Claire Nelson has been a passionate advocate for civic engagement and quality of place in Detroit for the past decade. She is a past publisher of Model D, and has lead numerous Detroit area projects, including Urban Innovation Exchange, Open City, Declare Detroit, Mind the Gap, Shop Midtown, and Bureau of Urban Living. In Nelson’s general session presentation, she will share her experiences with her latest endeavor, Urban Consulate, a project designed to foster civic and cultural exchange between cities, starting with Detroit, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.

A Chicagoland native, Nelson studied architecture and urbanism at Smith College and Columbia University, graduating from the Shape of Two Cities Program in New York and Paris. Her work has been covered by the New York Times, CNN, USA Today, and Next City, and featured in the book For the Love of Cities and the film Lemonade Detroit.