Episodes

Chip Conley started one of the country’s first boutique hotel chains, Joie de Vivre, when he was just 26 years old. After selling the company, he joined the startup Airbnb at age 52, despite the fact that the young founders were primed to disrupt his industry. Read more about Chip’s leadership Read more about Chip’s role at Airbnb Pre-order Chip’s newest book, Wisdom @ Work: The Making of a Modern Elder Learn more about Chip’s other books *This is a rebroadcast of our previous interview wit...

A chance meeting on a playground led Kevin Plank, Under Armour’s founder, to ask Tom Geddes to oversee his private investments. Tom’s leadership is enhancing Baltimore’s waterfront and how the public experiences the city. Learn more about Plank Industries Learn more about Tom Geddes

Janet Marie Smith had a homerun vision for Camden Yards, the first baseball stadium in 70 years that was built within the existing urban fabric of any U.S. city. With stadium work in Boston and Atlanta also under her belt, she is now enhancing 55-year-old Dodger Stadium. Learn more about Janet Marie Smith Read more about Janet Marie Smith’s involvement with Camden Yards

Following the advice of his grandfather, Andrés Duany knows he can either be popular or indispensable, and he’s chosen the latter. Made famous by his traditional neighborhood design of Seaside, Florida, Duany has led the charge in creating new urbanist communities. Learn more about Andrés Duany and DPZ Read more about New Urbanism

How does one prepare for an unexpected crisis? Scott Cowen managed to lead Tulane University through Hurricane Katrina, strengthening the student body and city of New Orleans in the process by strategically integrating the two.

MaryAnne Gilmartin defies many conventions in the real estate world. She wears high heels to construction sites of major New York City projects and has achieved the top leadership position in a family business where she has no relation.

Growing up, Toby Bozzuto did not want to work in the family business—yet now he is the CEO. Toby began his career in the music industry but was drawn into the real estate world because of the foundational values his father set for the Bozzuto Group.

Kimber Lanning has operated an independent record store in downtown Phoenix for 30 years. Her experience as a small business owner led her to start Local First Arizona, advocating for self-reliant, unique downtowns that can support the little guy. Learn more about Kimber Lanning and Local First Arizona

Teens using power tools? That’s the foundation for Alex Gilliam’s two nonprofits. He brings together youth to physically build amenities in their struggling neighborhoods. These students learn how to engage civically while changing the urban landscape. Learn more about Alex Gilliam and Public Workshop Watch Alex Gilliam’s TED Talk

Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood was one of the most blighted in the country, impeding on the city’s economic development. Leveraging creative financing as well as civic and corporate partnerships, Steve Leeper has led 3CDC in the transformation of this historic neighborhood. Learn more about Steve Leeper and 3CDC Learn more about the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood

A lifelong New Yorker, Alicia Glen serves as the city’s deputy mayor for housing and economic development. Why did she leave the private sector for public service, and what are the challenges for New York given one of its own is entering the White House? Read Alicia Glen’s bio

Egbert Perry of the Integral Group developed the national model for mixed-income housing. He has since been changing the notion of which industry sectors people of color are accepted, and successfully forging into market-rate commercial projects. Read more about Egbert Perry and the Integral Group Read a 1998 article on the creation of Centennial Place

As an African American and Asian American woman in office, Mayor Marilyn Strickland challenges our notion of what makes a strong leader. She talks about her journey, starting with a job at the headquarters of Starbucks to earning the top post of an international port city. Mayor Strickland is a trustee of ULI and was a Rose Center for Public Leadership and Land Use fellow. Read Mayor Strickland’s bio Read Mayor Strickland’s 2016 State of the City speech

Steve Wilson is the founder of 21c Museum Hotels, started in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2006. These unique concept hotels, which incorporate gallery space for Wilson’s expansive art collection, are a unique way to help revitalize the downtowns of midsized cities with a growing tourism industry. Wilson and his wife now have seven other hotels open or under construction around the United States. In this episode, Wilson talks about his unusual path to creating such a unique revitalization technique a...