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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Aaron Bidne

Aaron Bidne serves as senior director of development for Granite Properties. He leads Granite's development platform across their portfolio and has developed over 6.5 million square feet of Class A office assets over his 29-year career.

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Cory Bultinck

Cory Bultinck is the national real estate practice leader at Wipfli. Prior to being the national leader, he led Minnesota’s construction and real estate practice. His clients and team value his passion to help others, tenacious approach to his clients’ success and ability to find unique solutions to the most challenging problems.

Bultinck is proactive in providing real estate industry-specific business, operational and tax advisory solutions. He often works collaboratively with his clients and key stakeholders, including attorneys, investors, advisors and strategic partners. His collaboration and commitment to success have led to many life-long client relationships and a dedicated real estate team that strives toward that same client success.

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Barry Campbell

Barry Campbell is the president of Campbell Strategies, with a distinguished four-decade career spanning law, politics, and government relations. A former member of Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, he brings unmatched insight into federal policy-making, particularly in financial services, taxation, and regulatory affairs. His extensive background, including practicing law at leading firms and the International Monetary Fund, equips him with deep expertise in navigating mandates at the intersection of business and government.

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Milos Dajic, CFA

Milos Dajic is head of Canadian investments with Oxford Properties Group. Since joining Oxford in 2018, he has led numerous investment transactions across multiple sectors. Prior to joining Oxford, Dajic was an investment banker at TD Securities, focusing on the real estate sector and advising clients on mergers and acquisitions and fundraising. Dajic holds a BComm from Toronto Metropolitan University, an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and is a CFA Charterholder.

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Natalie Dash

Natalie Dash is principal at Campbell Strategies and a leading government relations consultant specializing in commercial real estate, financial services, and infrastructure. She is recognized for her ability to navigate complex political and regulatory systems, build influential coalitions, and deliver results for clients across all levels of government. Dash was also listed by Maclean’s Magazine as one of the top 10 "busiest" lobbyists in Ottawa in 2014.

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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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Kevin Hardy

Leveraging 25 years of experience across finance, marketing, leasing and property management, Kevin Hardy leads a team of 100 professionals to drive value across an office portfolio of approximately 9 million square feet. With direct responsibility for the execution of leasing, property management, capital deployment and delivery of best-in-class hospitality focused customer experience, Hardy’s team is responsible for the full life cycle of Oxford's Toronto Office assets.

Prior to this, Kevin served as an executive responsible for 15M SF Eastern Canadian portfolio for a publicly traded Office REIT with assets located in the Greater Toronto Area, Montreal, Kitchener, Quebec City, and Ottawa.

Kevin is active with numerous industry associations including serving as President of the Greater Toronto NAIOP Chapter and on the corporate board of NAIOP

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Stan Ivankovic

Stan Ivankovic is vice president of business development and consulting at Environics Analytics, where he helps real estate and retail clients better understand their markets, trade areas and customers, tailoring projects, data and software engagements to meet the needs of each client. Ivankovic and his team were on the forefront of using mobile movement data in Canada’s real estate sector. A veteran sales, training and product management executive, he has been with Environics Analytics for over a decade, prior to which he spent 10 years at Xerox Canada, where he developed leadership and consultative skills.

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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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Matthew Lindenberger

Matthew Lindenberger is a dynamic executive leader with 20+ years of experience driving business transformation, strategic growth, and large-scale technology innovation. He is a builder at heart, with a track record of scaling organizations, leading M&A and IPO processes, and developing high-impact technology solutions that create long-term market advantage.

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Iain Macdonald, RIBA, SIA

Iain Macdonald is an architect and principal with HKS Laboratory for Intensive Exploration (LINE) Los Angeles and research associate, AI Infrastructure-Nuclear Energy Nexus, MIT. His master planning includes smart cities, aerocities and several nuclear power stations. Architectural projects range from corporate offices, automobile brand experience, data centers and pharmaceutical to software research labs and small modular reactors.

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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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Nate Regan

Nathan Regan currently serves as the lead for economic development incentives for Google LLC data centers. He previously served as the senior vice president of economic development for the city of Atlanta, Georgia. He has also served as a senior advisor at the United States Department of Commerce and has served in trade and investment roles at the French, Danish and Bahraini Foreign Ministries.

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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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Eric Schmutz

Eric Schmutz, NAIOP’s Senior Director of Federal Affairs, has nearly 30 years of experience working in Washington, D.C., in political campaigns as well as both the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. His work encompasses various aspects, including federal tax policy, environmental regulations, and financial services issues. Schmutz is a native Kansan, a graduate of Kansas State University, and holds an MBA from the University of Maryland. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife Betsy, daughter Eleanor, son Henry, and the family dog Otis.

