The 2025 Lawrence C. Nussdorf Urban Leadership Prize recognizes leaders guiding cities around the globe toward a resilient, sustainable, and equitable future. This year, three pathbreaking urban leaders from around the globe will be honored:

• Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr | Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone
• Patrick Harker | President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
• Enrique Peñalosa | former Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia

In addition to the awardees, special guests will include:

• Henry Cisneros, Chairman, American Triple I; former Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2011 awardee)
• Manuel Diaz, Senior Partner, Lydecker Diaz, LLC; former Mayor, City of Miami, Florida (2005 awardee)
• Renee Glover, former CEO, Atlanta Housing Authority (2015 awardee)
• Paul Levy, Executive Director, Center City Foundation; former President and CEO, Center City District (2012 awardee)
• Marc Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League; former Mayor, City of New Orleans, Louisiana (2005 awardee)
• Michael Nutter, former Mayor, City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2015 awardee)
• Sheela Patel, Founder and Director, Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC) India (2023 awardee)
• Egbert Perry, Chairman and CEO, The Integral Group, LLC (2019 awardee)
• Jaime Alberto Pumarejo Heins, Executive Director, Breathe Cities; former Mayor, Barranquilla, Colombia (2024 awardee)
• Mauricio Rodas, Visiting Scholar, Penn IUR; former Mayor of Quito, Ecuador (2019 awardee)

We will also celebrate three remarkable undergraduate students with the Lawrence C. Nussdorf Student Awards — Nikita Bharati (C'25), Griffin Pitt (C'26), and Skyla Rimple (C'26) — all of whom have participated in Penn IUR's student programs, the Undergraduate Urban Research Colloquium or the Fellows in Urban Leadership Program.