Theresa Williamson

Executive Director - Catalytic Communities, Brazil

Biography

Theresa Williamson, Ph.D. is a city planner and founding executive director of Catalytic Communities, an NGO working to support Rio de Janeiro's favelas through asset-based community development. CatComm produces RioOnWatch, an award-winning local-to-global favela news platform and facilitates Rio's Sustainable Favela Network and Favela Community Land Trust program. Theresa is an advocate for the recognition of the favelas’ heritage status and their residents’ right to be treated as equal citizens.

She received the 2018 American Society of Rio prize for her contributions to the city and the 2012 NAHRO Award for her contributions to the international housing debate.

Theresa has many publications including multiple book chapters and four op-eds in The New York Times. She has been cited in hundreds of publications and television. Previously she received the 2005 Gill-Chin Lim Award for Best Dissertation on International Planning and CatComm received the 2006 Tech Museum Award for technology benefiting humanity. Dr. Williamson earned her B.A. in Biological Anthropology from Swarthmore College and PhD in City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.

Keynote release date

Keynote presentations will be released prior to the Symposium date so that delegates can have maximum opportunity to view these presentations before the live panel discussions at the live online event.

Monday 14 September

Theresa Williamson, Executive Director - Catalytic Communities, Brazil

Topic: SDGs, Urban Planning for Equity and Climate Resilience in our Cities

Session details

Thursday 1 October

1:00 pm

Responding panel to Keynote

SDGs, Urban Planning for Equity and Climate Resilience in our Cities - Theresa Williamson, Executive Director - Catalytic Communities, Brazil

Moderator:

Stephanie Butcher, Research Fellow - Connected Cities Lab, University of Melbourne

Panellists:

Anna Hurlimann, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean Diversity and Inclusion of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning

Theresa Williamson, Executive Director - Catalytic Communities, Brazil

Shipra Narang Suri, Chief, Urban Practices Branch (OIC) and Global Solutions Division, UN-Habitat

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