Toni L. Griffin is the founder of urbanAC, based in New York, specializing in leading complex, trans-disciplinary planning and urban design projects for multi-sector clients in cities with long histories of spatial and social injustice.

Toni is also Professor in Practice of Urban Planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and leads The Just City Lab, a research platform for developing values-based planning methodologies and tools, including the Just City Index and a framework of indicators and metrics for evaluating public life and urban justice in public plazas.

Ms. Griffin was a Professor of Architecture and Director of the J. Max Bond Center on Design for the Just City at the Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York. Toni has also held several public sector positions including, Director of Community Development for Newark, New Jersey; Vice President and Director of Design for the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation in Washington, DC; and Deputy Director for Revitalization and Neighborhood Planning for the DC Office of Planning. She began her career as an architect with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP in Chicago, where she became an Associate Partner.

Ms. Griffin received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame and a Loeb Fellowship from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. In 2014, Toni was the Visiting Associate Professor and Theodore B. and Doris Shoong Lee Chair in Real Estate Law and Urban Planning, in the Department of City and Regional Planning at University of California, Berkeley.

Toni has lectured extensively in the United States, Europe and South America and has published several articles on design, urban justice, legacy cities and Detroit. In 2016, President Barack Obama appointed Toni to the US Commission on Fine Arts.

Natasha is a design and policy consultant at Urban American City. A trained urban planner and architect, Natasha brings experience in a variety of design disciplines and is passionate about addressing the root causes of racial and gender inequity embedded within the built environment.

Most recently, Natasha worked as a Senior Associate with the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, applying her housing, policy, and design expertise to Insight’s racial and gender wealth inequality initiatives. Natasha also spent several years in the public sector applying her interdisciplinary skillset to redesign systems, policies, and harmful mental models. As a Government Innovation Fellow, she worked with the City of Detroit’s Housing Department to collaboratively design with nonprofit stakeholders a program for delivering coordinated housing stability services. Natasha also authored the City of Charleston’s first strategic plan for affordable housing, Housing for a Fair Charleston, and authored a strategic plan for public art for the Municipality of Tirana, Albania.

Centering the experience of BIPOC communities is critical to Natasha’s practice. She has organized events elevating the voices of Black designers and urbanists including the Black in Design Conference at Harvard University and the Spaces and Places 'unconference' convening which runs in conjunction to the National Planning Conference.

Natasha is a graduate of the Master in Urban Planning and Master in Design Studies program at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and received her Bachelor's degree in Architecture and Art History from Stanford University. Her work has been featured in Next City, NonProfit Quarterly, and Inquest.

Laura Greenberg is an Associate at Urban American City where she contributes as an urban designer, registered architect, and researcher. Recent work includes public realm design and activation, community wealth-building efforts, and the creative reuse of vacant spaces in legacy cities. She brings practical design and building expertise gained through architectural practice prior to joining urbanAC.

Laura brings a social and racial justice lens to every project and aims to expand community agency and ownership through design and planning processes. She relies on a blend of archival and contemporary research to understand contexts and inform decisions. Her independent research focuses on registered EcoDistricts across the U.S., and multi-scalar equitable reuse strategies for vacant public schools in Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, and Pittsburgh.

She is most recently published as the author of the AIA’s “Equitable Development Frameworks: An introduction and comparison for architects,” co-editor of “Patterned Justice: Design Languages for a Just Pittsburgh,” and contributor to the High Line Network’s “Community First Toolkit.”

Laura received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Miami, and a Master of Architecture in Urban Design with Distinction from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. At Harvard, she was a member of The Just City Lab and received the Druker Traveling Fellowship.

Chris Nelson is an Urban Design Associate at Urban American City where he contributes as an architectural and urban designer. He brings a broad background working in both the public and private sectors.

Chris’ work focuses on balancing technical pragmatism with the specific and unique needs of clientele, always with the desired outcome of an achievable solution for a more equitable and beautiful future. He approaches every project with a mixture of hard data analysis and discussions with local stakeholders. He most recently managed the restoration and renovation of an early 20th century home in San Francisco, and has previously worked for the city's public works department, planning and designing a series of supportive housing shelters.

He has been a contributor to various published works including “Patterned Justice: Design Languages for a Just Pittsburgh,” and “Chinatown 2020 Master Plan: A Health Lens Analysis.”

Chris received a Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt University, and a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. At Harvard, he received the Community Service Fellowship and a COVID-19 Summer Research Grant.