Dan Kirby

VICE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF CITIES AND PLACES, JACOBS, ORLANDO

Jacobs is a global leader in the professional services sector, providing operations management, construction, maintenance, turnaround and building design. It has approximately $16 billion in annual revenue. Kirby is an architect, planner and design consultant with experience leading design and planning of public and private projects with a focus on the pedestrian-friendly, sustainable and transit-oriented. He sails in his spare time and has helped found two nonprofits. He’s on the board of the Orlando Economic Partnership and spent nearly a decade as a member of the Orlando Utilities Commission. He’s also a trailblazer as the first African-American president of the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects.

IF I WERE GOVERNOR: We need all hands on deck when it comes to finding solutions! This means fostering participation across the political spectrum by people focused on solutions rather than focusing on the messenger. We need to engage a lot more of our fellow citizens whose voices are not present. Our lens must be meeting their needs – there is a direct line from resilience to building codes, to managing risk, to reducing insurance rates.

READING: Strong Towns, by Charles Marohn Jr.