Toronto Power Women

Lizaine Wheeler

VP, Residential Operations
Northview Apartment REIT

Ms. Lizaine Wheeler was appointed Vice President, Residential Operations, of Northview Apartment REIT in October, 2012. Northview has over 25,000 units in 8 provinces and two territories making it the only property management company to be truly coast to coast. Previously, Ms. Wheeler was the Senior Vice President, Operations of Mainstreet Equity Corp. from 2010 to 2012, and at Boardwalk REIT from 1998 to 2010, progressing to VP Operations. Ms. Wheeler is currently furthering her education by undertaking her Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Athabasca University.

Tahani Aburaneh

CEO
Tahani International

Gigi Wong

CFO
Timbercreek Asset Management

Gigi Wong joined Timbercreek in June 2016 as Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Wong is also Financial Officer of Timbercreek Financial. In her current role as CFO, Ms. Wong is responsible for overseeing financial and taxation reporting, treasury, corporate financings and the financial reporting and risk analytics platform. Ms. Wong has over 20 years of experience in finance and capital markets. Most recently, Ms. Wong was Director of Capital Markets Operations at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Prior to joining OTPP, Ms. Wong was CFO, Chief Compliance Officer & Secretary at CQI Capital Management LP (formerly GMP Investment Management) and prior to that, Director, Investment Finance at GMP Securities LP. Ms. Wong began her career at PwC Canada and developed her asset and risk management experience while executing on mandates at TD Bank, The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and Bank of Montreal. Ms. Wong holds a Bachelor of Arts from Western University where she majored in Financial and Economic studies. Ms. Wong is a Chartered Professional Accountant and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Jennifer Keesmaat

CEO, The Keesmaat Group
Former Chief City Planner, Toronto

JENNIFER KEESMAAT is passionate about creating places where people flourish, and was named one of the “most powerful people in Canada” by Macleans, one of the “most influential” by Toronto Life, and one of the top Women of Influence in Canada. Jennifer is a Distinguished Visitor in Residence Emeritus at the University of Toronto, and continues to share her vision for cities of the future and her belief in the importance of public sector leadership through a variety of publications including The Guardian, Macleans, The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and on her podcasts, Invisible City and Within Reach. Keesmaat serves on the Advisory Board of the Urban Land Institute, Toronto and the International Panel of Experts, Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority. In 2018, Jennifer founded The Keesmaat Group – a creative group of senior-level urbanists who work with future-oriented cities, regions, companies, and organizations to advance solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time: a global housing affordability crisis, the need for mobility in our cities that forgoes dependence on fossil fuels, and smarter, quicker adaptations to a changing climate. Jennifer holds a Combined Honours degree in Philosophy and English from the University of Western Ontario, and a Masters in Environmental Studies, Politics and Planning, from York University. As a Registered Professional Planner, her work has been repeatedly recognized by professional associations, including as the recipient of the 2016 President’s Award of Excellence, from the Canadian Institute of Planners; the 2016 Bryden Alumni Award, York University, the 2017 City Builders Award from EDIT/the Design Exchange; the International Placemaking Award, City of Lyon, France 2017; and most recently, the 2019 The Edmund N. Bacon Award from the Center for Architecture and Design, Philadelphia.

Jane Gavan

CEO
Dream Global REIT

Ms. P. Jane Gavan is the President, Asset Management of Dream and has more than 29 years of experience in the real estate industry. Ms. Gavan is responsible for international real estate investments and serves as Chief Executive Officer of Dream Global REIT, a Canadian REIT that invests in commercial real estate assets exclusively outside of Canada. Ms. Gavan previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Dream Office REIT. Since joining Dream in 1998, Ms. Gavan has played a key role in numerous transactions including the acquisition of Lehndorff Properties, the 2003 business restructuring that resulted in the creation of Dream Office REIT, Dream Office REIT’s $2.3 billion portfolio sale to GE Real Estate, and the initial public offering of Dream Global REIT. Prior to joining Dream, Ms. Gavan served as legal counsel for numerous companies including Oxford Properties Group, and Denison Mines Corp., and began her career in private law practice with Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, specializing in real estate and corporate finance. She earned an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Osgoode Hall, York University. Ms. Gavan currently sits on the board of directors of Dream, Dream Global REIT, and the Women’s College Hospital Foundation, and is on the Patron’s Council for Community Living Toronto.

