Meet the Speakers

Sean Baird 

Sean Baird is President and CEO of Toronto Community Housing (TCHC), Canada’s largest social housing provider, overseeing 43,000 affordable homes serving nearly 100,000 residents. He brings decades of leadership experience in housing and human services, including previously serving as Commissioner of Human Services at the Region of Peel.

Ana Bailão 

Ana Bailão is CEO of Build Canada Homes, leading its mandate to accelerate affordable housing delivery across Canada through public lands, investment, partnerships, and innovative approaches to homebuilding. She previously served as Toronto’s Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee, and as Head of Affordable Housing and Public Affairs at Dream Unlimited. 

Clare Barnett

Clare Barnett is Director of Economic Development with the City of Toronto’s Economic Development and Culture division. She leads initiatives focused on business growth, investment and Toronto’s long-term economic competitiveness, working across sectors and with government and industry partners to support a resilient and inclusive city economy.

Dr. Andrew Boozary

Dr. Andrew Boozary is a primary care physician and founding Executive Director of UHN’s Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine. A leading voice on health equity and the social determinants of health, his work brings together health care, housing and public policy to improve outcomes for marginalized communities.

Kim Brand 

Kim Brand is Vice President and Global Head of Sustainable Business at Scotiabank, where her work includes housing affordability, sustainability, and innovative public-private partnerships. A lawyer with more than 20 years of experience, she also supports Scotiabank’s $10-billion Affordable Housing Commitment and previously worked in ESG ratings and private legal practice.

Fred Cassano 

Fred Cassano is Partner and National Real Estate Leader at PwC Canada. He works with organizations across the real estate sector on the market, investment and business issues shaping the industry, with a particular focus on housing, construction, capital and emerging models for delivering the built environment.

Lily Chen

Lily Chen is Chief Financial Officer of Toronto Community Housing (TCHC), providing strategic leadership across the organization’s finance and information technology functions. A Chartered Professional Accountant, she brings extensive public- and private-sector experience and is focused on financial sustainability, operational excellence, and digital transformation.

Yves Cheung

Yves Cheung is Chief Development Officer at Toronto Community Housing, where he leads major revitalizations including Regent Park, Alexandra Park, and Lawrence Heights. With more than 14 years of public- and private-sector real estate experience, he has led major residential and mixed-use developments and brings deep expertise in public-private partnerships, sustainable development ,and affordable housing delivery.

Hugh Clark 

Hugh Clark is Executive Director of the Housing Development Office at the City of Toronto. A licensed architect and experienced city-builder, he brings more than 20 years of experience across architecture, real estate development and public policy. Prior to joining the City, Hugh held senior roles at TAS and Allied Properties REIT, leading complex development projects across Toronto. His work now focuses on advancing the City’s housing delivery priorities and creating more equitable, sustainable communities.

Anca Drexler 

Anca Drexler is Chief Investment Officer at Building Ontario Fund, where she leads investment strategy and works with institutional investors and public-sector partners to mobilize private capital for priority infrastructure. A CFA charterholder, she brings more than 25 years of experience in institutional investing, treasury and risk management, including senior leadership roles at OMERS and OPTrust.

Valesa Faria

Valesa Faria is Senior Vice President, Partnership and Engagement at Build Canada Homes, where she leads development partnerships and efforts to advance modern methods of construction. She brings more than two decades of public- and private-sector experience, including senior leadership roles with the City of Toronto in development review, housing policy, and affordable housing delivery.

Justin Ferreira

Justin Ferreira is Senior Vice President, Residential & Commercial at ATCO Structures, leading teams across Canada delivering modular housing, commercial space, and permanent modular construction solutions. At ATCO, he has held leadership roles spanning business transformation, manufacturing, project management, and commercial operations.

Brent Gilmour 

Brent Gilmour is Chief Commercial Officer of the Canada Green Building Council, leading market-facing initiatives to accelerate the adoption of high-performance green building practices across Canada. He brings nearly two decades of leadership experience spanning market development, energy efficiency, infrastructure, and public policy, with a focus on improving building performance, competitiveness, and resilience.

Dr. Teresa Goldstein 

Dr. Teresa Goldstein is Director of Community Planning at the City of Calgary and a nationally recognized leader in urban planning, housing and community development. With more than 20 years of experience across government and the private sector, she has helped lead major city-building and housing initiatives in Calgary, with a focus on increasing housing supply, improving planning processes and supporting more complete, affordable communities.

