Are you a Champion?

What is a Champion? To the Toronto Urban Land Institute (ULI)’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, a champion demonstrates:

• Exceptional leadership and skill in the real estate development and land use disciplines;
• Dedication to, and success at, building thriving communities across the Toronto region; and,
• Capacity to inspire others in the industry.

On June 18th, 2014, the Toronto ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative celebrated its 2014 Championship Team. More than eighty female leaders in city building from across the region formed the inaugural team of champions.

Each of the 2014 Championship Team members is a champion in their own right. They make up Toronto region’s robust and progressive real estate development and land use sector. They come from elected government, public service, academia, non-profits, professional services, finance, and commercial and residential development.

The 2014 Championship Team members have inspired us with their skill, creativity, and success. The Toronto ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative decided it’s time to celebrate their achievements.

Toronto is part of a global ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative whose mission is to:

• Promote the advancement of women, throughout their careers, as leaders in the real estate industry.
• Increase the number of women who serve in leadership positions in the real estate industry and in ULI.
• Increase the visibility of women leaders in the real estate industry and in ULI.
• Increase the number of women who are active ULI Full members, and support the development of young women members as leaders in ULI and in their professions.

At the 2014 Championship Team launch event, many of the 2014 Champions and emerging champions came together to celebrate, recognize and advance the success of women in our industry. Check out photos here. Headlining the event was Professor Patricia McCarney, Director of the Global Cities Indicators Facility at the University of Toronto, and now a 2014 WLI Champion.

Patricia heads the world-wide Global Cities Institute. She lead the certification of an ISO standard for cities called ISO 37120 the Sustainable Development in Communities standard. The standard is an audited set of measures and indicators for city services and quality of life. It is data that every city builder needs, and that has never before been available in a reliable or accessible form.

The Global Cities Indicators project is fresh, fascinating and critically important work. Toronto is centre-stage in the project, thanks to Patricia McCarney, and the support of the City of Toronto and the University of Toronto. So far, the indicators corroborate what we know, but rarely recognize. Toronto is a thriving city and we are exceptionally fortunate to live and work here. Patricia inspired the entire room, not only with her incredible professional international expertise but also in the quiet passion with which she described her life journey.

When the Toronto ULI set out to build the 2014 Championship Team, we had no idea of the groundswell of support that would emerge from across the industry. We are more aware of the strength and depth of talent that exists, perhaps in part because we need more opportunities for it to be showcased.

Congratulations again to our 2014 Championship Team!

ULI Toronto WLI is Co-Chaired by Godyne Sibay, Partner, McCarthy Tetrault and Leslie Woo, Vice-President, Policy, Planning & Innovation, Metrolinx.

WLI Steering Group Members include:
Anne Morash, Senior Vice President, Multi-Residential, GWL Realty Advisors Inc.
Kristy Shortall, Senior Planner/Project Manager Planning & Environmental Design Associate, MMM Group Limited
Laurie Payne, Development Director, Toronto Community Housing
Salima Rawji, Director, Development, Build Toronto Inc.
Signe Leisk, Partner, Cassels Brock LLP

Thank you to our Event Sponsor