In her lecture, “Advocacy By Design: Urgency to Act Now,” Mia Lehrer, FASLA will discuss how, in recent decades, accelerating numbers of people are sounding the alarm about global climate shifts, human and wildlife migration, and worldwide socioeconomic inequity. The root causes are many–including colonialization, systemic racism, and exclusion of marginalized voices. Each urban center is, in its own way, re-examining the nuanced relationship between critical resources and the health of its food, energy, air, and water systems. Landscape architects are in the fortuitous position to analyze the pressing issues impacting our cities to identify holistic strategies that can recalibrate ecological, infrastructural, and social systems using processes that empower communities. Indeed, the health and well-being of a community relies on the strength of its social fabric, the prosperity of its economy, and perhaps most importantly, an urgent recalibration towards a balanced relationship with its natural surroundings that is intrinsic to its resilience.