Ryan Gravel, the urban planner who helped launch the Atlanta BeltLine, will be this year’s keynote speaker for Emory University’s Class Day, Director of University Events Suzanne Eden-Antola announced.

A student-organized ceremony, Class Day traditionally occurs the Thursday before the commencement ceremony for the baccalaureate degree candidates in several colleges at Emory. This year’s ceremony will take place May 10, according to the Class Day website, and will involve the class gift, awards and a keynote speech.

Gravel’s master’s thesis, written while he was studying at Georgia Tech, served as “the original vision” for the group of trails and parks now known as the Atlanta BeltLine, according to the BeltLine’s website.

Gravel works with the Urban Land Institute, Atlanta’s Livable Communities Council and is a board member for the Partnership for Southern Equity and the MillionMile Greenway, according to his website. He also founded Sixpitch, an urban design consulting company, in 2015.