Bringing together the worlds of academia, practice and entrepreneurship, Dr. Mariela Alfonzo is an internationally

renowned thought leader and speaker, with over 20 years of experience on the link between urban design,

behavior, and the quadruple result. For more than two decades, her work has focused on quantifying how micro-

scale aspects of the built environment affect our behaviors, perceptions, and decisions, and therefore, how these

affect our behaviors, perceptions, and decisions. impact on health, in the broad sense to include the physical,

social, environmental, and fiscal aspects of health. As the Founder and CEO of State of Place, she has now

translated that work into AI-powered urban design data and predictive analytics software that helps city dwellers

use this technology to make design decisions and more efficient and cost-effective development processes, build

trust, and generate consensus. Additionally, in 2014, Dr Alfonzo was named one of the Urban Land Institute’s Top

40 Young Land Use Professionals around the world; is a New Cities Foundation Place Creation Fellow; is a Fulbright

Fellow; and research professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. She holds a doctorate. in Urban Planning

from UC Irvine, as well as an MA in Urban Planning and a BA from the University of Miami in Psychology and

Architecture.