BIA Academy Instructors
New instructors are being added regularly. Check back again soon for the latest updates.
Tim Beatley
Organization: Biophilic Cities & University of Virginia
Tim Beatley is the Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities, in the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning, School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, where he has taught for the last twenty-five years. Much of Beatley’s work focuses on the subject of sustainable communities, and creative strategies by which cities and towns can fundamentally reduce their ecological footprints, while at the same time becoming more livable and equitable places. Beatley believes that sustainable and resilient cities represent our best hope for addressing today’s environmental challenges. Beatley is the author or co-author of more than fifteen books on these subjects, including Green Urbanism: Learning from European Cities (recently translated into Chinese), Habitat Conservation Planning, Native to Nowhere: Sustaining Home and Community in a Global Age, and Planning for Coastal Resilience.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-beatley-3b290010/
Organization website: https://www.biophiliccities.org/
Jeanne Milliken Bonds
Organization: National League of Cities
Jeanne Milliken Bonds is the Senior Executive and Director of Municipal Programs & Strategy & NLC University at the National League of Cities. She is also Professor of the Practice of Public Policy and of Impact Investment, and Sustainable Finance, UNC Kenan Flagler Business School. She is leading two new initiatives, Invest to Sustain and the Whole Community Health Initiative.
Jeanne has four decades of community finance experience, including former service as the Senior Executive Director of Community and Economic Development at the U.S. Treasury and the former Senior Leader in Regional Community Development at the Federal Reserve. In addition to her federal government experience, she has held leadership positions in state and local governments.
Jeanne has a B.A. in Economics and an M.P.A. with a concentration in public policy, from the University of NC at Chapel Hill. In 1997, she was North Carolina’s recipient of the national Henry Toll Fellowship from the Council of State Governments. Jeanne is a former N.C. Mayor.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannebonds/
Organization website: https://www.nlc.org/
Catherine Brinkley
Organization: University of California, Davis
Dr. Catherine Brinkley is an Associate Professor in Human Ecology, Community and Regional Development in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. With a PhD in city and regional planning, a veterinary medical degree, and a masters in virology, her research focuses on health and design. She is a former Fulbright Scholar, Watson Fellow, and National Science Foundation Career Award Winner.
She has published on topics such as healthy food systems, local government planning and decision-making, and sustainable development. From 2021-2024, Dr. Brinkley currently served as Director for the Center for Regional Change, a university research center that partners with local governments and non-profits for engaged scholarship that centers social equity. Her work is used internationally by the United National Food Agriculture Organization as well as local communities to guide plans and policies.
Dr. Brinkley leads the Equity, Land, and Food Systems (ELFS) lab group that currently works on informing citizen engagement in local climate and equity planning. Please visit the lab webpage for more information about research and publications. Her research is also supported by grants through NSF, the USDA, PEW Charitable Trusts, the National Institute of Health Environmental Health Sciences, and several California state agencies.
Organization website: Equity, Land, and Food Systems (ELFS)
Joel Cuello
Organization: University of Arizona
Joel L. Cuello is a Professor of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and Director of the Global Initiative for Strategic Agriculture in Dry Lands (GISAD) at The University of Arizona.
A globally recognized expert in the engineering of sustainable biological and agricultural systems, his technical expertise in both engineering and biology provides the platform for engineering designs in various agricultural and biological systems with emphasis on optimizing biological and agricultural productivities while fostering resource sustainability and environmental protection.
Prof. Cuello has designed, constructed and implemented varied types of engineered agricultural or biological systems, including those applied in bioregenerative space life support, hydroponics, tissue culture, and industrial mass production of algae, plant cell and microbial cultures for production of biomass, nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, etc. He is the Principal Inventor of the patented algae photobioreactor series — the Accordion photobioreactors — and is the creator of the Minimally Structured, Modular and Prefabricated Vertical Farm design (the Vertical Greenbox® Solution) that is considered an archetypal design for Vertical Farming 2.0.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-cuello-21214816/
Organization website: https://be.arizona.edu/person/joel-cuello
Angela Fox
Organization: ICLEI USA
Angela is a Membership Advisor, supporting local governments in Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington DC, and West Virginia across ICLEI’s five sustainability pathways. Angela will also be working on supporting county governments in a newly formed cohort. Angela holds a B.A. in Hospitality Business from Michigan State University and an M.A. in Sustainability from Arizona State University, where she specialized in innovations in sustainable public procurement within local governments. In addition to her work at ICLEI, Angela is a master’s-level educator at Arizona State University, focusing on sustainability leadership, business strategy, ESG reporting, and implementation. Angela has over 15 years of experience in sustainability, most recently serving as a Sustainability Manager for a local government, Executive Director of a nonprofit, and program manager at a university. Angela is passionate about sustainable public procurement, waste reduction and diversion, education, and storytelling. You can find her at her local farmers’ market every Saturday, collecting food waste for composting.