Rick Hansen

Rick Hansen, C.C., O.B.C., six-time Paralympic medalist, is a Canadian icon best known as the “Man In Motion” for undertaking an epic 26-month, 40,000 km journey around the world in his wheelchair. He is the Founder of the Rick Hansen Foundation, an organization committed to inspire, create and deliver innovative solutions that accelerate a global movement to remove barriers to inclusion for people with disabilities.

Lisa Helps

Lisa Helps is Executive Lead, Project Acceleration at BC Housing, where she works to advance innovative approaches to delivering housing more quickly across British Columbia. She previously co-led the development and implementation of BC Builds and served as Housing Solutions Advisor to the Premier of British Columbia. Before joining the Province, Lisa served two terms as Mayor of Victoria, where her work focused on housing, economic development, climate action and resilient communities.

Jennifer Keesmaat 

Jennifer Keesmaat builds housing and shapes cities. As President and CEO of Collecdev Markee, she has more than 1,000 rental, affordable and co-operative homes under construction. As Toronto’s Chief Planner, she led transit planning that laid the groundwork for the Ontario Line. She serves on Canada’s National Housing Council and was named one of Planetizen’s 100 Most Influential Urbanists of All Time. She is the founder of Canada Builds Modern.

Chris Latour 

Chris Latour is President and CEO of Element5, where he has helped transform Ontario’s first mass timber manufacturing facility into one of North America’s most advanced CLT and glulam operations. With more than 25 years of experience in advanced manufacturing, engineering, and operations, he is focused on scaling modern construction methods and low-carbon building systems.

Alex Mather

Alex Mather is Vice President of Development at Collecdev Markee, where he helps lead the delivery of urban projects focused on sustainability, affordability and community-building. With a background spanning real estate development, public policy, political strategy and finance, Alex brings a multidisciplinary perspective to the challenges of housing delivery and city-building in Canada.

Will Meneray

Will Meneray is the Director of Construction Innovation at Build Canada Homes. Previously, he led housing markets and finance policy teams at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Prior to CMHC, Will was a Principal with the global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, specializing in strategy and operations for banking, technology, and healthcare firms. He is a graduate of the Ivey School of Business and is based in Toronto.

Nhung Nguyen 

Nhung Nguyen is CEO of Horizon Legacy, where she is leading the transformation of a long-established real estate and construction company through construction technology and robotics. With more than 15 years of experience in infrastructure and development, she is advancing major housing projects using on-site automation and has helped establish Canada’s first Construction Automation Lab. Her work focuses on using robotics to improve housing delivery, address labour shortages and modernize the construction industry.

Marco Pronto 

Marco Pronto is the Business Development Manager for the Canadian Precast Concrete Institute and a strong advocate for modern methods of construction. With more than 25 years of industry experience, he has held senior roles on major Canadian infrastructure projects including the Site C Dam, Gordie Howe Bridge, and Surrey Langley SkyTrain.

Hon. Gregor Robertson

The Honourable Gregor Robertson is Canada’s Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada. A former Mayor of Vancouver, he has spent much of his career advancing housing, sustainable urban development and climate-resilient communities. In his federal role, he is leading efforts to accelerate housing supply and infrastructure delivery across Canada, including new approaches to modernizing how homes are built.

Tim Ross

Tim Ross is Chief Executive Officer of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, the national voice for housing co-operatives across the country. A recognized leader in non-profit and co-operative housing policy, he has worked to advance affordable housing, strengthen the community housing sector and support the growth of new co-operative housing across Canada.

Carole Saab 

Carole Saab is CEO of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, representing more than 2,100 municipalities across Canada. A leading advocate for cities and communities, she has helped secure major federal investments in local infrastructure, sustainability and community development. Under her leadership, FCM has continued to strengthen the role of municipalities in building a more prosperous, inclusive and resilient Canada.

Brandon Searle 

Brandon Searle is Director of Innovation and Operations at the University of New Brunswick’s Off-site Construction Research Centre. A professional engineer, he works at the intersection of research and industry, with a focus on construction productivity, procurement, innovation, and the adoption of modern methods of construction.

Jaydan Tait

The Honourable Gregor Robertson is Canada’s Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada. A former Mayor of Vancouver, he has spent much of his career advancing housing, sustainable urban development and climate-resilient communities. In his federal role, he is leading efforts to accelerate housing supply and infrastructure delivery across Canada, including new approaches to modernizing how homes are built.

Paul Halucha

oversees federal policy and programs related to housing, homelessness and public infrastructure. He has held a number of senior leadership roles across the Government of Canada, including at the Privy Council Office, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

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