Qi Tang

CFO
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust

Kay Brekken

EVP & CFO
First Capital Realty

Joined the Company in 2014. Previously Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Indigo Books & Music, Inc. Ms. Brekken has over 20 years of North American financial leadership experience including public company reporting, strategic and operational planning, and debt and equity financing. Ms. Brekken holds a BBA from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the University of Washington. Additionally, Ms. Brekken is a Certified Public Accountant.

Leslie Woo

CEO
CivicAction

Leslie Woo is Chief Planning and Development Officer at Metrolinx, the regional transportation authority for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Leslie is the executive lead for planning and portfolio development of the $35B expansion in public transit. Named One of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2017, Spacing Toronto's Transit Change-maker in 2016 and Canada's Women's Infrastructure Network's 2015 Outstanding Leader. Leslie leads the strategic planning from long range transportation planning through to service planning for a full range of mobility services. She heads business areas in benefits management, design excellence, strategic land development and corporate property management. Leslie manages key relationships with municipalities, not-for-profits and the private sector. She is also a champion for driving sustainability and leads Metrolinx’s network for women. Leslie is a passionate and influential leader with ten years of experience at Metrolinx. Prior to Metrolinx Leslie worked in the municipal, private and not-for-profit sectors. She was the key author of the original Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan (2006), which by 2016 had resulted in urban intensification totalling over 18 per cent increase in multi-family residential development, a two-thirds reduction of greenfield lands consumption, and conserved about 800 square kilometres of agricultural and rural land. Leslie holds international responsibilities as a Global Trustee with the Urban Land Institute, and is a retired member of the Ontario Association of Architects. Awarded a 2011/12 Fellowship with International Women’s Forum, Leslie is a Director on the board of Womens’ College Hospital and for eight years was a director on the board of YMCA for the Greater Toronto Area (2009 – 2017). Leslie is the creator of the blog shebuildcities.org celebrating women city builders around the world. Leslie received a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Waterloo where she also studied Urban and Regional Planning. She is also the 2015 recipient of the Renison University College Distinguished Alumna Award. Born in Trinidad, Leslie is the mother of two thriving global citizens.

Trish Macpherson

Executive Vice President
CAPREIT

Trish MacPherson joined Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CAPREIT), a TSX listed company, in October 2005. CAPREIT is a growth-oriented investment trust owning interests in 50,624 residential units, comprising of 44,168 residential suites and 31 manufactured home communities comprising 6,456 land lease sites located in and near major urban centres across Canada and The Netherlands. Trish is the Executive Vice President Operations with responsibility for commercial operations, new development, customer satisfaction, pricing programs and marketing initiatives all with the goal of maximizing revenues. Trish has over 20 years of various integrated sales and marketing experience and has her BScH and MBA. Before joining CAPREIT, she worked for a Canadian software analytics company, and prior to that held marketing, sales, and public relations positions at a top accounting/consulting firm, a public relations agency and a pharmaceutical organization.

Laurie Payne

VP, Development
Diamond Corp

Laurie leads one of Toronto’s largest private redevelopment sites, a 60‐acre industrial brownfield which will be transformed into a transit-supportive community with over four million square feet of office, retail, community recreation, and residential in a range of forms. Centered on new rapid transit and directly connected to Toronto’s ravine system and downtown, Laurie is overseeing every aspect of this transformation on behalf of three respected developers, Diamond Corp., Context and Lifetime. Prior to joining Diamond Corp, Laurie was Development Director for Toronto Community Housing, North America’s second largest public housing provider. She guided a team of development professionals in the revitalization of outdated housing projects. The result of this work will be nearly 2,000 units of new and refurbished low‐income housing, 6,000 units of market housing and over a billion dollars in local economic activity. In her 15 year career, Laurie was a Senior Associate with Urban Strategies Inc., an integrated planning and urban design firm. Laurie managed master plans for Waterfront Toronto’s 55‐acre East Bayfront Precinct; growth management plans for Toronto’s urbanizing suburbs; and, the revitalization of a 200‐year old Victorian asylum in London UK. Laurie began her career as a community facilitator for complex planning projects. ​ Laurie served as Communications Co‐chair for the Toronto District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI). In 2014, she was appointed to ULI Toronto’s Women's Leadership Initiative Championship Team and won the global Women’s Leadership Scholarship in 2013. As an advocate of strong urban design, Laurie was a Chair of the Toronto Community Housing Design Review Panel, and was a member of the Downsview Park Design Review Panel. In 2016, Laurie was named to the Urban Land Institute’s "40 Under 40", which represents the best young land-use professionals from around the globe, as selected by members of ULI.

