This week, Next City will host its fourth annual Vanguard conference in Cleveland, June 10-12. Vanguard is a fellowship program that gathers emerging urban leaders working to improve cities across such various fields as urban planning, community development, entrepreneurship, government, transportation, sustainability, design, art and media.

More than 40 young leaders whose bright ideas for cities, experience in the field and ambition for the future all show great promise will gather in Cleveland for a series of presentations, workshops, tours and other activities. During their time in the city, Vanguard members will visit 25 different places in and around Downtown Cleveland.

Next City readers can track their adventures in real-time on Twitter by following the hashtag #Vanguard13, @nextcityorg and the 2013 Vanguard Class list. Next City will post a digital archive of observations from Vanguard on our Daily blog, along with a full conference recap after the event.

The Vanguard class includes young leaders in government, such as a city councilmember from Salisbury, Maryland, and a fellow in the Strong Cities, Strong Communities program; representatives of important national institutions such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Brookings Institution; leaders of place-based organizations like the Queens Museum of Art and the Findlay Market in Cincinnati; and a host of people working on issues surrounding the built environment, art and urban livability.

“Each year, the conversation about the role of young leaders in cities evolves. This year’s Vanguard class reflects our generation’s concern with larger financial and environmental sustainability of cities,” said Diana Lind, Executive Director and Editor in Chief of Next City. “Among the class are innovators working in roles like chief recovery and resiliency officer for New York City’s subways, as well as start-up entrepreneurs, like a co-founder of the crowdfunding-for-real-estate project Fundrise.”

Conference Spotlights Cleveland

Vanguards will join alumni from previous conference years, Next City staff and board members, and the local host committee for two days in Cleveland. Over the course of the conference, the group will participate in a variety of activities that highlight best urban practices in Cleveland and the cities Vanguard members represent.

In addition to workshops led by national experts on cities and Vanguard members, the group will take part in several localized activities including three tours of the city including a tour of Cleveland’s Kinsman neighborhood, historically one of the most impoverished in the city, which is becoming a national model for local food production and healthy food access.

The group will also embark on a bike tour of Cleveland’s Westside neighborhoods and produce their own un-conference featuring 60-second presentations by the Vanguard class. Vanguard members will also hear talks given by local leaders including Cleveland City Councilman Joe Cimperman; Terry Schwarz, Director of Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative; Chris Ronayne, President of University Circle Inc.; and others.

The 2013 Vanguard conference was made possible by the lead sponsorship of Downtown Cleveland Alliance, Positively Cleveland, The George Gund Foundation, with additional support from The Cleveland Foundation, and local sponsors including CLE Clothing Co., Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, Saving Cities, Northeast Shores Development Corporation, Ohio City Inc., University Circle Inc., Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, and Rising Star Coffee Roasters. A strong local host committee assembled by the lead sponsors worked alongside Next City to shape the conference experience.

The Vanguard host committee consists of local young professional influencers who represent a broad range of organizations. Committee members include: Hannah Belsito, Positively Cleveland; Nelson Beckford, The Cleveland Foundation; Evelyn Burnett, Neighborhood Progress Inc. Tim Carney, Positively Cleveland; Justin Glanville, the Cleveland Foundation and Bike Cleveland Caitlin Johnson, the Gund Foundation; Dan Moulthrop, The City Club Greg Peckham, LAND studio Marika Shiori-Clark, SOSHL Studio Jack Storey, Saving Cities Krissie Wells, Housing Research & Advocacy Center and Laura Kushnick Wiegand, Downtown Cleveland Alliance.

A Look at the 2013 Vanguard Class

This year’s Vanguard group is more geographically diverse than ever, with members hailing from 28 cities — including, for the first time, a Canadian city.

