Vanessa Baratta, MSc. RTPI

Vanessa Baratta is the director of community planning and development at Live Work Learn Play (LWLP), a leading real estate advisory and development firm specializing in the creation of vibrant, mixed-use communities. With a background in planning, urban strategy, and placemaking, she leads complex projects across North America with a focus on integrating community-driven retail and destination programming. At LWLP, Baratta plays a key role in shaping inclusive, experience-rich environments that align with both market demand and local identity. She brings a passionate, thoughtful approach to transforming developments into thriving, people-centered places.

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Bill Bates

Bill Bates joined Prologis in 2021 as vice president, investment officer in Toronto. He is responsible for overseeing capital deployment activities related to property acquisitions, vertical development, and development pipeline replenishment. Bates has specialized in servicing the transportation and logistics sectors for over 16 years, executing several large-scale development projects across North America in that time. Most recently, Bates led the industrial brokerage team for a large global brokerage firm in Toronto, and he provides a tremendous depth of knowledge in land development, industrial property acquisitions, and high-performance team building. Bates graduated with an Honors degree in Management and Finance from Western University and also studied abroad at the Stockholm School of Business in Sweden.

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Frank Di Roma, OAA, MRAIC

As regional vice president, Frank Di Roma is responsible for leading Ware Malcomb’s continued growth in Canada and oversees the management of the Toronto, Vaughan and Ottawa offices. He is also responsible for business development, account management, and project visioning and design. He is a licensed architect in in five provinces including British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Ontario.

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Melissa Ferrato

With nearly two decades of dedicated experience, Melissa Ferrato is a seasoned leader in implementing sustainable initiatives across both nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Currently serving as vice president, ESG at First Capital REIT (FCR), Ferrato offers strategic guidance in shaping and executing FCR's climate and sustainability strategies. Prior to her role at FCR, she held sustainability management positions at BentallGreenOak, Sears Canada, and the World Green Building Council. Her diverse background underscores her commitment to driving meaningful change in sustainability practices within organizations.

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Courtney Hammond

Courtney Hammond is an experience designer, creative strategist, and multimedia curator specializing in experiential storytelling, marketing and PR. She is the 2026 host for the six-part creative technologies mini-series 'Edge of Art' streaming on platforms across the globe and her work has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Conde Nast, Good Morning America, Architectural Digest, GQ, Marie Claire, New York Times and Huffington Post. She has designed and produced experiences of all scales, notably a 75-acre interactive light show controlled by visitors through their iPhones to signal the groundbreaking of a multibillion-dollar development by CIM and a 1,200-piece multimedia storytelling experience for Bill Gates and the Breakthrough Energy Global Summit. She works with some of the world's leading designers, clients, brands and artists to develop meaningful stories that emotionally resonate with diverse sets of communities to produce heartfelt connections.

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Emily Hanna, Ph.D.

Emily Hanna leads Crown’s investment and strategic growth initiatives, with oversight of capital formation, capital allocation, and the firm’s sustainable investments strategy. She partners closely with the asset management, property management and finance teams to underwrite, structure, and execute investments aligned with Crown’s value-creation mandate. In addition to her investment responsibilities, Hanna oversees the firm’s human capital function, an essential pillar of Crown’s ability to attract, develop, and retain the talent needed to drive execution and maintain agility across the platform.

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Parag Khanna

Parag Khanna is Founder & CEO of AlphaGeo, the leading AI-powered geospatial analytics platform. He is the internationally bestselling author of seven books including MOVE: Where People Are Going for a Better Future (2021), preceded by The Future is Asian: Commerce, Conflict & Culture in the 21st Century (2019), as well as a trilogy of books on the future of world order beginning with The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order (2008), followed by How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance (2011), and concluding with Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization (2016). He is also the author of Technocracy in America: Rise of the Info-State (2017) and co-author of Hybrid Reality: Thriving in the Emerging Human-Technology Civilization (2012). Parag was named one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century,” and featured in WIRED magazine’s “Smart List.” He holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, and Bachelors and Masters degrees from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Born in India and raised in the UAE, New York and Germany, he has traveled to more than 150 countries and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

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Brandon Malleck, P.Eng.

Brandon Malleck is a recognized leader in sustainable real estate, known for delivering innovative, data-driven ESG strategies across diverse asset classes. He achieved Canada’s first Zero Carbon certification for an existing building, setting a national benchmark in decarbonization. As the leader of optimization, efficiency, and sustainability initiatives across a 14 million square foot portfolio spanning four provinces, Malleck focuses on standardizing performance and driving measurable impact. His team delivers over $$10 million in capital projects annually, integrating sustainability and resilience into every investment. He recently developed a novel methodology to quantify the impact of decarbonization and resiliency initiatives on real estate performance, leveraging advanced software tools to bridge the gap between ambition and operational execution.

