VOICES FOR CHANGE
Celebrating Urban Change Makers
In this series of video portraits, Studio THI shares the voices of established and emerging urban leaders who champion for change, shape sustainable cities and create spaces that enhance and enrich our lives.
Greg Chemello.
Greg is the CEO of Moreton Bay Regional Council, and brings to our panel more than 35 years of experience in the property and development sectors. He has held senior professional, management and leadership roles within both property asset owners and advisory/consulting businesses and organisations.
Leanne Hodyl.
Leanne is Managing Director of Hodyl & Co, a research and design consultancy focused on creating cities people love. She is an established industry leader with 20 years of experience leading urban policy and design projects critical to the future development of Australian cities.
Danièle Hromek.
Danièle is a spatial designer, speculative designer and public artist, and a Saltwater woman of the Budawang clan of the Yuin nation, with French and Czech heritage. Her work is grounded in her cultural and experiential heritage, and often considers the urban Aboriginal condition, the Indigenous experience of Country, and contemporary Indigenous identities.
Rob Adams.
Rob Adams is an architect and urban designer. He is the current City Architect for the City of Melbourne and has won multiple awards as the leader of the revitalisation of the Melbourne City Centre and surrounds. His work in the urban core has assisted Melbourne to become one of the world's most liveable cities.
Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz.
Susan is Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of Mirvac. She has been involved in the real estate industry for over 29 years, working in investment management in both the direct and indirect markets, development, mergers and acquisitions, disposals, research, and business strategy.
April McCabe.
April the director of Social Strategy and engagement at The Planning Studio. She is a policy specialist working within government and the private sector for over 20 years across strategic land-use planning; place making; and social and cultural policy. April is passionate about cities and the different needs of genders.
Sacha Coles.
Sacha Coles is a founding Director of ASPECT Studios in Sydney. Sacha has led projects of transformational change spanning placemaking, infrastructure, play space, academic and civic institutions, and green infrastructure.
Caroline Butler-Bowdon.
Caroline Butler-Bowdon is an Executive Committee Member at ICOMOS. She has 20-years’ experience in large public organisations including 12 years at Sydney Living Museums. She holds a PhD in Architecture, Urban History & Development.
Jennifer Michelmore.
Jennifer is CEO of Studio THI, and an accomplished urbanist and designer, who has been part of the THI family for over 15 years. Having established her career with the organisation in community development, she’s also worked across strategy and change. Jennifer is a big believer in power of co-creation and collaboration, and has played a central role in securing THI’s position as an independent platform for urban professionals and communities to come together.
Claudia Bergs.
Claudia is a landscape architect and Senior Urban Designer at Moreton Bay Regional Council, where she leads the urban design team to connect people to land throughout the region. Her experience in the public and private sector spans all scales of projects including city-centre master plans, urban activations, streetscapes and waterway naturalisations.
Peter Browning.
With more than 30 years’ experience in urban community and economic development, Peter is well credentialed to lead Studio THI’s urban change strategy and program offering. Since joining Studio THI, in 2006, Peter has helped develop place-based strategies centred on the needs of communities for clients across local and state governments, and the education and property development sectors.
Andrew Thompson.
Andrew is a founding partner of Fluent Property Pty Ltd, a boutique real estate advisory, investment, and development business. Over the last 19 years, Andrew has delivered some of Australia’s most significant development projects, including West Village for Sekisui House; Jackson’s Landing in Sydney and Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds, one of LendLease’s largest urban renewal mixed-use projects.
Andrew Neighbour.
Andrew is a Landscape Architect and Director of Lat27, a multidisciplinary urban design and landscape architecture studio. He is an award-winning designer, who believes in outcomes that are true to each place and its story - and that are underpinned by environmental principles and community values.
Cathryn Chatburn.
Cathryn is one of Australia’s leading urban designers. Her contribution to the country’s built environment spans the nation’s capital, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. With 30 years’ experience, and an array of industry awards, Cathryn has accumulated dual proficiencies in both policy and practice.
Greg Vann.
Greg is the Director, Planning at Ethos Urban. After over 40 years in urban and regional planning working in consultancy, local and state government, Greg remains enthusiastic about making a difference for the communities and people he works with. He is a prominent, award-winning Australian urbanist and travels widely to build and spread his planning knowledge, including leading best practice planning tours.
Kate Meyrick.
Kate is a Director at Urbis and the former CEO of The Hornery Institute (now Studio THI). She is a passionate urbanist and place maker with more than 25 years of experience working throughout Australia, Asia, Europe and the United States. Kate is regarded for her expertise in visioning and positioning city-scale precincts, working sensitively with stakeholders and the community to co-create powerful new futures for well-loved places.
Malcolm Middleton.
Malcolm is an architect and urban designer with over 35 years’ experience in a wide variety of projects, including design review, campus master planning, transportation and infrastructure projects, planned residential and mixed use communities. He was awarded a Life Fellowship to the Australian Institute of Architects in 2021, and the Order of Australia Medal in 2010.
Bonnie Shaw.
Throughout her career, Bonnie has leveraged emerging technologies and machine learning, community-powered innovation, and experience design, to drive transformative change. Bonnie, co-founder at Place Intelligence, focused on delivering automated location and audience intelligence tools to provide analytics and insights for better city decision making.
Ruben Langbroek.
Ruben has more than eighteen years’ experience in the real asset investment sector, of which the last decade has been focused on the Asia-Pacific region. He is Head of Asia Pacific for GRESB, a mission-driven organisation that provides actionable and transparent environmental, social, and governance data to financial markets.
Daniel Khong.
Daniel is an associate Director at Capella Capital, a financial sponsor, developer, and manager of infrastructure projects and assets throughout Australia. Daniel holds a Master of Architecture and Bachelor of Planning & Design and has 20 years’ experience in Australia and New Zealand.
Jess Miller.
Jess is a freelance Impact Strategist. Through her work, Jess confronts and overcomes the most complex and intractable problems facing people living in urban places. Jess’ areas of expertise include environmental systems, specifically urban ecology and urban forestry, and local food systems. She is an advocate for a slow city with lots of active and public transport, character, community, sport, colour and creativity.
Kate Doyle.
Kate is the former CEO of the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia, a role she held for seven years. Her practice as a leader and collaborator was founded on her early career experience in education and policy, working across diverse social, cultural, and linguistic contexts.
Celebrating urban change makers.
To celebrate The Hornery Institute (now Studio THI’s) 20th anniversary, we interviewed 20 industry leaders and changemakers who have shaped (and continue to shape) the future of cities globally. Our Voices for Change interviews challenge us to take a long-term view, prioritise the public benefit in what we’re creating, and work collaboratively as teams, organisations and a system to deliver value to all.
