Speaker Info

Ellen Lou
Director, Skidmore Owings & Merrill

Ms. Lou has directed world-renowned urban design and planning efforts in the US and Pacific Rim countries. In a time when cities represent the greatest hope for a sustainable future, she is leading the creation of groundbreaking development strategies for vital metropolitan centers. Her plans for the regeneration of cities as well as new towns frame sustainable, humane responses to global population growth, provide critical tools for reversing climate change, and drive long-term economic resiliency.

A sought-after speaker and advisor nationally and internationally, she consults regularly with planning officials and has lectured before more than 200 mayors and government leaders. As a board member of San Francisco based SPUR (San Francisco Planning and Urban Research), the global ITDP (Institute for Transportation and Development Policy) and through other advisory roles promoting policy solutions that make cities around the world more livable, equitable, and sustainable.