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Mark Messier

Mark Messier is widely regarded as one of the greatest hockey players in NHL history, boasting a legendary career that spanned 25 years and left an indelible mark on the sport. Known for his unparalleled leadership and tenacity, his contributions on the ice earned him a place among the top five players of all time. His career statistics are a testament to his greatness, ranking second all-time in regular-season points, playoff points, and regular-season games played. As a member of six Stanley Cup-winning teams and the only professional athlete to captain two different teams to championships, his legacy is cemented not just in records but in the hearts of hockey fans worldwide.

Mark’s skills in leadership, team dynamics, and strategic planning are highly regarded. His profound understanding of what it takes to succeed in high-pressure environments is an asset not just to hockey teams but to any organization seeking to cultivate a winning culture. His commitment to philanthropy, community leadership, and current role as special assistant to the New York Rangers showcase his continued influence in the sport and beyond.

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Peter Norman

Peter Norman is a recognized leader in commercial real estate economics and strategic market insights. As vice president and economic strategist, Norman drives thought leadership initiatives, economic forecasting, and innovative solutions to industry challenges, reinforcing Altus Group’s position as a market leader. With 30 years of experience as a prominent economist, Norman combines a deep understanding of economic principles with a talent for communicating complex concepts clearly and persuasively.

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Bryan Reid

Bryan Reid is an executive director on MSCI's Global Real Assets Research and Development team, where he specializes in performance measurement, portfolio management, and risk research to support asset owners and investment managers. His work centers on aligning MSCI's data and analytical tools with client investment challenges to drive informed decision-making.

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Nada Sutic

At Epic Investment Services, Nada Sutic is responsible for strategy and implementation of sustainability initiatives, digital building transformation and numerous operational programs with a focus on implementation through building operations and performance across the company’s diverse portfolio. With 15+ years of experience in commercial real estate, focused on sustainability, operational excellence, and property management, Sutic is a collaborative leader with a drive for measurable successes.

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Edie Weintraub

Edie Weintraub is the founder of Terra Alma, a retail real estate advisory firm helping developers and entrepreneurs create walkable, people-first places. With 20+ years in the industry, she specializes in curating ground-floor experiences and advising on retail strategies that foster connection, not just commerce. In the last three years, Weintraub has been advising master-planned communities nationwide to implement incremental, locally rooted retail. She also leads WIRCircle.com, a national network for women in food and hospitality, and hosts the Hustle and Heart podcast. She brings soul, strategy, and a deep love of placemaking to every project.

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Breana Wheeler

Breana Wheeler became BRE's director of operations in the U.S. in 2016, launching BREEAM USA in the U.S. market. BREEAM is the world’s first green building rating system and today is the most widely used program worldwide with over 2.3 million registered buildings and over 600,000 certificates issued in more than 89 countries. She oversees the development of the BREEAM programs for the U.S. market, ensuring the program delivers sustainable real estate value to investors, owners, managers and tenants. Prior to joining BRE, Wheeler worked for 10 years as an internal advisor on environmental and sustainability risk management for large, multinational corporations and was based in London.

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Mike Williams, P.Eng.

Mike Williams, P.Eng., is the president and cofounder of ClimateFirst, a climate tech company helping commercial real estate owners quantify and mitigate physical climate risks. With two decades of experience advancing climate resilience in the built environment, Williams has helped shape strategies for some of the world’s most complex and climate-exposed buildings. At ClimateFirst, his team pioneered a bottom-up methodology that converts climate hazards into asset-specific, dollar-based insights used for ESG reporting, insurance planning, and capital investment. A recognized thought leader in climate adaptation, Williams works closely with owners, investors and policymakers to future-proof real estate portfolios.

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Elissa Wilson

Elissa Wilson, Esq., is a partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP in the firm’s Columbus, Ohio office. Wilson is part of the firm’s national economic development incentives practice, one of the largest law firm-based incentives practices in the country. She has experience negotiating a wide array of economic development incentive packages, including state and local incentives for megaprojects and other advanced manufacturing facilities, as well as public-private partnership agreements. Wilson was previously an assistant city attorney for the City of Columbus, where she served as general counsel to the director of the department of development, as well as to the city auditor and the income tax division of the auditor’s office. She received her JD from Yale School of Law.

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