Thomas Kauertz (Germany) is an Architect , assistant lecturer at the HAWK (University of Applied Sciences and Arts) in Hildesheim, Germany, since 2000.  Tom encourages students to think outside the paper and attempt unique and unusual designs.  Together with  his partner Anja Markwart are a living example of how the teamwork between Architects and Civil Engineers should be part of any working environment — creative, with mutual respect and trust.  There is no other way.  Architects and Civil Engineers need each other.

 

 

 

Dr. Orli Ronen (Israel) Head of the Urban Innovation and Sustainability Lab, at the Porter School for Environmental and Social Studies, Tel Aviv University, a cooperation between the Porter School and Tel Aviv Municipality, enabling graduate students to work directly with policy actors in local authorities, helping them use environmental data to devise new sustainability programs and policies for their local area. Previously, Orli headed the Heschel Center for Sustainability, which she founded, a joint project between the Porter School, the Ministry of the Environment and ICLEI. In 2015 Orli drafted the Tel Aviv Yafo Declaration on Civic Engagement and Smart Cities, part of the Habitat III New Urban Agenda, and Israel's National Report to Habitat III. Orli holds a PhD in Urban Planning from Tel Aviv University and a Masters in Public Administration and a Masters in Business Administration. Orli is the 2009 recipient of the Green Globe for Local Sustainability.

 

Braha Kunda (Israel) Architecture and Environmental Design Senior Lecturer and former Head of Interior Design Department at the Design Faculty HIT - Israel. She received her B. Design from Bezalel Academy and M. Arch from Rice University, Houston USA. Braha participated also in the Heschel Organization Environmental Leadership program, and is involved in the formation and activity of Mabadat Pais Design Terminal.Braha has professional and academic experience in total architectural and environmental design of housing, commercial and public projects in a wide range of scales. Major interest in contextual design related to social and cultural aspects.Braha supports ECOWEEK activity in Israel.

 

 

Dr. Galia Hanoch Roe SOCIETY FOR PROTECTION OF NATURE (Israel) Director of the Tel-Aviv–Jaffa Metropolitan Area Chapter. Galia  is a landscape architect, a graduate of Rutgers University Lanscape Architecture program, and a graduate of Yale Univesity and CUNY Graduate School with a doctorate in Music.  She has worked as a landscape architect at LRK Princeton and "Minaad" firms in Israel and has led her own private firm which specialized in participatory planning of public spaces.  Galia has lectured and published widely. As director of the Tel -Aviv Municipal Area Community of the  SPNI, Galia is leading an array of activities in the realm of nature preservation, community and sustainability, community gardens and residents'  forums.

 

 

 

Yael Hamerman Solar ARCHITECT (Israel) Founder and former head of the department for Sustainable Planning and Development at Jerusalem Municipality. Yael teaches sustainabilty and architectural process at Bezalel Academy. more

 

 

Dr. Els Verbakel BEZALEL (Israel) Founding partner of Derman Verbakel Architecture and Director of the Graduate Program in Urban Design at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem. She has taught architecture and urban design at Technion Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Columbia University, Princeton University, Pratt Institute, the University of Leuven. In 2013 she published the book In Search of the Public. Notes on the Contemporary American City, (Island Press) in 2008 she guest-edited a special issue of AD Magazine titled Cities of Dispersal (Wiley) and in 2007 she published the book Constellations: Constructing Urban Design Practices. (GSAPP publishing). Els obtained a PhD in Architecture at Princeton University, a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University, a Postgraduate in Urban Design from the Polytechnic Institute of Catalunya and a Master and Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering and Architecture from the University of Leuven.

 

Yair Engel CRADLE-TO-CRADLE (Israel) is a designer, expert and consultant in sustainable innovation, Cradle to Cradle and Circular Economy. He is the founder and CEO of Kayama - the Center for Sustainable Design in Israel which promotes Design for Sustainability (D4S) amongst industrials, government offices and academic institutions. He is the representative of EPEA (Cradle to Cradle) in Israel. Industrial designer by profession (Bezalel Academy), Yair is a lecturer for D4S, Cradle to Cradle and Circular Economy at Shenkar and Kibbutzim College. Yair is a committee member of the Green Label Council of the Israel Standards Institute. Yair is a fellow of the Heschel Center for Sustainability, a certified Cradle to Cradle design consultant and a certified trainer for EU/UN SwitchMed Green Entrepreneurship.

 

Avirama Golan (Israel) Writer, translator and journalist, between 1983 and 2012 worked as a correspondent, editor and commentator in Davar and Haaretz, and in 1996 she became a member of the Editorial Board of Haaretz. Her journalistic work concentrates mainly in Planning Policy and welfare issues. Avirama published 3 novels in Hebrew, 1 novel in French, and 5 books for children. Her books were translated into many languages and gained several literary prizes. Since 2012 Avirama is the director of the Bat-Yam Center for Mediterranean Urbanism. From 2015 she is also the co-chair of Sikky, the Association for Civic Equality in Israel.