Founder of HelpSeeker Technologies

Alina is the Co-Founder/Co-President of HelpSeeker Technologies – a social technology and innovation Alberta-based B-Corp, founded in 2018. Her background is as a social scientist with a specialization in systems planning and integration, and as a funder and social policy expert. She’s had the opportunity to work in systems change efforts on homelessness and affordable housing, domestic violence, poverty, mental health, and addictions throughout her career. Alina’s drive and passion for her work are grounded in her lived experience of the social issues she continues to challenge in her professional work. She is a Fellow at The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary. Her most recent interest is in putting new technologies to use in reforming the design and delivery of social safety nets.

Michaela Kauer

Head of Brussels Office of the City of Vienna, Austria.

Michaela Kauer, born 1966 in Vienna, has a long work experience with the City of Vienna, where she occupied different posts. Starting in 1992 in the Executive Policy Group on Housing and Urban Renewal, moving on to the Policy Group for Women´s Rights, Integration and Consumer Protection for more than 10 years and 5 years in Health and Social Affairs, she was assigned as director at the Brussels Liaison Office of Vienna in 2009. The office has a leading role in the city´s EU affairs with a strong focus on public services, long-term public investments, EU urban policy, and gender equality, amongst others. Michaela Kauer represents Vienna in the Executive Committee of EUROCITIES and works closely with the Committee of the Regions. She is the joint representative of the Austrian provinces for the EU Urban Agenda and she served as coordinator of the EU Urban Partnership on Affordable Housing from 2015-2021. Her academic background is international public management; she regularly publishes on urban, housing and gender policy and teaches in academia, amongst others at the University of Applied Studies in Burgenland.

Dwight J. Friesen

Associate Professor of Practical Theology at The Seattle School

Dwight has been leading or training people to lead grassroots faith-based community groups since 1996. He is active with UN-Habitat, Urban Thinkers Campuses, and participates in World Urban Forums. The focus of Dwight’s research and collaborations is the localization and implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), via the “New Urban Agenda” and “The City We Need Now” by mobilizing neighborhood-based religious communities to activate the SDGs through their respective faith, scared texts, narratives, and sustaining practices. 

Dwight is the author of numerous books, including: 2020s Foresight: Three Vital Practices for Thriving in a Decade of Accelerating Change; and The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches are Transforming Mission, Discipleship, & Community. He is the co-founder of the Inhabit Conference, a founding board member of Parish Collective, has served on the National Council of Churches’ “Faith & Order Commission,” and engages in multifaith dialogue unto the common good.