Anna Kennedy

COO & CFO
KingSett Capital

Anna Kennedy joined KingSett Capital in 2011 and has overall responsibility for KingSett’s financial, governance, investor relations, technology, talent development and other organizational platforms. Anna enjoyed a twenty-five year career at Oxford Properties Group where during her last five years she was Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, leading Finance and Information Technology teams. Anna is also active in the non-for-profit sector and served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Canadian Diabetes Association. Anna obtained her Chartered Accountant designation working at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University. Anna is a member of the Financial Executives Institute, is on the Board of the C.D. Howe Institute and is the President of the Board of Toronto CREW.

Jenny McMinn

Managing Director
UrbanEquation

As Managing Director of Urban Equation, Jenny provides real estate development and sustainability advisory across North America. Her most recent clients include Sidewalk Toronto, Oxford Properties, DREAM as well as all levels of Canadian government. Jenny is actively advising on over 20M square feet of carbon neutral community development. Prior to joining Urban Equation, for nearly a decade at Halsall Associates (now WSP), Jenny led design teams, municipalities and building owners in the creation of award winning high performance green building and community design projects. With her experience in sustainable architecture, performance management and business modeling, she has led teams with multi-disciplinary stakeholders and consultants on a range of cutting edge green projects including those targeting One Planet Living, Living Building Challenge, The WELL standard and LEED Platinum.

Lori Pearson

Senior Managing Partner & COO
Brookfield Asset Management

Lori Pearson is a Senior Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer for Brookfield Asset Management. In this role she is responsible for Brookfield's asset management operations. Prior to joining Brookfield in 2003, Ms. Pearson was with one of the big-four accounting firms, initially in a client-facing role and subsequently as head of Human Resources for the company’s Canadian tax practice. Ms. Pearson is a Chartered Accountant and has been named a Fellow by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, the profession’s highest mark of distinction, to recognize her career achievements, community involvement and the impact she has had on the accounting profession in Ontario. Ms. Pearson is on the boards of the Brookfield Foundation and Pathways to Education in Canada. She also is a member of the United Way Women Gaining Ground, a group founded in 2007 to make a personal impact in the lives of women facing poverty.

Nancy Mallins

VP, Development Finance
Streetcar

Allison Wolfe

EVP, CFO & Global Head of Portfolio Management
Oxford Properties

Ms. Wolfe is the Chief Financial Officer and Global Head of Portfolio Management of Oxford Properties, a $60 billion global real estate investment, development and management business. Ms. Wolfe leads a team of over 200 professionals responsible for financing and balance sheet management, strategic planning, portfolio management and capital allocation, risk management, financial reporting, tax, valuations and research on a global basis. Ms. Wolfe is a member of Oxford’s Executive Management Team and co-chairs Oxford’s Investment Committee. Allison has served on several OMERS enterprise wide committees related to third-party capital, strategic planning, risk management and technology. Ms. Wolfe has 20 years of real estate investment, finance and advisory experience and has worked on a wide variety of transactions in Canada, US, Europe, Asia and Australia. Prior to joining Oxford in 2010, Allison was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley where she worked in both principle investing and real estate advisory in New York, San Francisco and Toronto. Allison holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Honours) from Queen’s University and currently serves on the advisory board for the Master of Financial Innovation & Technology program at Smith School of Business (Queen’s University)

Sarah Jane O'Shea

VP, Asset Management
Forgestone Capital

Sarah Jane O’Shea is Vice President, Asset Management responsible for overseeing the Fund’s income-producing assets. Prior to joining Forgestone, she held the role of Vice President, Asset Management at Allied Properties REIT where she covered a portfolio of over 10 million square feet distributed across all major Canadian markets. Before moving to Canada, Sarah Jane worked in capital markets at Jones Lang LaSalle, Ireland, and property management at a boutique Dublin firm. Sarah Jane is a Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS), an engineering graduate of University College Dublin and holds a Masters in Real Estate from Oxford Brookes University.

