20th Annual Urban Leadership Forum: Urban Leadership for the 21st Century

The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) celebrated the 2025 Lawrence C. Nussdorf Urban Leadership Prize winners at its 20th Annual Urban Leadership Forum on April 25, 2025:

-Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone
-Patrick Harker, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
-Enrique Peñalosa, former Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia

The prize honors the legacy of the late Lawrence C. Nussdorf, a dedicated Penn IUR Advisory Board Member, Penn alum and visionary urban advocate.

These recipients have demonstrated bold, inclusive leadership in addressing the pressing urban challenges, from sustainability and mass transit innovation to economic mobility and equitable city planning.

The also featured remarks from an impressive cohort of past Nussdorf Prize recipients and distinguished urbanists, including:

-Henry Cisneros, Chairman, American Triple I; former Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2011 awardee)
-Manuel Diaz, Senior Partner, Lydecker Diaz, LLC; former Mayor, City of Miami, Florida (2005 awardee)
-Renee Glover, former CEO, Atlanta Housing Authority (2015 awardee)
-Paul Levy, Executive Director, Center City Foundation; former President and CEO, Center City District (2012 awardee)
-Marc Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League; former Mayor, City of New Orleans, Louisiana (2005 awardee)
-Michael Nutter, former Mayor, City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2015 awardee)
-Sheela Patel, Founder and Director, Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC) India (2023 awardee)
-Egbert Perry, Chairman and CEO, The Integral Group, LLC (2019 awardee)
-Jaime Alberto Pumarejo Heins, Executive Director, Breathe Cities; former Mayor, Barranquilla, Colombia (2024 awardee)
-Mauricio Rodas, Visiting Scholar, Penn IUR; former Mayor of Quito, Ecuador (2019 awardee)

For more information about the event and the honorees, please visit https://penniur.upenn.edu/events/20th....