JoAnne Fiebe is Division Director at Fairfax County’s Department of Economic Initiatives, with more than 20 years of experience in urban design, community revitalization, and place-led economic development. She currently leads efforts to advance public-private partnerships and previously helped transform some of the county’s mixed-use revitalization districts into sustainable, walkable, and economically vibrant communities. Her work includes repositioning county property for redevelopment, shaping policies and design guidelines, guiding long-range planning, and engaging communities through charrettes. She contributed to major initiatives such as the Mosaic District and the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit project.

Outside of local government, JoAnne has worked as a residential and mixed-use developer, a researcher at the Center for Urban Transportation Research in Tampa, and co-founder of a non-profit, The Urban Charrette. She is also the prior owner of two businesses: a food truck and Harvest Solar, a solar installation company. JoAnne holds a Bachelors in Architecture from the University of Miami and a Masters in Urban and Community Design from the University of South Florida, where she also teaches as an adjunct faculty member. She is a member of the George Washington chapter of Lambda Alpha International and the Congress for New Urbanism. 

Joel Mills is Senior Director of the Architect Foundation’s Communities by Design program. The program has catalyzed billions of dollars in sustainable development across the United States, helping to create some of the most vibrant places in America today. Joel’s 29-year career has been focused on strengthening civic capacity, public processes, and civic institutions. This work has helped millions of people participate in democratic processes, visioning efforts, and community planning initiatives. He has delivered presentations, training content, workshops, and public processes in over a dozen countries across 5 continents. 

In the United States, Joel has provided consultative services to hundreds of communities, leading participatory processes on the ground in over 100 communities across 38 states. His work has been featured in over 1,000 media stories. Joel has served on dozens of expert working groups, boards, juries, and panels focused on civic discourse and participation, sustainability, and democracy. He was a founding Board Member of the International Association for Public Participation’s United States Chapter. He has spoken at numerous international conferences concerning democratic urbanism and the role of democracy in urban success, including serving as the Co-Convener of the Remaking Cities Congress in 2013. Joel is an Academician of the Academy of Urbanism in London, UK. He is the author of numerous articles on the relationship between democracy, civic capacity and community.

Taryn Sabia’s career in architecture and urban design is anchored by a passion to involve citizens in actively shaping the built environment. Her diverse background in architecture, urban design, education, and community engagement has provided a deep understanding of the importance of context-based design, mobility, resiliency, and culture of place, and how these elements inform the design of an urban framework. Professor Sabia is the Assistant Dean for Research in the College of Design, Art & Performance at the University of South Florida’s School of Architecture and Community Design and the Director of the Florida Center for Community Design and Research (FCCDR).

As a Research Associate Professor, she teaches graduate courses and studios on urban design policy, climate change and sustainability, urban form, urban transportation systems, and citizen involvement in urbanism. Her research is committed to the merging of design and civics, with focus on climate change adaptation, transit modes and public space. She has extensive experience building partnerships between community members, organizations, and government leaders, Professor Sabia has served as a Principal Investigator on more than 30 projects and advised numerous elected officials and local governments. 

Professor Sabia is a co-founder of the Tampa based non-profit, urban design collaborative, Urban Charrette, Inc. The organization is dedicated to educating community leaders and young professionals about sustainable urban design and empowering citizens to make their neighborhoods and cities better places to live. Professor Sabia has worked professionally in the field of architecture on projects related to mixed-use development, historic preservation, and downtown façade redevelopment programs. She has planned and facilitated over 150 public charrettes and workshops and has authored several articles about community engagement and urban design including a publication in the National Civic Review.

Professor Sabia led the Southeast Regional Mayor's Institute for City Design program in 2014 and 2017. She has presented numerous times at national and regional conferences and serves with professional organizations, such as the American Institute of Architects' Regional and Urban Design Leadership Group leading initiatives for the Active City Conference in 2017 and the Future of Urban Design Education Symposia.

Professor Sabia earned a Master of Urban and Community Design from the University of South Florida and a Master of Architecture from Rhode Island School of Design, where she was a Graduate Fellow for City-State: RISD's Urban Design Lab and served as a Senate Fellow to the Senior Policy Advisor for the Rhode Island Senate. She holds a Master's of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor's Degree in Visual Art from Eckerd College.