19th Annual Spring Symposium

Now in its 19th year, our annual symposium brings the pro-housing community together to learn about, discuss, and explore innovative ideas to solving California’s most pressing housing issues.

This year’s Symposium will focus on the critical theme of resiliency. Our panel of housing experts will explore what it means for a city’s housing to be resilient, how we can build more resilient cities, and why housing resiliency is important.

Interested in sponsoring Spring Symposium? Check out our Sponsor Benefits Page.

Moderator: Adhiti Bandlamudi, KQED Housing Reporter

Adhiti Bandlamudi reports for KQED's Housing desk. She focuses on how housing gets built across the Bay Area and has won awards for her coverage on urban sprawl, cities adapting to climate change and California Forever, a controversial initiative which aims build a city from scratch in Solano County. Before coming to KQED, she covered gun violence in North Carolina at WUNC and was an NPR Kroc Fellow in Washington, DC, where she reported on everything from the Golden State Killer's arrest to police brutality in Sacramento. She is based in San Francisco.

New Cities: Gabe Metcalf, Head of Planning, California Forever

Gabriel Metcalf is a city planner who has dedicated his career to helping cities become more livable, sustainable, and inclusive. For many years, he served as the President and CEO of SPUR, an urban policy think tank for the San Francisco Bay Area. Most recently, he was the CEO of the Committee for Sydney, a research and advocacy organization that provides vision, strategy, and advocacy for Australia’s largest city.

Gabriel’s work has focused on housing policy, climate change, economic development, transportation, and government effectiveness. He has been interested in new cities as a growth management strategy since first learning about the British new town movement in his introduction to planning history at UC Berkeley, where he earned a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning.

Existing Cities: Alicia John-Baptiste, Chief of Infrastructure, Climate and Mobility, City and County of San Francisco

A seasoned leader and public policy professional, Alicia John-Baptiste has over 25 years of experience reimagining systems to create better outcomes for people. She currently serves as Chief of Infrastructure, Climate, and Mobility for the City and County of San Francisco. Alicia honed her optimistic vision and practical approach to systems change while President and CEO of SPUR, a renowned urban policy organization focused on building a Bay Area where all people can thrive. Prior to her time at SPUR, Alicia developed deep appreciation for local government and its commitment to the collective good while serving in leadership roles for the City and County of San Francisco, including at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the San Francisco Planning Department. Experienced in both public policy and complex organizational management, Alicia focuses her talents and experience on collaborating for a better future. Alicia holds a Masters degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University, and has served on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority Board, and the Oakland Budget Advisory Commission, among other service roles. She and her husband met many years ago in San Francisco, and now spend most of their free time watching their kids play soccer.

Presenting Sponsor

Important Notes:

Online ticket sales will end at 11:59 PM on Sunday, May 26 in order to for staff to print all needed materials. Tickets will still be available at the door the day of the event.

If your organization is a Spring Symposium sponsor, contact Gabrielle Blavatsky([email protected]) about ticket information.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

UC Law Center, 198 McAllister Street, San Francisco, United States