Just two weeks after we collected nearly 200 applications for this year’s Vanguard class, we’ve selected 40 people whose bright ideas for cities, experience in the field and ambition for the future all show great promise. This year’s group is more geographically diverse than ever, with members hailing from 28 cities — including, for the first time, a Canadian city (Vancouver).

The 2013 Vanguard class, along with Vanguard alumni, will meet in Cleveland in June for workshops, local tours and an “unconference” to collectively learn and think about how to improve our cities. The event is made possible with support from Positively Cleveland, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance and the Gund Foundation. A host committee that includes former Vanguards living in Cleveland, members of the supporting institutions and other local leaders has helped to shape the local Vanguard experience.

As always, this year’s class boasts an incredibly impressive set of experiences. We have young leaders in government, such as a city councilmember from Salisbury, Md. 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; as always, a host of people are 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. 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.

More than ever, the Vanguard drew exciting applications from young people working in government. This bodes well for this year’s conference and for the future of the whole country.

2013 Vanguard Class

Kareeshma Ali
Asakura Robinson
Houston, TX

Mallory Baches
The Civic Hub
Beaufort, SC

Westley Bayas
Stand for Children
New Orleans, LA

Brian Burch
City of Holland
Holland, MI

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

Monica Campana
Living Walls: The City Speaks
Atlanta, GA

Michael Christoff
Vocon
Cleveland, OH

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

Jason Clement
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Washington, DC

Stephen Crim
Mobility Lab
Washington, DC

Ennis Armon Davis
Davis Planning & Design, LLC.
Jacksonville, FL

Jake Day
City of Salisbury
Salisbury, MD

Megan Dickerson
Boston Children’s Museum‎
Boston, MA

Alex Dodds
Smart Growth America
Washington, DC

Kimberly Dowdell
Levien & Company
New York, NY

Jules Flynn
MTA New York City Transit
New York, NY

Nicholas Hamilton
The American Assembly
New York, NY

Joe Hansbauer
Findlay Market
Cincinnati , OH

Lou Huang
Code for America
San Francisco, CA

Nicole Hudson Hollway
St. Louis Beacon‎
Glen Carbon, IL

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

David Jurca
Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative
Cleveland, OH

Aaron Kimberlin
Arizona State University
Phoenix, AZ

Daniel Kinkead
Detroit Future City
Detroit, MI

Quardean Lewis-Allen
Community Solutions/Brownsville Partnership
Brooklyn, NY

Rosa Mayer
Partnership for Downtown St. Louis
St. Louis, MO

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

Daniel Miller
Fundrise
Washington, DC

Kevin Quinlan
City of Vancouver
Vancouver, BC

Prerana Reddy
Queens Museum of Art
Queens, NY

Adam Rosa
Camiros‎
Chicago, IL

Josh Rosen
Sustainable Community Associates
Cleveland, OH

Keome Rowe
City of Fort Worth‎
Fort Worth, TX

Patrick Sabol
The Brookings Institution
Washington, DC

Wanona Satcher
Durham Urban Innovation Center
Durham, NC

Jessy Kate Schingler
The Embassy Network
San Francisco, CA

Eric Shaw
Salt Lake City Corporation
Salt Lake City, UT

Melissa Sobolik
City of Fargo
Fargo, ND

Ryan Sotirakis
Downtown Denver Partnership
Denver, CO

Jenny Spencer
Team Northeast Ohio
Cleveland, OH

Paul Supawanich
NelsonNygaard
San Francisco, CA

Cecelia Thompson
Action Greensboro‎
Greensboro, NC

Phanat Xanamane
Envision da Berry
New Iberia, LA