Gordon Feller
Co-founder and Convenor
Gordon Feller is the Co-founder and Convenor of Meeting of the Minds and Director of Urban Innovation within Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group in the Public Sector Practice.
Feller works with corporate and city leaders worldwide. In this capacity, he supports Cisco’s numerous China initiatives, while simultaneously leading Cisco’s new City Leader Program for Chinese mayors and city-based party secretaries. Feller is also a regular contributor to Cisco’s blog.
Prior to joining Cisco IBSG, Feller was CEO of the Urban Age Institute, an international research organization which began as a magazine inside the World Bank and was spun off ten years later, in 2001. For nearly 30 years, Feller has advised on urban development issues with leaders of multinational companies, cities, NGOs / foundations, and national governments. His clients have included the World Bank, the United Nations, German and Canadian national governments, The Rockefeller Foundation, IBM, Reuters, Metropolis, and United Cities & Local Governments.
Feller advises leaders on how information and communications technology can help solve complex urban environmental problems such as reducing carbon emissions, while developing practical and forward-looking solutions that intersect economics, technology, and sustainability. His work is the basis of a documentary film and other multimedia projects. Feller has written hundreds of articles for newspapers, scholarly journals, and magazines, including for CFO Magazine, Urban Land Magazine, TIME Magazine, Financial Times. He was formerly executive editor of Urban Age Magazine and Planet Earth Magazine. Feller has been a keynote speaker at key leadership events, including the Meeting of the Minds, an annual gathering of leaders drawn from government, NGOs and private sector which he co-founded.
Feller received his Bachelor’s in political science, cum laude, and a Master’s in international affairs, both from Columbia University, where served as a Lehman Fellow, a Wallach Fellow and a Deans Fellow.
Jessie Feller
Managing Director
Jessie has been the Director of Meeting of the Minds since 2010.
Jessie Feller is the Managing Director of Meeting of the Minds. She is an experienced urban planner, specializing in urban-regional policy with a particular focus on sustainability and clean energy. Previously, Jessie launched the successful Regional Energy Policy Program at Regional Plan Association in New York City. She has written numerous articles which have been featured in RPA’s Spotlight on the Region, The Hartford Courant, Urban Age Magazine, The Record, NPR, among others.
Previous to RPA, Jessie worked as a cluster specialist at Economic Competitiveness Group, as a Sustainability Fellow at the Portland Development Commission, and started her career at SMWM (now Perkins + Will).
Jessie holds a BA from Vassar College in Urban Studies and Hispanic Studies (Phi Beta Kappa) and a Masters in Environment and Development Studies (honors) from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
David J. Hahn
Director of Communications and Content
David J. Hahn is the Director of Communications and Content for Meeting of the Minds. He leads the organization’s digital communications strategy, social media presence, and serves as the editor of CityMinded.org.
Prior to joining Meeting of the Minds, Hahn had a successful career as a Broadway conductor in New York City, and served as the Associate Conductor for On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (starring Harry Connick, Jr.) and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. During his time as a professional musician, Hahn was the co-founder of MusicianWages.com – the largest website for working musicians – where he oversaw the curation of articles, the optimization of content and the acquisition of advertising.
David studied anthropology and ecology in the South Pacific before earning his BA in Germanic Studies from Indiana University.
