The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University’s Land Use Law Center recently hosted the 24th Annual Alfred B. DelBello Land Use and Sustainable Development Conference, continuing its long-standing tradition of convening leaders in land use, environmental law, and public policy to address the challenges and opportunities facing communities today. Held in December 2025, the conference focused on the theme “Fostering the Development of Sustainable Communities Through Innovative Strategies,” bringing together practitioners, policymakers, scholars, and students for thoughtful discussion on land use planning, environmental protection, and sustainable development.

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The conference opened with two ethics focused sessions followed by welcome remarks from Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University Dean Horace E. Anderson, Jr. Dean Anderson’s remarks reflected both the long-standing history and impact of the LULC Conference while also recognizing the retirement of Tom Bourgeois, Director for Policy and Research at the Land Use Law Center, after 25 years of dedication to Pace Haub Law. “Tom’s contributions have been extraordinary,” shared Dean Anderson. “His expertise in energy efficiency, distributed energy systems, microgrids, geothermal networks, and resilient infrastructure has positioned our Land Use Law Center as a national leader at the intersection of energy and land use policy. Tom leaves a legacy that has helped shaped cutting-edge research and informed sustainable development strategies across the Northeast and beyond, and we thank him for all he has done for the Law School.” A morning keynote session was also delivered by Arthur C. Nelson, Ph.D., FAcSS, FAICP, Emeritus Professor of Urban Planning and Real Estate Development, and Geography, University of Arizona on trends in housing demands – past, present, and future. Several engaging early afternoon breakout sessions were held as well focusing on timely topics.

During the conference, the annual Groundbreaker’s Award was presented to Catherine F. Parker, Westchester County Board of Legislators, 7th District. During the presentation, it was noted that Legislator Parker has dedicated her career to strengthening Westchester County’s environmental resilience and fostering sustainable, community-driven growth. She has also championed landmark initiatives that reflect the principles taught by the Land Use Law Center’s Land Use Leadership Alliance (LULA) program and helped expand access to the LULA program.

A highlight of the conference was Shelley Poticha, Managing Director for Regional Impact, NRDC, delivering an informative keynote address on Taking Ambitious Action Now: Lessons from the American Sustainable Cities Initiative. During the keynote, Shelley discussed the American Sustainable Cities Initiatives, a 10-year effort to build the capacity of local change-makers. She noted that this initiative is a way for local leaders to experiment with ambitious solutions and find new ways to make their communities more livable and sustainable. The afternoon portion of the conference also included additional breakout sessions, a law update session, and a wine and cheese reception.

Founder’s Award Reception and Honorees

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The conference was preceded by the Founder’s Award Reception, where three individuals were honored:

• Thomas M. Roach, Mayor, City of White Plains, New York, received the Founder’s Award for his exemplary leadership in the City of White Plains and his career-long commitment to community collaboration and positive change.
• Maximillian R. Mahalek, Esq., an associate at Cuddy & Feder LLP and a Haub Law alumnus, was honored with the Distinguished Young Attorney Award for his contributions to land use and real estate law.
• Emily A. Petermann, a current Haub Law student, received the John R. Nolon Student Achievement Award for her dedication and commitment to excellence in fulfilling the mission of the Land Use Law Center.

Supporting Sustainability Through Collaboration

Each year, the Conference is made possible by the generosity of a significant number of sponsors who believe in the mission of the Land Use Law Center and the importance of this annual conference. This year, top sponsors included DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr, LLP, Collins Capital Partners LLC, Zarin & Steinmetz LLP, The Oram Foundation, Inc., Cuddy & Feder LLP, and Hocherman, Tortorella, and Wekstein, LLP. For more details visit the 2025 Conference agenda program (PDF).

On December 5, 2025, IBM partnered with the Seidenberg School’s Pace Data Science Society to host a full-day hackathon at Pace University. The event opened with remarks from IBM technology leaders Jonathan Hill (Technology Executive Leader), Rich L’Insalata (Executive IT Architect), and Lindsey Sample (Technology Sales Leader), who introduced students to IBM’s AI workflow tool, Watson Orchestrate. The presentation included a practical demonstration of how the tool automates routine tasks, connects applications, and enables users to build streamlined workflows without advanced coding.

More than 15 IBM mentors were on-site to support student teams throughout the day, helping them explore real-world applications of Watson Orchestrate across four use cases based on actual Pace University web services. As teams analyzed their scenarios, developed ideas, built prototypes, and presented their solutions, their work showcased a range of inventive approaches and thoughtful problem-solving grounded in teamwork and technical skill.

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A panel of judges—including Dean of the Seidenberg School Li-Chiou Chen, Pace University’s Interim Provost Jonathan Hill, Alex Weisman, and Seidenberg professors Jonathan Lee, Soheyla Amirian, Krishna Bathula—reviewed the final presentations and commended the teams for their clear communication, thoughtful effort, and effective problem-solving.

After a full day of collaboration and problem-solving, the top three teams included Team 6 (Melody Nguyen, Sofia Furda, Omari Nasir, and Ulyana Shyrokaya), who took first place; Team 12 (Raja Palagummi, Pranjali Changadkar, Aarian Varma, and Vishnu Sai Reddy) in second; and Team 1 (Nisarga Vishwamanjuswamy, Utkarsh Yadav, Palakben Shah, and Niharika Jagadeesh) in third.

The hackathon provided students with hands-on experience using professional tools and meaningful opportunities to engage with industry experts. By working through real challenges with guidance from IBM mentors, participants gained insight into how classroom concepts translate into practical solutions—highlighting the value of Pace’s experiential learning model and the strong industry partnerships that make these opportunities possible.

Sarita Himthani

Class of '25
Pronouns: She/Her
Currently Studying: MS in Information Systems, Data Science Concentration
Student Assistant, Lubin School of Business

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Not long ago, business students were taught that spreadsheets were enough. If you could calculate profit margins, build a budget, or analyze sales numbers, you were considered data savvy. Today, that’s only the beginning. Across every industry, companies are flooded with information—web traffic, customer preferences, supply chain metrics, even social media sentiment. Making sense of all this requires more than a good Excel formula. It calls for the tools and mindset of data science.

Data is now the language of business. Imagine walking into a meeting where the conversation revolves around customer lifetime value, churn predictions, or real-time inventory analytics. Without the ability to understand the numbers behind those terms, tomorrow’s leaders risk being left out of critical decision-making.

Professor Vishal Lala, PhD, who teaches quantitative courses in marketing at Lubin, has said: “Today’s businesses, armed with more data than ever before, are eager to unlock the power of data. They are looking for executives that have a sound understanding of business, have the ability to write computer code to analyze data, possess the statistical know-how to interpret it, and the acumen to effectively communicate results to senior management. They are looking for a Data Scientist who understands Business.”

Spreadsheets can tell you what happened. Data science helps you ask what’s likely to happen next. With techniques like predictive modeling and machine learning, businesses can forecast trends, uncover hidden opportunities, and make decisions backed by evidence—not guesswork.

Employers today aren’t just looking for managers who can lead teams. They want problem-solvers who can bridge business strategy with analytical thinking. Even a basic understanding of data science can set a candidate apart—whether in consulting, finance, or marketing.

At its core, data science isn’t only about writing code or building algorithms—it’s about translating those technical foundations into better choices. Algorithms are powerful because they reveal patterns too complex for the human eye. But the real value lies in how those insights guide action. Data science helps us cut through the noise, surface meaningful trends, and balance intuition with evidence. For business students, learning data science isn’t about becoming a data scientist—it’s about being prepared for a future where every leader is expected to be data literate.

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