National Urban Extension Conference

She founded the City Institute to help cities with attraction & retention by ensuring residents understand and appreciate where they live and work.  She helps cities tell their story so locals and newcomers feel connected to their community. When people care about where they live they are more invested in supporting small businesses, volunteering at nonprofit organizations, collaborating with neighbors throughout the city, and building an equitable and thriving future. 

Since 2006, Jeanette has used experiential learning and non-traditional tours to help more than 160,000 locals and newcomers in Detroit love where they live and work— by teaching them about Detroit’s assets, small businesses, historic neighborhoods, city planning & development policies, and innovative solutions to the challenges the city faces. By providing this deeper understanding, residents and stakeholders are inspired to be a part of building an equitable and thriving city.

Jeanette continues her work with companies in Detroit by helping their employees develop and maintain a deeper understanding and connection to Detroit. She combines observations of current conditions, historical facts, and recent statistics with powerful anecdotes and individual stories of Detroiters so they understand the complexity and dynamism of the city of Detroit. Jeanette believes that when more people are informed and engaged in shaping a place’s future, there is a much better chance of that city becoming an equitable and thriving place for all.

She has presented at more than 300 events including the World Economic Forum’s Urban Transformation Summit, Atlantic Magazine’s CityLab Conference, State of Canada’s Cities Summit, Downtown Las Vegas Annual Meeting and the Oregon Main Street Conference.

She was honored as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Michigan in 2022, as one of the Top Forty under 40 by Crain’s Detroit Business, as a Thirty in their 30’s by DBusiness Magazine, and was awarded the prestigious Shining Light Award from the Detroit Free Press. She’s also received many other recognitions and awards.

In addition to her work, Jeanette serves on the Boards of the Michigan Municipal League Foundation and Detroit Historical Society.

She has a bachelor’s of arts degree in communication from Aquinas College, and lives with her husband and school-aged triplets on Detroit’s Eastside.

Cultivating Living Infrastructure: Building‑Integrated Agriculture for Resilient Urban Futures Panelists

Maggie Anderson Fasy (Moderator)

Program Manager, National Urban Research & Extension Center (NUREC)

Maggie Anderson Fasy is a Program Manager with the National Urban Research & Extension Center (NUREC), where she leads national initiatives that bring together researchers, Extension professionals, and community partners working across urban environments, food systems and community health. Her work includes advancing applied research in emerging fields within NUREC’s Knowledge & Practice Networks. With a background in coordinating complex, cross‑sector events and programs, she supports Extension’s capacity to address the needs of rapidly growing urban communities.

August Stolba

Master of Architecture Student and Graduate Teaching Fellow, University of Oregon

August Stolba, LFA, is a Master of Architecture student at the University of Oregon whose work centers on regenerative design and the integration of ecological systems into the built environment. As a Research Assistant in the Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory, he collaborates on advancing architectural simulation tools to better model plantspecific light responses—an emerging frontier in designing future foodproducing buildings.

August also serves as a Graduate Teaching Fellow, supporting courses in building construction, environmental control systems, and architectural context. With a deep commitment to sustainable food and energy systems, August’s work increasingly focuses on how architectural practice can support plantcentered design, agricultural infrastructure, and ecologically resilient communities.

Pat Lando

Landscape Architect and Green Infrastructure Consultant, Recode

Pat Lando is a landscape architect and green infrastructure consultant with Recode, where he helps communities navigate permitting pathways for innovative water systems ranging from residential rainwater to campus‑scale blackwater reuse. He recently led a district‑scale infrastructure master plan for Boise, Idaho, integrating heating, cooling, non‑potable water, and stormwater strategies into a cohesive urban system. Pat is currently partnering with the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) to remove regulatory barriers to next‑generation water reuse across California, Oregon, and Washington. His work is grounded in a long‑term vision of optimizing water resources within a resilient, closed‑loop nutrient cycle—a perspective highly aligned with the future of urban Extension and sustainable city infrastructure.

Dr. Matt Arrington

Assistant Professor of Applied Plant Science and Life Sciences Greenhouse Director, Bringham Young University

Dr. Matt Arrington, is an assistant professor of applied plant science in the Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences and the director of the life sciences greenhouse at Bringham Young University. He has a strong desire to work on educational outreach to impoverished regions for agricultural production, particularly using new technologies to reduce production barriers.

He received his undergraduate degree in horticulture from BYU-Idaho, his master’s degree in horticulture from Oregon State University, and a Ph.D. in horticulture from Washington State University.

Previously, Dr. Arrington was a research scientist for Plenty, an indoor agriculture company.