Prove It Keynote: Maurice Cox and Courtney Spearman

Join Civic Design Institute for a free public conversation with Maurice Cox and Courtney Spearman, two national design leaders whose work spans major cities, rural towns, and Tribal communities. Together, they will explore how the places we build serve the people who live there and what makes those investments endure.

The evening opens the first Prove It: A National Summit on Design Excellence as Civic Practice in Columbus, Indiana. Residents, students, designers, community leaders, and anyone curious about the future of their community are welcome.

Thursday, October 8, 2026

• 5:30 p.m. Reception opens
• 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Keynote presentations and conversation
• Location The Commons, 300 Washington Street, Columbus, Indiana 47201
• Admission Free. Advance registration required.

Please arrive by 5:50 p.m. so the program can begin on time. All times are Eastern.

(pictured top left) is the Emma Bloomberg Professor in Residence of Urban Planning and Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. A former mayor of Charlottesville, he led planning and development for Detroit and Chicago, bringing design and community participation into decisions about the future of city neighborhoods.

(pictured top right) works with rural and Tribal communities through Building Common Ground. At the National Endowment for the Arts, she led national design initiatives and supported small towns through the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design. She brings a perspective rooted in local culture, community knowledge, and the places people gather.

(pictured bottom right), Program Director of Indiana University’s J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program in Columbus, will moderate.

U.S. Senator Todd Young (pictured bottom left) will offer remarks. Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon and Tracy Haddad, Board Chair of Landmark Columbus Foundation, will welcome guests.

The Prove It Keynote is produced by Landmark Columbus Foundation through the in partnership with the and the , with support from and the City of Columbus.

Prove It: A National Summit on Design Excellence as Civic Practice runs October 8 to 10, 2026, bringing Indiana communities and national design leaders together to examine how design excellence works, how it can be measured, and how communities can put it into practice.

The summit also launches the Indiana Quality of Place Learning Partnership, a two-year effort led by Landmark Columbus Foundation’s Civic Design Institute, in partnership with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and the Indiana Arts Commission, to understand and measure what makes public investment in place endure.

Event venue & nearby stays

The Commons, 300 Washington Street, Columbus, United States

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