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Ryan Severino, CFA

Ryan Severino is the Chief Economist and Head of Research at BGO, where he leads global and regional economic analysis, forecasting, and property market research across the firm’s investment strategies and geographies.

In addition to his professional work, Ryan is an adjunct professor of finance and economics at Columbia University and New York University, where he has taught courses in urban economics, portfolio and risk management, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and econometrics. He also brings hands-on experience in real estate asset management, portfolio management, and acquisitions.

Ryan’s original research has appeared in journals including the Wharton Real Estate Review and The Real Estate Finance Journal. His commentary has been featured in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Financial Times, as well as on CNBC and Bloomberg. He is a member of the CFA Institute, the American Economic Association, NABE, ULI, and NCREIF.

In 2025, he was named one of PERE’s 100 Most Influential People in Global Real Estate Over the Last Decade, recognizing his lasting impact on the industry worldwide.

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Brendan Sullivan, B.S., B.A.

Brendan Sullivan serves on the NAIOP Toronto Chapter Board of Directors a role he has held since 2022 and is the chair of the NAIOP CRE Converge Conference 2025, to be held in Toronto. He has earned several industry accolades, including the SIOR Broker of the Year (2021), CBRE’s and Advisor of the Year Award (2024) and Broker Choice Award (2014, 2016, 2021) CoStar Power Broker (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022), and the NAIOP Developing Leader (2017). In 2023, Sullivan became the lead of Investor Leasing, Canada at CBRE. Sullivan leads The Sullivan Family Foundation, supporting the charities that have directly impacted his family. He served as the chair for the JDRF Ride to Cure Diabetes for 10 years, helping raise over $5 million for diabetes research, an effort that earned him the Corporate Volunteer of the Year Award in 2019.

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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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Jeff Wagner

Jeff Wagner has over 20 years’ experience in real estate debt and private equity, primarily as a principal but more recently as an advisor managing the Canadian capital markets (debt and equity brokerage). His focus has been on debt fund origination, balance sheet lending, syndicated mortgages, CMBS and CMHC, as well as residential builder development and construction financing. He has an in-depth understanding of financing and capital structure execution as well as public markets execution. Work experience includes GE Capital, KingSett Captial, Firm Capital and IMC.

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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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Cassie Wells

With over ten years in the industry, Cassie Wells used her experience as a corporate sales manager for a leading national audio-visual integrator to uncover her deep-seated passion for project and connection hunting. She gained invaluable insights into the essence of business while being immersed in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. She learned that true success in business isn't just about contracts and transactions; it's about fostering exceptional connections, nurturing authentic relationships, and maintaining deep respect for everyone you work with.

Driven by these insights and experiences, Cassie founded Modern Business Development (Modern BD) in 2022. Modern BD is not just a company; it's a solution to a gap she observed in the market. It caters to subcontractors who require expert business development services but may not be ready to make the financial leap for a full-time director of business development.

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Brad Werner, CPA

Brad Werner leads Wipfli’s construction and real estate practice, guiding a national team focused on middle-market contractors, developers and private-equity-backed real estate sponsors. He’s a strategic advisor with deep experience in tax, consulting, M&A and tech-enabled growth.

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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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Dave Williams, PE

Dave Williams is a senior principal at PAE with over 25 years of experience in mechanical engineering. He specializes in high-performance system design for mission critical, healthcare facilities, and laboratories – with a strong focus on controlled environments and energy efficiency. His leadership has guided the design of numerous improvements in building PUE and LEED certified buildings. Williams is committed to enhancing building operational efficiency and resiliency while minimizing operating costs and environmental impact.

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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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Scott J. Ziance, Esq.

Scott Ziance founded and leads the national economic development incentives team at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, which has one of the largest law firm-based incentives practices in the country. He also founded and chairs the board of managers for Vista Site Selection, LLC, the firm’s ancillary business composed of site selection professionals, data scientists and economists. Together, the team members have led projects in all 50 states and on three continents. Personally, Ziance has led incentives work for the construction of more than 100 distribution/fulfillment centers throughout the U.S. and has led incentives work on dozens of hyperscale data center projects in five different time zones. He has chaired the NAIOP of Ohio chapter board and the NAIOP Central Ohio chapter board and is a member of the NAIOP Corporate board.

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