International Conference Urban Futures 2050 Berlin, May 26-27, 2011 Short Biographies Susanne Achilles-Kuhnhardt, visionSgate Berlin As a business manager holding a PhD, Susanne Achilles-Kuhnhardt has been active as a consultant and entrepreneur in various industries. Her expertise ranges from telecommunications and media to services, manufacturing, and her current activities in the field of renewable energies. She focuses on the development of management, vision, strategy, and sales. As head of visionSgate management consulting, supporting and developing projects and companies in the field of renewable energies are of particular importance to her. Abebayehu Assefa, Addis Ababa University Abebayehu Assefa, born in 1953, did his BSc in Mechanical Engineering at the Addis Ababa University and MSc in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology – UMIST, UK. He did his PhD (Dr.-Ing.) degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Aachen. He has been the head of the Energy Center of the Faculty of Technology, Addis Ababa University since 2007. He has worked at the University since 1994 where he lectures and publishes regularly. His key interests are e.g. computer-aided analysis and design of thermal systems, renewable energy conversion, power plant engineering and computer modeling of mechanical systems. Assefa is also a member of the German Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Academic Commission of the Faculty of Technology. He is an Executive Committee member of the Ethiopian Society of Mechanical Engineers (ESME). Tina Bär, Heinrich-Böll-Foundation Brandenburg Tina Bär studied Political Science, Public Management and Environmental Education at University of Potsdam. She works as Education consultant at the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation Brandenburg. Her main fields of work include ecology and sustainable development, energy and climate protection and democracy. She coordinates different international projects regarding sustainability communication, municipal climate protection and political participation. She is 28 years old, married, has one child (soon two of them) and sees herself as a humanist and optimist. Katrin Bohn, Technical University of Berlin Katrin Bohn is an architect and guest professor for cities and nutrition at the Institute for Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design (ILAUP), Technical University of Berlin. Together with André Viljoen, she runs Bohn&Viljoen Architects, a small architecture practice and environmental consultancy in London. Bohn&Viljoen Architects have developed the concept of CPUL (Continuous Productive Urban Landscape), with which they contributed to the international urban design discourse in 2004. Michael Brüntrup, German Development Institute (DIE) Michael Brüntrup has worked at the German Development Institute (DIE) since 2003 on topics related to agricultural and rural development, trade policy, and food security. His geographical focus is sub-Saharan Africa. Short Biographies, “Urban Futures 2050,” May 2011 1 He studied agricultural sciences at the Technical University of Munich/Weihenstephan and prepared his doctoral thesis at the University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim, where he was also employed from 1990–1996. From 1997–2003 he worked as a freelance consultant in the areas of microfinance, agriculture, and resource economics. Weert Canzler, Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB) Weert Canzler, born in 1960, is a political scientist with a PhD in sociology from the TU Berlin and co-founder of the Mobility Research Group at the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB). He has worked at the WZB since 1993. His main research focus includes: innovation and future studies, automobile and transport policy, and infrastructure policy. He publishes regularly. From 1988 to 1992 he worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Future Studies and Technology Assessment (IZT) in Berlin and the Sekretariat für Zukunftsforschung (Secretariat for Future Studies) Gelsenkirchen. Martin J. Chávez, ICLEI (International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives) USA Martin J. Chávez, three-term former mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is Executive Director of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA. Chavez is based in ICLEI USA’s Washington DC Executive Office. He assumed the Executive Director position at ICLEI in 2010. Chávez leads the growing national movement of more than 600 US cities, towns, and counties that are taking action to combat climate change, save energy, create green jobs, and make their communities better places to live. He directs ICLEI’s ongoing efforts to empower these local governments with the tools, resources, and expertise necessary to achieve their goals. Christine