FEATURED SPEAKERS
ANNA DELLER - COOMBS
Associate Director | URPS
Anna is a dynamic and highly skilled facilitator known for her energetic and inclusive style. She designs and delivers engaging, well-structured processes that ensure participants are actively involved and that their insights meaningfully inform broader project goals. Her ability to foster genuine engagement has made her a trusted partner across government and private sectors.
With qualifications in urban and regional planning and a background in psychology, Anna brings a human-centred approach to projects in the built environment. She quickly builds rapport and creates spaces where all voices are heard and respected. Anna is particularly adept at navigating complex or contested conversations, guiding groups toward shared understanding while honouring diverse perspectives.
Beyond facilitation, Anna is an accomplished public speaker and master of ceremonies. She brings clarity, warmth, and professionalism to every event, whether leading community discussions, moderating panels, or hosting public forums.
Anna is an Associate Director at URPS in Adelaide, where she leads the engagement sector, and is a Registered Planner with the Planning Institute of Australia. She is the recipient of the Outstanding Woman in Planning SA award in 2025.
GILES PERKINS
Head of Profession - Future Mobility | WSP
Giles Perkins, FCILT leads WSP’s Future Mobility team in the UK and has over 34 years’ experience in the futures, transportation planning, digital and intelligent transport sectors. He has worked in the public and private sectors as a senior client and director level consultant and has led major projects across all modes. He has a detailed understanding of the strategic needs and opportunities surrounding the challenges that our networks, regions, towns, cities and rural communities face.
He is a recognised expert in the field of Future Mobility / Transport and Zero Emission Mobility having undertaken numerous cutting-edge commissions where his insight is helping to build ‘Future Ready’ thinking into strategies, policies and asset specifications. He is a strategic thinker with an in-depth appreciation of the challenges facing all modes of transport resulting from disruptors, both within the transportation realm and wider socio-economic changes which influence it.
Giles is the Programme Director for the £30m Live Labs 2 decarbonisation innovation programme in the UK, a Board member of the National Centre for Accessible Transport and Technical Lead for the delivery of Mobility as a Service in the West of England.
LUCY SAUNDERS
Director | Healthy Streets
Lucy Saunders is a unique combination of public health specialist, urbanist and transport planner. She created the Healthy Streets Approach, an evidence based- framework for decision making at every level. She works with organisations across the world adapting her Approach to each context.
The success of the Healthy Streets Approach is its wide-reaching resonance across political, special interest and professional divides. Lucy uses this Approach to engage, influence and coordinate a wide range of stakeholders around a coherent vision. She is a skilled and engaging presenter and teacher who has inspired and trained hundreds of practitioners, advocates and politicians around the world.
Lucy led the implementation of Healthy Streets in London, supporting the GLA, Transport for London, boroughs and advocacy organisations. Her highly influential work put health at the heart of city policy in London. Healthy Streets is the framework of the Mayor's 25 year Transport Strategy, a pillar of the London Plan and part of all the Mayor's statutory strategies. She used her strategic thinking and analytical skills to embed the Healthy Streets Approach in the governance of the E2.3b TfL Healthy Streets funding pot.
She develops bespoke tools to enable practitioners to apply the Healthy Streets Approach in horizon scanning, case making, design, implementation and evaluation.
She advises the World Health Organisation, UK Government Departments for Transport and Health, Faculty of Public Health and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. She has worked across a wide range of organisations from local to international level including NHS, government, academic, private and voluntary sector.
She gained Fellowship of the UK Faculty of Public Health in 2012 on completion of the UK specialist medical training programme in Public Health. She has masters degrees in geography and public health.
SKYE DUNCAN
Executive Director | Global Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI)
Skye Duncan is the Executive Director of the Global
Designing Cities Initiative (GDCI), a leading global urban design
initiative focused on transforming streets around the world and developing
international best-practice street design guidance for use in a wide variety of
street typologies.
Skye and her team developed the award-winning Global Street Design Guide (GSDG), and Designing Streets for Kids, currently endorsed by over 130 international cities and organizations. GDCI provides ongoing technical assistance and capacity building to more than 60 cities around the world on shaping safe, healthy, inclusive, and sustainable street designs and mobility options.
Skye is an urban designer with over 20 years of experience in
architecture, urban design, planning, and transportation, and has been recognized as
one of TUMI’s Remarkable Women in Transportation. Prior to GDCI, she spent over seven years working as a Senior
Urban Designer at the New York City Department of City Planning in their Office
of the Chief Urban Designer, has worked as an International Urban Design
Consultant, and was an Associate Professor at Columbia University in New York
City. She graduated as a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia in the Master of Science
in Architecture and Urban Design program and has a Bachelor of Architecture
with Honors from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.
JULIE BALLANTYNE
Transport Leader | Stantec
Running the Transport team in Christchurch, Julie works to maintain market share as well as grow and improve what her team can offer. There are two benefits there—expanding what we can do for our clients and communities as well as finding new ways to make Stantec a fun and technically rewarding place to work. A strategic transport modeller by trade, Julie has over 30 years of experience building multi-modal transport models.
Recently, Julie has been starting conversations with transport modelling leaders around the world to discover what the other parts of Stantec’s business are delivering. She’s looking forward to collaborating across a large, multidisciplinary organisation to add value to all sorts of projects.
STEPHEN YARWOOD
Urban Futurist | Former Lord Mayor of Adelaide
Featured Conference Dinner Speaker
Stephen Yarwood is a renowned Futurist, highly respected Urbanist and an award-winning member of the Planning Institute of Australia. Serving as a catalyst for change for cities, corporate and community organisations, his passion extends beyond envisioning the future; he actively educates, motivates and empowers people to shape it. With a strong skill set in cross-disciplinary strategic foresight, he is deeply fascinated by the dynamic interplay between people, places, technology, and change.
Recognised as an international thought leader on "the future citizen," Stephen is committed to collaborative leadership that aids corporate and community leaders in navigating the rapidly changing and complex social, environmental, and economic landscape, allowing them to explore possible futures and create preferred outcomes. Immersed in the evolution of Artificial Intelligence, 2025 will be a pivotal year for exploring its profound impact on individuals and organisations. Offering valuable insights into the trajectory of AI and its influence on individuals, communities and corporations, he is at the forefront of shaping a future where technology integrates and enables organisational goals and strategies.