The Rebuilding of Mifflin Square Park, Engaging a Diverse Community through an Inclusive Planning Process

Andrew (Andy) Toy is the Development and Communications Director for SEAMAAC (Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition), a non-profit organization that serves the needs, advocates on behalf of and supports growing opportunities for refugees, immigrants and marginalized communities in Philadelphia. Previously, Andy was the Managing Director of the Eastern Tower/Chinatown Community Center project, a $77 Million mixed-use community project now under development.  Before that, Andy worked at The Enterprise Center (TEC) as Senior Director of Business Development assisting local minority and other retailers grow by improving business practices, finding financial resources and improving their local commercial corridors. Andy is recognized as a thought leader and innovator when it comes to community and economic development, building a successful Commercial Corridor Initiative at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and before that building the Brownfields Program while at the City’s Commerce Department.

Damon Rich is a partner at Hector, an urban design, planning, and civic arts practice whose recent projects include designing a neighborhood park in one of Philadelphia's most diverse neighborhoods, constructing a housing crisis learning center at the Queens Museum, and creating a memorial for eco-feminist Sister Carol Johnston. He formerly served as planning director & chief urban designer for Newark, New Jersey (population 278,427), where his team’s achievements included completing the city's first riverfront parks, launching a municipal public art program, and winning the 2015 National Planning Award for the first comprehensive update to the city's zoning regulations in over fifty years. Damon also was chief of staff for capital projects at New York City Parks & Recreation and founded the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP), an internationally recognized nonprofit organization that uses art and design to increase meaningful civic engagement, where he served as president for ten years. He teaches architecture and planning at schools including Barnard College and Harvard University, and his designs have been exhibited at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Queens Museum, Canadian Centre for Architecture, Netherlands Architecture Institute, and the 11th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice. His work has been recognized by the MacArthur Fellowship, American Planning Association National Planning Award, Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, Loeb Fellowship in Advanced Environmental Studies at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, MIT Center for Advanced Visual Studies, and MacDowell Colony.