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-fox-ma-4288404b/
Organization website: https://icleiusa.org/
Brent Hales
Brent Hales is a higher education and Cooperative Extension leader with more than two decades of experience advancing research, community development, and organizational leadership across major land-grant universities. Most recently, he served as Associate Vice President for Research and Cooperative Extension with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (2023-2026). Prior to joining UC ANR, Hales was Associate Dean in the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences and Director of Penn State Extension. His previous leadership roles include Senior Associate Dean and Chief Financial Officer for University of Minnesota Extension, as well as Associate Dean for the Center for Community Vitality. Throughout his career, he has been recognized for his expertise in strategic planning, organizational management, change leadership, fundraising, and building partnerships that strengthen Extension and public engagement programs.
Hales’ research and outreach work has focused on community and economic development, entrepreneurship, and capacity building, particularly among underserved and underrepresented populations. Since 1998, he has worked extensively with Native American Nations on asset development and community capacity initiatives. Before moving into senior administration, he held faculty and leadership appointments at University of Southern Mississippi and Delta State University. Hales earned a Ph.D. in Rural Sociology from Iowa State University, a master’s degree in Sociology from Middle Tennessee State University, and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Brigham Young University. His career reflects a longstanding commitment to connecting university research with real-world solutions that support economic opportunity, workforce development, and community well-being.
Myer Harrell
Organization: Perkins&Will
Myer is a trusted industry leader in high performance design, drawing on teaching, research, and volunteer service to inspire commercial design practice. He is a Sr. Regenerative Design Advisor and Sr. Project Manager at Perkins&Will Seattle.
Myer was a member of the design team for the award-winning Eco-Laboratory, a Building-Integrated Agriculture concept that won first place in the USGBC 2008 Natural Talent Design Competition and was included in the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum 2010 Design Triennial Exhibit. Since then, he has developed and advised several BIA design concepts focused on integrated systems.
Myer earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture at the University of Maryland and a Master in Architecture and Commercial Real Estate Certificate from the University of Washington. He has co-instructed architecture studios and seminars at the University of Washington and has been invited as a guest lecturer and studio critic.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/myer-harrell/
Organization Website: https:/ /perkinswill.com/
Megan Horst
Organization: Energy Trust Oregon
Dr. Horst is a strategic climate, environmental, and urban planning professional whose work centers on climate resilience, food systems, and land use planning. She is a Senior Associate at Cascadia Consulting Group, where she leads projects on climate vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning for local, state, and tribal governments.
Before joining Cascadia, Megan spent nine years on the faculty of Portland State University’s Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, where she directed the MURP program and published extensively on food justice, urban agriculture, and equitable land use. Her scholarship appears in leading planning and food systems journals. Megan’s work is grounded in community-engaged practice and social justice, reflected in her service as co‑chair of the Portland Clean Energy Fund Community Advisory Board.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meg-horst-phd-aicp-a88a29167/
Organization Website: https://www.pdx.edu/profile/megan-horst
Subhashni Raj
Organization: University of Hawaii
Subhashni began her career in microbiology, studying the impact of sea surface temperatures on coral health in Fiji. A failed sampling expedition made her realize that poor land-use was a much larger threat in the territorial waters of Fiji than climate change at the time. At this realization she pivoted and started a career in regional development, bringing integrated water resource management governance principles to Pacific Island Countries through SOPAC (now the Pacific Community). A chance meeting with Professor Coffman, then redirected her career trajectory towards urban planning. A Fulbright scholarship brought her to Buffalo, NY for her masters in urban planning, followed by a Kaufman fellowship for her doctoral work. She then returned to her native Fiji and worked for UN Women to lead their climate change programming. When opportunity came knocking, she and her husband moved to Davis, California to pursue a postdoc with Dr Catherine Brinkley. In pursuit of the Academic dream, she moved to Oahu in 2022, with her husband, Jeffrey Fine, and toddler (Nikhil).
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhashni-raj-phd-6677066/
Organization website: Subhashni Raj – Urban and Regional Planning, UH Mānoa