Chemnitz, Heinrich-Böll-Foundation Christine Chemnitz is Advisor for international agricultural policy at the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation. Her main interests are issues of global food supply, the sustainable development of agriculture, and the ecologically sustainable organization of trade agreements. Chemnitz studied Agricultural Sciences in Berlin and Göttingen and his currently writing her thesis at the Humboldt University Berlin at the faculty of agricultural trade and development. Kees Christiaanse, Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Kees Christiaanse, born in Amsterdam in 1953, studied architecture at the Delft University of Technology. Between 1980 and 1989, Christiaanse worked for the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam, becoming a partner in 1983. Afterwards he started his own firm in Rotterdam, Ir. Kees Christiaanse Architects & Planners, which was renamed KCAP Architects & Planners in 2002. In 1990 he founded ASTOC Architects & Planners in Cologne. From 1996 until 2003 he was Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the Technical University of Berlin. Currently, he is affiliated with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). Since summer 2007 he has been a visiting professor at the London School of Economics. He regularly acts as a jury member for international competitions and is the author of several publications about architecture and urban design. In spring 2007 he was appointed as a member of the advisory panel of Design for London. Kristina Dely, Covenant of Mayors Office Kristina Dely has been heading the Covenant of Mayors Office since its establishment in January 2009. The office − composed of five major European networks of local authorities − co-ordinates the Covenant of Mayors, an initiative by the European Commission. Formerly, Kristina was in charge of European Affairs of Energy Cities, a European association representing 1,000 local authorities from 30 countries pioneering in sustainable energy strategies. Kristina holds master’s degrees in Economy and Environmental Management from the Budapest University of Economics and the École de Management de Lyon. Short Biographies, “Urban Futures 2050,” May 2011 2 Sabine Drewes, Heinrich Böll Foundation Sabine Drewes is Advisor for local politics and urban development at the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation. Previously, she was the editor of the Kommunalpolitische Infothek (Local Politics News Portal). She studied political science at the Freie Universität Berlin. Between 1994 and 1997 she worked as a freelance journalist (Zitty, DeutschlandRadio, Deutsche Welle, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). From 1997 to 2002 she worked a publishing assistant for The Greens/Alternatives in local councils in North-Rhine Westphalia. She co-edits “Das neue Gesicht der Stadt. Strategien für die urbane Zukunft im 21. Jahrhundert” (The New Green Face of the City. Strategies for the Urban Future of the 21st Century; 2006) and “Urban Futures 2030” (2009). Zuzana Drhová, The Green Party Czechia Zuzana Drhová was born in Prague in 1963 and has lived there most of her life. In 2010 she became a member of the municipal council in one of Prague’s 23 districts. Since 2011 she has been a member of the Prague regional board of the Green Party responsible for land-use planning. She graduated from the Agriculture University and finished her dissertation in Social and Public Policy Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University. There she focused on the methodology of public participation, sustainable development, and environmental policy. For 10 years she worked as a director of the Czech NGO association Green Circle. Since 2010 she has been with the Agency for Social Inclusion in Roma Locations. From 2006–2010 she was a member of the Czech Green Party Board and a member of Prague City Hall. Franziska Eichstädt-Bohlig, MoP, Alliance 90/The Greens Berlin Franziska Eichstädt-Bohlig, born 1941 in Dresden, studied architecture and urban planning in Hannover and Berlin, after which she worked as a city planner in Berlin. A member of the Green Party since 1993, she was a Member of Parliament (Bundestag) between 1994 and 2005, focusing on urban development and budgetary policies. Between 2006 and 2009 she was leader of the Greens in the Berlin Parliament (Abgeordnetenhaus). She was member of the expert commission “Historical Centre Berlin” and since 2007 has been on the advisory board of the Federal Foundation Building Culture. She was director of “Stadtbau” and the planning councilor of Berlin-Kreuzberg in 1989/1990. Johannes Fiedler, Institute for City Planning and Landscape Planning, TU Braunschweig Johannes Fiedler, born in 1958 in Vienna, is an architect and city planner. He is professor at the Institute for City Planning and Landscape Planning at the