Prove It
Summit Keynote
October 8, 2026
The Commons
300 Washington Street
Columbus, Indiana
Reception 5:30 pm
Program 6–7:30 pm
Free and open to the public
→ Advance registration required
What does design excellence look like in large cities and rural towns?
Join two national design leaders whose work reaches from some of America’s largest cities to its smallest towns and Tribal communities for a conversation about the places we build, the people they serve, and what it takes to create lasting value.
The program begins with a welcome from Mayor Mary Ferdon and Tracy Haddad, Board Chair of Landmark Columbus Foundation, with remarks from U.S. Senator Todd Young. Courtney Spearman and Maurice Cox will deliver keynote presentations, followed by a conversation moderated by Daniel Luis Martinez.
Keynote Speaker
Maurice Cox
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Urban Planner
Maurice D. Cox is the Emma Bloomberg Professor in Residence of Urban Planning and Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, where his work merges architecture, design, and politics in pursuit of equitable urban development. He served as Director of Planning and Development for the City of Detroit, where he co-authored neighborhood framework plans credited with helping reverse a 70-year population decline, and later as Commissioner of Planning and Development for the City of Chicago, where he led the INVEST South/West initiative to revitalize ten neighborhoods. His earlier public service includes terms as Mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia, and Design Director at the National Endowment for the Arts under two presidents. He has taught at Syracuse, the University of Virginia, Tulane, and the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Keynote Speaker
Courtney Spearman
Washington, D.C.
Design and Cultural Advocate
Courtney Spearman is program manager for Building Common Ground: Fieldwork, a new national program giving rural and Tribal cultural organizations customized design and project development support, after more than a decade representing the design field at the National Endowment for the Arts. Her work brings a multidisciplinary approach to rural revitalization, collaborating across arts and design nonprofits, landscape architecture firms, and community organizations. Spearman earned her Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Arts in Historic Preservation from the University of Virginia, and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Art History from Rice University.
Keynote Remarks
Todd Young
Indianapolis, Indiana
U.S. Senator
Todd Young is the senior United States Senator from Indiana, serving since 2017. Before the Senate, he represented Indiana's 9th congressional district in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2017, and he has since built a reputation as a bipartisan problem-solver, playing a key role in passing the CHIPS and Science Act to expand domestic semiconductor production, alongside work on veterans' affairs and affordable housing. Earlier in his career, he served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, leaving the service as a captain. Young graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Political Science from the United States Naval Academy, and also holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, an M.A. from the School of Advanced Study in London, and a law degree from Indiana University.
Keynote Moderator
Daniel Luis Martinez
Columbus, Indiana
Educator
Daniel Luis Martinez is Program Director, Director of Graduate Studies, and tenured Associate Professor at Indiana University’s J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program and a faculty affiliate of the Center for Rural Engagement. Daniel is an architectural designer, educator, and co-founder of LAA Office: a multidisciplinary design studio that explores the intersection of landscape, art, and architecture. His research and creative work investigate the transformation of undervalued sites through a synthesis of public art and public space design. He was a 2022 resident in Art Omi's Architecture Residency in New York, was named an Exhibit Columbus University Design Research Fellow in 2019 and received an AIA Henry Adams Medal in 2012. Daniel has worked at leading architectural firms, including Allied Works and Weiss/Manfredi, and his writing has been published in notable architectural journals, including MAS Context, San Rocco, Clog, and Drawing Matter.
The Prove It Summit Keynote is free and open to the public → Register now!
The Prove It Summit keynote will take place at The Commons, Columbus’s downtown community and event space. Designed by Koetter Kim with CSO Architects and completed in 2011, the building preserves the steel superstructure of César Pelli’s original 1973 design and is home to Jean Tinguely’s kinetic sculpture Chaos I.
