Dr. Elisara is an educational pioneer, entrepreneur, award-winning filmmaker, and urbanist. After growing up in New Zealand, Dr. Elisara moved to the United States to undertake graduate studies at Eastern University and Biola University. In 1995 he founded a tertiary environmental study abroad program in Belize, and in 2001 expanded the program to New Zealand. Dr. Elisara became a member of Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) in 2009 and served on the CNU board from 2013-2016. During this time he co-founded First+Main Films, and later the Better Cities Film Festival, both of which are dedicated to the motto that “a story can change a city.”