Getting unstuck

Jayne Engle, PhD, FRSA, OUQ
Director, City Initiatives
Lead, Cities for People, The McConnell Foundation

We are facing crises of climate and inequality, and a lack of imagination to build a future that is healthy for all people and the planet.

We are stuck.

How can we be good ancestors? How can we build cities where we can thrive for generations to come? What bold ideas will catalyze change to meet the challenges we need to address? And what is the role of cities in societal transformation?

The School of Public Health in welcomed Jayne Engle, on October 16, 2019, for the 2019 Douglas R. Wilson Lecture. Engle shared new ways of thinking, knowing and working collaboratively in the coming decade of transformation.

Jayne Engle leads City Initiatives at the McConnell Foundation, including the Cities for People ecosystem, which fosters inclusive civic innovation through grants and investments, collaborative experimentation, thought partnerships, and experiential learning.

Engle's background is in urban planning and policy, community and economic development, and participatory practice and research and has worked in multiple countries and sectors. She is passionate about bridging transformative community action on the ground with policy and systems change, particularly in ways that foster freedom and flourishing of people.

She holds a doctor of philosophy in Urban Planning, Policy and Design from McGill University, where she is an adjunct professor. Her other degrees are from the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University and Eastern University. She serves on many advisory boards and juries, including Participatory City, PlacemakingX, Beyond Borders and the Intelligent Communities Forum. She is also a member of the Club of Ambassadors in Montreal for co-convening the 2011 Ecocity World Summit.