Tom Murphy is a the former Senior Resident Fellow at the Urban Land Institute. and was a three-term mayor of Pittsburgh. His extensive experience in urban revitalization—what drives investment, what ensures long-lasting commitment—and how visionary leadership is the key to success, defines his 45+ years of service to communities.
Murphy served three terms as the Mayor of Pittsburgh, from January 1994 through December 2005. During that time, he initiated a public-private partnership strategy that leveraged more than $4.5 billion in economic development in Pittsburgh. Murphy led efforts to secure and oversee $1 billion in funding for the development of two professional sports facilities, and a new convention center that is the largest LEED-certified building in the United States. He developed strategic partnerships to transform more than 1,000 acres of blighted, abandoned industrial properties into new commercial, residential, retail and public uses, and he oversaw the development of more than 25 miles of new riverfront trails and urban green space.
Prior to his appointment as Senior Resident Fellow at ULI, Murphy had served as ULI's Gulf Coast liaison, helping to coordinate with the leadership of New Orleans and the public to advance the implementation of rebuilding recommendations made by ULI's Advisory Services panel for Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In addition, he worked with the Louisiana state leadership, as well as with leadership in hurricane-impacted areas in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to identify areas appropriate for ULI involvement.
From 1979 through 1993, Murphy served eight terms in the Pennsylvania State General Assembly House of Representatives. He focused legislative activities on changing Western Pennsylvania's economy from industrial to entrepreneurial, and authored legislation requiring the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania pension fund to invest in venture capital. In addition, he authored legislation created the Ben Franklin Technology Partnership, which is dedicated to advancing Pennsylvania's focus on technology in the economy, and he authored legislation to encourage industrial land reuse and to transform abandoned rail rights-of-way into trails and green space.
Murphy served in the Peace Corps in Paraguay from 1970 through 1972. He is a 1993 graduate of the New Mayors Program offered by Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He holds a Master of Science degree in Urban Studies from Hunter College, and a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and chemistry from John Carroll University.
Tom Eitler is an urban planner and land use professional with more than 30 years of experience in land use, real estate development and government operations. Most recently he was Senior Vice President for the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit education and research institute that focuses on issues of land use, real estate and urban development. From 2006 to 2023, Eitler managed the well-respected Urban Land Institute Advisory Services Program that provides communities and organizations strategic advice on real estate development, planning, land use and public policy.
Eitler has worked with cities, towns, counties, private developers, nonprofits and institutions for a wide variety of issues including comprehensive planning, revitalization, land economics, historical preservation, transportation systems, economic development and sustainable design. He is an expert on zoning law, municipal codes, urban design and government operations. He has prepared and conducted hundreds of reports on community engagement plans, charettes, advisory groups, workshops, and panels. Eitler has authored numerous plans, studies, strategies and reports on urban planning, design, land economics, public administration and real estate development. He was the principal author of the Urban Land Institute’s Ten Principles for Building Healthy Places and co-author of the recent Legacy Cities: From Rust to Revitalization.
He has directed projects in both the public and private sector throughout the United States, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Prior to joining the Urban Land Institute Eitler was a principal with Community Planning Associates LLC, a land planning consulting firm based in the Washington, D.C. region. Before that he was Director of Operations for a planning and architectural firm with offices in Virginia, California, and Hawaii. Prior to that, he was a principal planner with several local governments, including Chief of Long-Range Planning for Prince William County, Virginia where he established the County’s first urban growth boundary, traditional neighborhood design ordinance, and financial guidance for the impact fee system.
He has a master’s in urban & environmental planning from the University of Virginia School of Architecture and three undergraduate degrees in urban studies, political science, and public administration. Eitler is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a past member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at the University of Virginia School of Architecture.
Ed McMahon is an attorney, community planner, lecturer, and author. For 20 years he held the Charles E. Fraser Chair on Sustainable Development at the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in Washington, DC where he was nationally known as a leading authority on economic development and land use policies and trends. As the Senior Fellow for Sustainable Development, McMahon led ULI’s worldwide research and educational activities on environmentally sensitive development policies and practices. McMahon is also the Chairman of the Board of Main Street America.
Before joining ULI in 2004, McMahon spent 15 years as Vice President and Director of Programs for the Conservation Fund, a national land conservation organization that has purchased and protected more than 8 million acres of land of historic, natural, or cultural importance. McMahon led The Fund’s technical assistance, training and education programs and was widely recognized for his innovative approaches to community planning, land conservation and growth management.
McMahon is also the founder and former President of Scenic America, a national non-profit devoted to protecting America’s scenic landscapes. Before that he taught law and public policy at Georgetown University Law Center and served in the US Army both at home and overseas.
McMahon is the author or co-author of 15 books, over 600 articles, and dozens of monographs or reports on topics as varied as sustainable development, conservation finance, historic preservation, green infrastructure, and innovative approaches to community development. McMahon has an MA in Urban Studies from the University of Alabama and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law School. He has been named an Honorary Member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and has received numerous other awards and recognitions.
Juanita Hardy has a passion for fostering healthy, thriving, and equitable places to live, work, learn and play through her work with individuals and businesses. Hardy has over 45 years of business experience, including 31 years with IBM, where she retired in 2005, and nearly a decade in the real estate industry. She has over 35 years of experience in the arts as a nonprofit leader, trustee, and patron of the arts.
Hardy was Senior Visiting Fellow for Creative Placemaking (CPM) for Urban Land Institute (2016-2018), a global non-profit committed to responsible land use. She led the start-up of its creative placemaking project and built a body of knowledge on CPM, including best practices and case studies. Hardy now serves as a consultant to ULI on creative placemaking.
Hardy held global leadership positions with IBM that spanned software development, systems engineering, and management consulting. She was among the leadership startup for IBM’s Government Consulting practice, growing it to over a hundred consultants in three years and a leading practice in the industry. After retiring from IBM, Hardy founded Tiger Management Consulting Group, an executive coaching and business consulting services firm. Hardy’s client portfolio comprises for-profit and non-profit organizations, including Right Management, a global human capital development firm, where she has been an executive coach since 2006.
Hardy was former Executive Director of CulturalDC (2013-2015), a nonprofit that provides space for artists and creative placemaking services for real estate developers. She co-founded Millennium Arts Salon, an art education initiative, in 2000. Hardy was among the 2022 honorees by The Phillips Collection, a prominent Washington, DC museum, for her work in the arts. She has been an avid collector of fine art since 1985.
Hardy was recognized as a Minority Business Leader by the Washington Business Journal in 2010. She is an accomplished writer and public speaker. Her articles and essays have appeared in magazines and journals in the US and abroad. Her recent writing includes a pentalogy of articles on creative placemaking in Urban Land magazine. She is one of the authors of ULI’s 2020 Publication “Creative Placemaking: Sparking Development with Art and Culture,” and author of ULI’s 2022 Publication, “Creative Placemaking: Recommendations from and Impact of Six Advisory Services Panels.” Hardy was equity advisor for ULI’s 2022 publication, “10 Principles for Embedding Racial Equity in Real Estate Development.”
Hardy is a member of the leadership team for ULI’s Placemaking Council. She serves on several non-profit boards including Mosaic Theatre Company, based in Washington, DC and Mid Atlantic Arts, based in Baltimore, MD. She is chair of the board for International Arts and Artists in Washington, DC. Hardy earned a BS degree in Mathematics from Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC (1973). She did graduate work in operations research at George Washington University in Washington, DC (1974-1975) and in business entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (2005-2006). Hardy holds certifications in management consulting (IBM) and executive coaching (Hogan).