Sam Assefa is the Former Director of Seattle’s Executive Office of Planning & Community Development (OPCD), an office responsible for developing and implementing planning policies and programs to support Seattle's current and future growth as envisioned in the City’s Comprehensive Plan. OPCD is also the City's lead planning agency that is charged with coordinating cross departmental functions in order to comprehensively and systematically address growth, prioritize and direct investments, and assess how existing policies and practices encourage or discourage equity and future development. Sam reports directly to the Mayor who is the City's chief executive. In addition to leading four key divisions within OPCD, Sam is the co-chair of the Capital Cabinet, a multi-departmental body comprised of directors whose departments are responsible for major capital projects and capital investments. Prior to his appointment in Seattle by former Mayor Ed Murray, Sam served as the Senior Urban Designer for the City of Boulder, Colorado from 2010 to 2016.

Jonathan Barnett is an emeritus Professor of Practice in City and Regional Planning, and former director of the Urban Design Program, at the University of Pennsylvania. He is an architect and planner as well as an educator, and is the author of numerous books and articles on the theory and practice of city design. He has been an advisor to the cities of Charleston, SC, Cleveland, Kansas City, Miami, Nashville, New York City, Norfolk, Omaha, and Pittsburgh in the United States and Xiamen and Tianjin in China. He has also been an advisor to several U.S. Government agencies including the National Park Service, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Capitol Planning Commission. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale, Mr. Barnett also holds an M.A. degree from the University of Cambridge and an M. Arch from Yale. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and also a fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He has been the William Henry Bishop visiting professor at Yale, the Eschweiler Professor at the University of Wisconsin, the Kea Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland, and the Sam Gibbons Eminent Scholar at the University of South Florida. He is currently a Guest Professor at Southeast University in Nanjing. Jonathan Barnett has been awarded the Dale Prize for Excellence in Urban Design and Regional Planning, the Athena Medal from the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the William H. Whyte Award from the Partners for Livable Communities for being a pioneer in urban design education and practice.