Third Space

LaQuida Landford is the visionary Founder and Executive Director of AfroVillage PDX, a community-based organization dedicated to fostering equity, dignity, and sustainability in Portland’s Black and Brown communities. With a profound commitment to justice, LaQuida has led AfroVillage in creating transformative programs that address the needs of marginalized populations, including black women, formerly incarcerated, BIPOC immigrants, those experiencing homelessness and or housing insecurities. Her work at AfroVillage PDX includes providing alternative housing solutions, community care resources, digital access, health & wellness programs and organizing economic empowerment activities. LaQuida's leadership has been instrumental in building a vibrant network that promotes collective ownership and radical self-care. Her dedication is driven by a deep belief in the power of community-driven solutions and the importance of creating spaces of joy, healing, and restoration.

Marta is an Italian licensed Architect and the Founder and Principal of Studio Petteni- a Portland-based practice that merges research, engagement and design to help address the social-environmental needs of the most vulnerable communities in Portland and worldwide. Studio Petteni is built upon Marta's decade-long experience at the intersection of design justice, post-disaster scenarios, climate change, and community resilience. Marta is also the Co-Director & Project Manager of the AfroFuturism Oasis project, an innovative
proposal aimed at converting retiring MAX Trains into safe and healing spaces for Portland’s Black and Brown communities. She has been awarded the 2024 Van Evera Bailey Fellowship from the Architecture Foundation of Oregon to expand this work. Since 2015, Marta has worked on a variety of projects in Italy, Spain, Ecuador, Fiji, and the US, as an independent consultant, and as an adjunct professor at Portland State University.

M.Arch., EDAC, Assoc. AIA

Meredith works at the interface of research and practice as Director of Research for BA/Science, the research and innovation group of the design firm Boulder Associates. In this role, she conducts real-world research with clients and design teams to support data-driven, science-informed design for improving health, experience, access, and performance in built environments. Meredith serves on the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) Board of Directors. She is featured in the 2020 documentary, Built Beautiful: An Architecture and Neuroscience Love Story narrated by Martha Stewart, and has published in psychology, clinical, and design research journals and books. Her current passion project is producing Science + Design, a YouTube microlearning series.

Rana Hussain is a remarkable force in the industry of consulting and thought leadership. She's a specialist in Inclusive Leadership and Belonging, and her expertise in high-performance sport has made her one of the most influential women of colour in sports administration. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Rana is also a self-proclaimed pop-culture nerd who brings a unique perspective to her work as a speaker and broadcaster. She's a Muslim-Indian ‘black sheep’ who’s not afraid to weave her lived experience into her consulting, broadcasting, and board roles (Reconciliation Australia and Victorian Women’sTrust). As the founder of her organisation Good. Human, Rana is exceptional at helping

organisations develop cultures that are inclusive and high-performing places of belonging. And as a mother to a strong-minded 9-year-old who hates sports, she knows how to deal with stubborn minds.