Carrie Morris

MD, Product Development & Account Management
Timbercreek Asset Management

Carrie Morris joined Timbercreek in August 2005 as Director of Investor Relations & Corporate Development and was subsequently promoted to Managing Director, Capital Markets & Corporate Communications in 2012. Ms. Morris is also Vice President for Timbercreek Financial. In her role as Managing Director, Product Development and Account Management, Ms. Morris is involved with all capital market activities including new product development, investor relations and client service for Timbercreek. Ms. Morris has over 11 years of experience with public and private capital markets and has overseen other key components to the business including compliance, marketing and corporate governance. Ms. Morris holds a Masters of Business Administration from McMaster University.

Evelyne Dubé

Managing Director
Tricon Capital

Evelyne Dubé is a Managing Director at Tricon focused on business development and private capital fundraising. Prior to joining Tricon, Ms Dubé spent 15 years in London, UK, where she held senior business development positions at private equity real estate managers Forum Global Partners, Apollo Management/Citi Property Investors, and Curzon Global Partners/AEW Europe. She also previously held corporate finance advisory roles at KPMG Corporate Finance in London and Montreal. She currently serves as a board member of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in London, UK. Ms Dubé holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from HEC-Montréal and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Université de Montréal. She has also studied at the London Business School in the UK and is a member of the Bar of Quebec, Canada.

Lisa Rowe

Managing Director
Slate Asset Management

Lisa is a Managing Director of Slate Asset Management, with over 15 years of corporate finance and tax planning experience. She is also the Senior Vice President, Taxation of Slate Retail REIT and Slate Office REIT. Lisa joined Slate in 2013 and is responsible for all aspects of tax, structuring, and reporting across all of Slate’s business vehicles. She also provides advice on corporate structure and financing for both new acquisitions and existing investments. In addition, Lisa oversees all financial matters for Slate Asset Management and Slate’s various private business vehicles. Prior to joining Slate, Lisa was with Deloitte LLP in their M&A Tax group. During that time, she lead the tax due diligence and tax structuring elements of transactions. Lisa is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Kathy Gregory

President & CEO
Paradigm Quest

Kathy Gregory has over 20 years of executive leadership experience in the lending industry. She is the founding President and CEO of Paradigm Quest Inc. Paradigm was incorporated in 2004 and launched to market in 2005. It was the first mortgage BPO in Canada and the first to provide end to end Private Label mortgage products in Canada. Kathy was ranked #1 in Profit Magazine’s “Ones to Watch” in the 2009 publication of Profit’s Top 100 Women in Canada. She has led Paradigm to final nominations in two categories of the industry’s most prestigious awards ceremonies in 2009 - Best Industry Service Provider and Best Employer. In 2010, 2012 and 2014, WXM ranked her as one of the "Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada." Kathy is the past President-Elect of the Canadian Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders (CIMBL) and has served three years on the Board of the Executive Committee of the Young President Organization (YPO) in the Upper Canada Chapter. She is the Founding Chair of the Mortgage Industry Ontario Ladies Charity Golf Tournament, & BC Ladies Charity Mortgage Industry Event, 2007 – 2011. She was awarded the Best Community Service Effort Award of Year at the 2011 Canadian Mortgage Industry Awards. In 2012, under Kathy's leadership Paradigm was ranked in PROFIT 200 as one of Canada’s fastest growing companies by PROFIT Magazine. In the same year, at the Canadian Mortgage Industry Awards, Paradigm Quest was Awarded "Employer of Choice." In 2013 Paradigm was ranked in PROFIT 500 as one of Canada's fastest growing companies by PROFIT Magazine. In the same year,Kathy was honoured with her induction into the Canadian Mortgage Hall of Fame. More recently, Kathy was the recipient of the 2018 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year (Ontario) award in the Financial Services sector.

Sheila Botting

Partner & Canadian Real Estate Leader
Deloitte

Sherri Lavine

Partner
Chaitons

Sherri is a partner in Chaitons’ Commercial Real Estate Group where she acts for clients in connection with the acquisition and sale of commercial properties, the financing and development of commercial projects, various leasing matters, and the development of condominium and subdivision projects. She negotiates and drafts agreements of purchase and sale and related closing documents, loan and security documents, leases, joint venture agreements, disclosure statements and subdivision related documentation. Sherri’s clients include developers of condominiums, subdivision and hotel projects, joint venture partners of commercial developments, owners of office towers, apartment buildings, shopping malls, commercial/industrial buildings, operators of healthcare and nursing home facilities, various licensed producers of medical cannabis, and financial institutions and equity and opportunity fund lenders. Sherri earned a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) degree from Western University in 2004. While there she received the Ollie and Mark Cameron Scholarship. After graduating from Western, Sherri attended Osgoode Hall Law School where she obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree in 2007. She subsequently participated in a student exchange program at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, Holland. She was called to the Bar in Ontario in 2008. Sherri is active in both the Toronto commercial real estate and legal communities. She is a member of Toronto Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), the Toronto Jewish Law Society and Young Women in Law. She frequently speaks at seminars and association meetings on the topic of commercial real estate.