Kareeshma Ali
Asakura Robinson, Urban Designer and Planner, LEED AP
Houston, TX

Mallory Baches
The Civic Hub, Founder and Director
Beaufort, SC

Westley Bayas III
Stand for Children, New Orleans Director
New Orleans, LA

Brian Burch
City of Holland, Councilmember
Holland, MI

Efrem Bycer
San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, Manager of Economic Development
San Diego, CA

Monica Campana
Living Walls: The City Speaks, Co-founder and Executive Director
Atlanta, GA

Michael Christoff
Vocon, Project Designer
Cleveland, OH

Matthew Clarke
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs‎, Capital Projects Manager
Brooklyn, NY

Jason Lloyd Clement
National Trust for Historic Preservation, Director of Community Outreach
Washington, DC

Stephen Crim
Mobility Lab, Research Manager
Washington, DC

Ennis Armon Davis
Davis Planning & Design, LLC., Independent Consultant/Proprietor
Jacksonville, FL

Jake Day
City of Salisbury, President, City Council
Salisbury, MD

Megan Dickerson
Boston Children’s Museum‎, Senior Manager of Community Partnerships
Boston, MA

Alex Dodds
Smart Growth America, Online Communications Manager
Washington, DC

Kimberly Dowdell
Levien & Company, Project Manager
New York, NY

Jules Flynn
MTA New York City Transit, Chief Recovery and Resiliency Officer, Subways
New York, NY

Nicholas Hamilton
The American Assembly, Project Manager
New York, NY

Joe Hansbauer
Findlay Market, President and CEO (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Cincinnati, OH

Lou Huang
Code for America, Fellow
San Francisco, CA

Nicole Hudson Hollway
St. Louis Beacon‎, General Manager
Glen Carbon, IL

Allison Joe
California Strategic Growth Council/Office of the Governor, Deputy Director
Sacramento, CA

David Jurca
Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, Associate Director
Cleveland, OH

Aaron Kimberlin
Arizona State University, School of Geographical Sciences & Urban Planning, Assistant Director of Community Engagement
Phoenix, AZ

Daniel Kinkead
Detroit Future City, Executive Director
Detroit, MI

Quardean Lewis-Allen
Community Solutions/Brownsville Partnership, Greg Jackson Community Fellow ’12
Brooklyn, NY

Rosa Mayer
Partnership for Downtown St. Louis, Economic & Housing Development Associate
St. Louis, MO

Dekonti Mends-Cole
Strong Cities, Strong Communities, Fellow
Ferndale, MI

Daniel Miller
Fundrise, Co-founder and Director of Sales
Washington, DC

Kevin Quinlan
City of Vancouver, Director of Policy and Communications, Office of the Mayor
Vancouver, BC

Prerana Reddy
Queens Museum of Art, Director of Public Events & Community Engagement
Queens, NY

Adam Rosa
Camiros‎, Senior Associate
Chicago, IL

Josh Rosen
Sustainable Community Associates, Principal
Cleveland, OH

Keome Rowe
City of Fort Worth‎, Assistant to the Mayor and Chief of Staff
Fort Worth, TX

Patrick Sabol
The Brookings Institution, Metropolitan Policy Program, Senior Research Assistant
Washington, DC

Wanona Satcher
Durham Urban Innovation Center, Project Manager
Durham, NC

Jessy Kate Schingler
The Embassy Network, Founder
San Francisco, CA

Eric Shaw
Salt Lake City Corporation, Director of Community and Economic Development
Salt Lake City, UT

Melissa Sobolik
City of Fargo, City Commissioner
Fargo, ND

Ryan Sotirakis
Downtown Denver Partnership, Public Realm Design Specialist
Denver, CO

Jenny Spencer
Team Northeast Ohio, Business Attraction Manager
Cleveland, OH

Paul Supawanich
NelsonNygaard, Transportation Planner
San Francisco, CA

Cecelia Thompson
Action Greensboro‎, Director of Projects
Greensboro, NC

Phanat Xanamane
Envision da Berry, Creative Director
New Iberia, LA