Conference Speakers 2023

President & CEO, Regional Plan Association

Tom Wright is president and chief executive officer of Regional Plan Association (RPA), the nation’s oldest independent metropolitan research, planning and advocacy organization. A private, non-profit corporation, RPA improves the prosperity, infrastructure, sustainability, health and quality of life of the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan region by researching and preparing long-range plans and advocating for their implementation.

As president, Tom led the production of RPA’s landmark Fourth Regional Plan, released in 2017, which proposed 61 recommendations to reform public institutions; modernize transportation systems; tackle the challenge of climate change; and provide affordable and livable communities for all the region’s residents. RPA is now working to implement the major ideas in the plan, such as charging all drivers to enter the Manhattan CBD; cutting carbon emissions and scaling up renewable energy sources; creating healthy, affordable housing in every community; modernizing the NYC subways; and building a new commuter rail tunnel under the Hudson River connected to a renovated and expanded Penn Station.

Tom is a frequent public speaker and commentator on regional governance, economic growth and development, transit investments, and other policy issues. Prior to being named RPA’s president in 2015, Tom was RPA’s executive director. In his 20+ years with the organization, Tom has participated in many key RPA initiatives, including the historic Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks; the campaign to create a mixed-use district at Manhattan’s Hudson Yards; the protection of the New Jersey Highlands; a vision plan for the City of Newark and The Constant Future, a public exhibition in Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall which celebrated RPA’s Centennial. Tom was also in charge of producing A Region at Risk, RPA’s third plan published in 1996.

Previously, Tom was deputy executive director of the 2001 New Jersey Office of State Planning, where he coordinated production of the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan.

In January, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy appointed Tom as the Chairman of the New Jersey State Planning Commission. A visiting lecturer at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Tom has a master’s in urban planning from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in history and a certificate in American Studies from Princeton University.

Chair, Arlington County Board

Christian Dorsey was first elected to the Arlington County Board in 2015 and is now serving his second term. He is currently Chair and previously served as Vice-Chair in 2022 and Chair in 2019. During his prior tenure as Chair, Mr. Dorsey guided the Board’s adoption of: the Vision Zero transportation safety plan, the update to the Public Spaces Master Plan, the update to the Community Energy Plan, the renaming of Route 1 to Richmond Highway, the economic performance agreement and land use entitlements for Amazon’s headquarters in Arlington, principles of collaboration with the City of Alexandria on joint efforts to ensure inclusive growth with expected economic development, and an Equity Resolution that detailed the scope of work in Arlington’s mission to realize racial and social equity.

Christian has served on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) since 2016, and served as Chair in 2022. Previously, Mr. Dorsey served as Arlington’s Member on the Transportation Planning Board (TPB) in 2019 and 2021. Additionally, Christian served as a Principal Member of the Board of Directors for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, aka Metro, and as a Commissioner on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission from 2016-2020.

In 2023, Christian is serving as the County Board liaison to the Planning Commission, Public Facilities Review Committee, Industrial Development Authority, Community Oversight Board, the Human Rights Commission, and the Arlington County Fair Board. Christian is also Co-Chair of the County Board’s Audit Committee.

Outside of public service, Mr. Dorsey engages as a policy and communications consultant supporting progressive organizations in realizing their missions. Prior to joining the Board, Christian was a senior leader at the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank that promotes economic policies that foster broadly shared prosperity.

Throughout his career, Mr. Dorsey has been committed to improving the Arlington community. He had the privilege of serving as executive director of The Reading Connection, promoting literacy development for children facing housing insecurity. He also led the Bonder and Amanda Johnson Community Development Corporation, which provided essential community services and jump-started a moderate-income housing development in the Green Valley neighborhood.

Equally rewarding has been the many opportunities that Christian has had to serve our Arlington community as a volunteer, which have included serving on the boards of directors of the Arlington Free Clinic, A-SPAN, Leadership Center for Excellence, and Arlington Independent Media, and serving on County Board advisory commissions (Tenant-Landlord, chairman; Planning, member).

Christian has been a proud Arlingtonian since 1993. He and his wife, Rachael, live in the Columbia Forest neighborhood and have two children in Arlington Public Schools.