Christine Xu

President & CEO
Moneybroker Canada

Christine Q Xu has been working in the financial industry in Toronto since 1990. She first worked in retail banking, and later moved to become an investment advisor in 1993. In 2000, she became one of the first Mandarin-speaking Mortgage Brokers in Toronto. She was later was a partner and one of the founding members of Lending Direct Corporation, a Toronto mortgage Brokerage Firm. With her knowledge of the Canadian Banking and Investment system, a great local network of Bankers and Lenders, and a wealth of experience in the industry, Christine has helped thousands of clients to obtain mortgages and loans and to achieve their financial dreams. Christine has received many awards from different financial institutions in recent years.

Barbara Lawlor

President & CEO
Baker Real Estate

As President and CEO of Baker Real Estate Incorporated, Ms. Lawlor is responsible for bringing new business into the company. She is directly involved with the marketing and sales of pre-construction condominium developments in Canada in the GTA, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary and internationally in Shanghai. She plays a key consulting role with the development team. Barbara is a Registered Real Estate Broker and a Fellow of The Real Estate Institute of Canada and has been a member of the Baker team since 1993. She has opened new offices and led major sales and marketing campaigns for the company in North America and International real estate markets. As a popular writer (Ms. Lawlor writes weekly columns for various publications and is a consummate blogger), she has become known as The Condo Pro. Her charismatic style and tremendous knowledge, make her a highly sought after seminar speaker and is respected for her impactful industry voice. Barbara was an honoree at the 2019 BISNOW Toronto Power Women, and a panelist at the Key Media International Conference in 2018. At the 2017 BILD Home Builder Awards, Barbara was the recipent of the prestigious Riley Brethour Award. This award is bestowed to individuals in the industry, who show outstanding and consistent achievement in residential sales and marketing, while exhibiting exemplary leadership skills and serve as a superb role model for other industry professionals.

Andrea DelZotto

Director & EVP
Tridel Group

Alice Soon

Managing Partner
Tesoro Real Estate Investments

Alice is a real estate and marketing expert, with over 15 years of experience leading global brands, ensuring profitability and financial success across a portfolio of multi-faceted programs. She is speaker and contributor to various North American real estate associations and publications, including INMAN News, Real Estate Professional Magazine, and The Residential Specialist Magazine.

Marcelle Rademeyer

President & CEO
Beauleigh Retail Consultants & Beauleigh Realty

During her two decades in the shopping centre industry, including five years in the U.S. market, Marcelle has mastered every aspect of the business and worked with major landlords of regional shopping centres, mixed-use urban properties and lifestyle centres, in Toronto, across Canada and in the U.S. With a keen eye for merchandise mix, Marcelle is able to develop and implement retail strategies for a range of projects from large-scale renovations and expansions to the repositioning, rebranding and remerchandising of existing properties. Fluent in five languages, Marcelle is uniquely qualified to monitor international retailing trends, introducing cosmopolitan flair and successful practices to the Canadian marketplace

Emily Hanna

Partner, Investments
Crown Realty Partners

Emily joined Crown in 2012 and oversees the investment and acquisitions functions of the partnership. Emily holds a Bachelor of Sciences (Honours) degree, Master of Arts and PhD in Economics. Prior to joining Crown, Emily was Associate Vice President, Investments at Allied REIT (TSX:AP.UN). Working to expand the national platform for the REIT, she concluded a number of acquisitions, including 151 Front Street West, a Wall Street Journal “deal of the week.” Emily is a recipient of the NAIOP Developing Leaders Award and is an active member of the real estate industry. She has served on the board for Toronto Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) and on the Ted Rogers School of Management Real Estate Advisory Council and is a past President of NAIOP Greater Toronto.