ADFF Toronto 2025: Changing Lanes with Panel Discussion

Gil Penalosa is passionate about cities for all people. Because of his unique blend of experience, pragmatism, and passion, many cities worldwide seek his leadership and valuable advice. He has worked in over 350 cities.

Gil is the Founder and Chair of the successful Canadian non-profit organization 8 80 Cities and founder of Cities for Everyone. In 2022 Gil ran for mayor of Toronto. In 100 days, he got 100,000 votes, and changed much of the conversation. Currently Gil is an academic chair at the Norman Foster Institute for Sustainable Cities, as well as Expert Advisor to the International Society for Urban Health, and to the Danish based world initiative, Cities for Better Health. He hosts his bi-weekly webinar series with over 30 countries connected. Gil also runs his consultancy, Gil Penalosa & Associates.

Gil was elected twice as chair of World Urban Parks. He holds an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, received a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Faculty of Urban Planning at Swedish SLU. In 2023 Gil was voted to Planetizen’s Top 100 Most Influential Contemporary Urbanists, at #13.

Jacquelyn Hayward is the Director of Planning, Design & Management within Transportation Services at the City of Toronto. Jacquelyn is accountable for a wide-ranging portfolio including multi-modal planning and prioritization, capital programming, asset management, integrated design, impact assessment or municipal class environmental assessment, community consultation, and oversight of program delivery. She is proud to have overseen an unprecedented expansion of bike lanes in Toronto since 2015. These transformative projects have been central to our Climate Action Strategy and Road Safety Plan. Jacquelyn has 22 years of experience in progressively responsible positions in the public and non-profit sectors, including 10 years at the City of Toronto. Jacquelyn has Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from York University, as well as a certificate in Executive Development from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

John Lorinc is a Toronto journalist and editor. He writes about cities, local history, planning and business for various media including The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and Spacing. John is the author of five books, including No Jews Live Here: A Memoir, and has co-edited several Coach House Books anthologies, including The Ward: The Life and Loss of Toronto’s First Immigrant Neighbourhood and Messy Cities: Why We Can’t Plan Everything (with Dylan Reid, Zahra Ebrahim and Leslie Woo). He has covered the bike lane fight for Spacing.