Milestones in a career and life are a wonderful way of inspiring our emerging young leaders. Please share a proud or “magic moment” that shaped your journey?

I’m very fortunate to have been involved with The Bentway from the start and to have played a role in its foundation and success. Recognizing that there is still enormous opportunity to grow the Bentway model and make improvements along the larger extent of the Gardiner we approached the City of Toronto about building a shared vision for the corridor, including safer intersection crossings; a continuous mixed-use trail; regenerative landscape strategies; consistent wayfinding and identity features; new public space and programming opportunities. This resulted in the development of the Under Gardiner Public Realm Plan – a 7km effort uniting public and private stakeholders and shaping the expressway’s next chapter. After 3 years of collaborative planning and engagement work the plan was endorsed by Council in 2024 – a significant milestone that illustrates the power of design to unite interests, solve complex problems, and inspire communities.

Who were your major influencers/mentors (up to 2) and what were the key lessons you gained from them?

1. Elizabeth Diller, I was fortunate to study and work with Elizabeth Diller at an early stage in my career. She not only taught me invaluable design lessons, but expanded my very understanding of architecture and its practice. She taught me the value of collaboration across disciplines and the importance of storytelling. She knew that building alignment around an idea was a creative pursuit in and of itself and taught her students and staff how to be confident communicators, which has served me incredibly well in my career.
2. Ken Greenberg. Ken Greenberg has been a wonderful and generous mentor. I met Ken when I first joined The Bentway project. He taught me how to read the city in a new way and how to work effectively with government. Ken also brings an optimism to his work that keeps me motivated everyday in my own practice. His belief in Toronto and its potential is inspiring!

What do you think are the next big challenges we need to tackle as an industry and as a successful city-region? Are there specific things you think we should be doing to meet the challenges?

Toronto is experiencing a housing crises and we need to dedicate resources and energy to addressing the urgent shortfall. However, in order to create thriving and truly affordable communities we can’t lose site of the public spaces, services and amenities that allow communities to thrive. We need to ensure that Toronto’s rapid densification is supported by an expansion and enhancement of our public realm. To be successful in this pursuit, all levels of government must identify ongoing capital and operational funding for these multi-solving assets, and ensure new and existing public spaces are delivered and sustained with ambition. Additionally, public investment must be used to leverage and incentivize ongoing private funding. Private involvement shouldn’t be feared as a threat to the spaces’ public nature but rather a sign of joint responsibility for our shared resources. Governments and the public alike must continue to champion new governance models that endorse design excellence, support ongoing programming and promote local participation.

Tell us how you champion others in the industry.

I believe that we need to remove barriers for younger professionals and create opportunities to nurture talent at all levels. This belief led to the creation of The Bentway’s Public Space Fellowship, which seeks to address sector-wide gaps and create more opportunity for hands-on learning. The program is a paid professional development opportunity that provides resources, support, and a platform for learning, generative exchange, and capacity-building. Fellows act across disciplines and engage in unique collaborations with urban space practitioners, creatives, and organizational partners to support new initiatives and ongoing research. The Fellowship program has supported invaluable two-way learning. Past participants helped to inform The Bentway’s growth plans, commitments, and actions to deliver on its mission and core values.

What is your secret talent no one knows you have?

Right now I’m busy nurturing the talents of my kids and am an enthusiastic soccer fan, cheering them on from the sidelines!

What is the best word to describe you? And Why?

Tenacious – when I believe in an idea I’m committed to it. I don’t give up easily!