Gil (Guillermo) Penalosa

MBA, PhDhc, CSP

Founder, 8 80 Cities | Ambassador, World Urban Parks
President, GPA | Founder and Advocate, Our Third Act

Gil (Guillermo) Penalosa is passionate about creating cities for all people. He has inspired and advised decision makers in more than 350 different cities around the world. His priority is creating cities for everyone: affordable, equitable, sustainable where all people can live healthier and happier regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, ability, or socio-economic background.

His focus is on the design and use of parks, streets, sidewalks as great public places, as well as sustainable mobility: walking, riding bicycles, using public transit, and new uses of cars. Complete neighbourhoods, walkable cities. Gil highlights the benefits to public health, the environment, mobility, economic development.

Gil is Founder and Chair of 8 80 Cities, a successful Canadian-based international non-profit organization, grounded on a simple but powerful concept: What if everything we did in our cities had to be great for an 8-year-old and an 80-year-old? Surely, we would end up with fantastic cities for all!

He is also founder and lead of Cities for Everyone, focused on the advocacy, the doing. In addition, he hosts a bi-weekly international webinar, and has developed a version of all services concentrated on older adults, which is a third of our lives.

In 2023 Gil is complementing keynotes with in-depth master classes, combining the message for the hundreds with capacity building / inspiration for the doers.

Paula Olavarria

PaulaO@gpenalosa.ca

Senior Associate
Executive Producer, podcasts and webinar series

Paula joined 8 80 Cities in 2013 for the first time, while developing a successful marketing career in the private sector. Now she is back, as executive producer of the webinar series, A Walk in the Park with Gil, and, developing the podcast series, Gil and 8 80 Cities. She is excited about this possibility to contribute to improve communities’ well-being, which is what she loves the most. She is a passionate connecting people to help transform cities into more liveable & sustainable cities. She has special expertise in digital marketing communications, which she is applying in these new projects. She loves nature, hiking, riding her bike & walking.