Resilient Cities, Reimagining Health: Practical Decision-Support Tools to Scale Preventative Action in Cities

Jeannette R. Ickovics is the Samuel and Liselotte Herman Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Psychology at Yale University. She served as Dean of Faculty at Yale-NUS College in Singapore from 2018-2021, responsible for faculty development and curriculum across the Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities. At the Yale School of Public Health, Dr. Ickovics was Founding Director of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the School of Public Health (2002-2012) and Founding Director of CARE: Community Alliance for Research and Engagement as part of Yale’s inaugural Clinical and Translational Science Award (2007-2017). She was also Deputy Director for the Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS where she was Director of an NIH training program for pre- and post- doctoral fellows for 15 years (now in its 24^th year)

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS is 17th Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for the American Medical Association. She is the Lee Goldman, MD Professor of Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. She previously served as the Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and as the inaugural Vice Dean for Population Health and Health Equity in the UCSF School of Medicine. She co-founded the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital that focuses on actionable research to improve health equity and reduce health disparities.
 

Dr. Bibbins-Domingo is a general internist and cardiovascular epidemiologist whose scholarship includes observational epidemiology, pragmatic trials, and simulation modeling to examine clinical and public health approaches to prevention in the US and globally. She previously served on and led the US Preventive Services Task Force from 2010-2017. She has received numerous honors, including induction into the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Oliver is Executive Director and Founder of Mode Economics. Having previously worked as co-director of Climate and Health at McKinsey Health Institute and Director of Natural Resources at Vivid Economics, he has more than 15 years’ experience as a professional economist, supporting clients in the thematic areas of climate, public health, land use and natural resources. 

Katrin Bruebach is Managing Director, Programs & Operations at the Resilient Cities Network (R-Cities), where she is one of two executive leaders jointly accountable for the organization’s global strategy, program delivery, financial sustainability, and operational integrity. She works with cities, governments, philanthropies, and private-sector partners to translate resilience ambitions into practical, scalable solutions for cities, communities, and urban systems.

Katrin has led R-Cities’ work at the intersection of urban resilience and health since its inception, helping shape it from an initial dialogue among cities and partners into a growing global initiative focused on how cities can use resilience approaches to prevent health risks, address underlying vulnerabilities, and improve outcomes for communities. This work now brings together cities and partners to strengthen the evidence, tools, and approaches needed to integrate health and prevention more systematically into urban resilience.

A civil engineer by training, Katrin has more than 20 years of international experience in urban resilience, climate adaptation, water, sanitation, and infrastructure. Her work has consistently focused on the connection between urban systems and people: how infrastructure, governance, regulation, and investment decisions can reduce vulnerability, protect public health, and help communities respond to shocks and stresses while building a safer, healthier, and more prosperous future.

Elyse Galloway is a social impact and external engagement leader working at the intersection of global health, corporate strategy and cross-sector partnership. As External Engagement Lead for Sanofi’s CSR efforts and Sanofi Foundation, she works to build strategic partnerships and advance initiatives that translate commitments to health and equity into scalable, sustainable action.

Her work focuses on mobilizing collaboration across business, philanthropy, government and civil society to address complex health and social challenges, with a particular emphasis on partnership development, strategic engagement and responsible business action. Her experience spans healthcare access, health equity and humanitarian response, including consulting engagements with the World Health Organization and World Economic Forum.

Elyse holds a Master of Public Health from Yale University and a Master of Advanced Global Studies from Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs. She graduated cum laude from Tufts University with degrees in Anthropology and Community Health.

Global corporate affairs and multilateral relations leader with over a decade of experience in consumer health, specialising in the intersection of geopolitics, public policy, and sustainable business. As Global Head of Multilateral Affairs at Reckitt, he leads engagement with institutions such as the UN system, development finance institutions, and regional bodies to advance access to health and water—translating ambitions into scalable programmes and policies that align commercial strategy with the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Over a career spanning multinational corporations, entrepreneurial ventures, and international partnerships, he has built and led teams across Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific, with a track record in advocacy, coalition-building, and crisis management; he frequently contributes to global forums, including UN and COP-related platforms, speaking on geopolitical risk, health security, water security, resilient supply chains, and public–private collaboration. 

Educated to an advanced level in business and policy, with co-authored peer-reviewed scientific work, and having lived and worked across the Netherlands, New Zealand, India, and the United States, he brings a practical, globally informed perspective on how companies can thrive in an increasingly contested and complex world.