Giselle Sebag

Giselle Sebag (MPH, LEED AP) is an architect, urban planner, and public health practitioner dedicated to advancing health by design, creating places where people can thrive and feel connected. She serves as Executive Director of the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) and is the Founder of the Vital Cities Collective. For nearly two decades, she has worked with local governments, communities, NGOs, philanthropy, and the private sector to create healthier, more inclusive, and more sustainable places through cross-sector collaboration.

Across her career — from city advising to place-based health initiatives — Giselle has focused on how everyday environments shape our social lives: whether streets, sidewalks, public spaces, and local institutions make it easier to meet, belong, and build community, or quietly reinforce loneliness and isolation. Through her work on the social life of cities, she translates research and lived experience into practical approaches to placemaking and urban strategy that support meaningful connection. As a parent, that mission feels even more urgent: in a world where our environments and technologies are pulling us apart, she is committed to rebuilding the connective tissue of community — block by block, and person to person.