2022-2023 WDC Sponsors
Many thanks to our WDC sponsors!
Housing Opportunities Unlimited (Steel Sponsor)
Housing Opportunities Unlimited (HOU) works in a diverse range of affordable and mixed income public and subsidized housing and specializes in assisting tenants and residents that are in transition due to major redevelopment, renovation, or renovation-in-place construction projects in their communities. HOU’s Mission is to ensure that residents are treated fairly and experience minimum physical and emotional stress during the relocation process while ensuring that our clients’ projects are complete in a timely and cost-effective manner.
kg&a (Steel Sponsor)
kg&a is a global communications strategy firm based in Toronto. For more than 15 years, we’ve earned our reputation specializing in city building and the urban landscape. Our niche is architecture and design, public realm and placemaking, residential real estate, urban design, mobility, economic development and social impact. Our global approach is rooted in the digital landscape, putting us at the forefront of understanding how industry and business consume content today. We recognized the importance of highlighting women's achievements in the industries we serve, and we're committed to amplifying diverse voices and perspectives. We’re research-obsessed urban design junkies with backgrounds in journalism, community engagement, digital media, brand strategy and media relations. And we believe that strategy should be invisible - that’s why we’re the award-winning firm you’ve never heard of.
Omgivning (Brick Sponsor)
At Omgivning, our passion is to breathe new life into spaces, buildings and communities.
Since our founding in 2009, we have had a significant impact on the revitalization of downtown Los Angeles through the adaptive reuse of existing buildings and spaces. Coupled with our foundation in design, sustainability and adaptive reuse is a growing, varied portfolio of project types. Today, our design staff has touched over 400 projects, from small, local cafes to two-million square foot historic landmarks. From the design of workplaces, boutique hotels, multifamily housing to retail, dining and theaters, our projects emerge as warm and welcoming environments.
Pennington LLP (Brick Sponsor)
Pennington LLP is a boutique San Francisco real estate firm and was created to provide high-quality legal work and services to clients with real estate interests. Our lawyers worked for many years at large international law firms, enabling them to bring sophisticated training and experience to Pennington LLP. Firm Partners Beth Pennington and Rachel Holloway represent a broad array of clients in real estate transactions, including developers, owners, lenders, real estate funds, life insurance companies, and commercial borrowers. They provide legal counsel on the development, acquisition, disposition, financing and deal structuring for a broad range of real estate developments, including mixed-use, multifamily residential, office, hotels, and retail.
Small Change (Brick Sponsor)
Small Change is an impact investing platform focused on transformational real estate projects. The platform matches everyday investors with real estate developers, including many women and minority owned development firms, providing opportunities for everyone who cares about cities and wants to make change. It’s like Kickstarter for real estate – but with a return. Small Change provides a fluid and compliant technology platform that brings impact investment opportunities to everyone who cares about cities and wants to make change. Honors that CEO and founder, Eve Picker, is proud of include Small Change ranking as one of the 7 top Real Estate Crowdfunding Platforms of 2020 by US News, nabbing Top Innovator in "Capital" category by HIVE, her tenure as a Fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center Residency Program and recent participation in Village Capital's FinHealth US 2021, an accelerator program for early-stage startups. Most recently Connect CRE made Eve one of their National 2022 Women in Real Estate Awards winners.
Urban Strategies (Brick Sponsor)
Urban Strategies® is an urban design, planning and engagement consultancy with studios in Toronto, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, and Vancouver, BC. They lead complex projects in cities all over the world with active practice across Canada and in the US, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. They are problem solvers who can help achieve successful outcomes for the full range of urban opportunities. Always with an eye on the big picture and long-term objectives, Urban Strategists align interests and perspectives—public and private, regional and local—for the greatest mutual gain. The firm’s objective is to plan and design places of all sizes where people can live well, connect with others, and achieve great things. Urban Strategies’ revitalization master plan for Alexandra Park, an 18-acre social housing complex in downtown Toronto, won the ULI Global Award for Excellence in 2021. Planning with design. Design with planning. Together with communities.
Avison Young (Timber Sponsor)
Avison Young creates real economic, social and environmental value as a global real estate advisor, powered by people. As a private company, our clients collaborate with an empowered partner who is invested in their success. Our integrated talent realizes the full potential of real estate by using global intelligence platforms that provide clients with insights and advantage. Together, we can create healthy, productive workplaces for employees, cities that are centres for prosperity for their citizens, and built spaces and places that create a net benefit to the economy, the environment and the community.
Bousfields Inc. (Timber Sponsor)
Bousfields Inc. is one of the pre-eminent community planning firms in Ontario with special expertise in urban design, planning policy, community design, development approvals, community consultation and project management. Bousfields offers a full range of land use planning and urban design services to the development industry, municipalities and government agencies. In addition, as land use planning and urban design specialists, the firm is frequently a prominent team player within multi-disciplinary consortiums of firms having complementary skills. We quite often act as the prime facilitator or project manager coordinating the overall project design and working with a number of different landowners and municipal staff.
The Clarett Group (Timber Sponsor)
Clarett is a NYC based real estate development entity best known for complex urban developments and its NYC large scale ground-up high-rise projects ranging in size from 100,000 to 500,000 square feet. In addition to developing or investing in projects for its own account or with partners, the company also provides development advisory services for select clients. Clarett’s mark on the New York skyline has been enhanced by its commitment to architectural and design significance, community engagement and showcasing of local artists in its ground-up mixed use high rise developments.
Excelerate Housing Group (Timber Sponsor)
Excelerate Housing Group is a real estate development company that adds value in communities across the U.S. by partnering with local nonprofits and public agencies to expand housing opportunities for low-income families, seniors, moderate income households, and people experiencing homelessness. Founded by Dana Trujillo, Excelerate partners with local nonprofits who currently provide high-quality services to people in their communities but are in need of real estate development expertise and capacity building.
HaydenTanner (Timber Sponsor)
HaydenTanner is a strategic advisory and development firm focused on accelerating impact investment & sustainability in the built environment. We firmly embed “triple bottom line” principles as a core part of any corporate and real estate investment strategy. Embedding climate risk, environmental, social and governance factors into strategic decision making is central to improving our clients’ long-term performance and risk reduction. What distinguishes us is a proactive intent to deploy capital that generates risk adjusted market rate returns while creating durable and measurable social and environmental value.
Housing On Merit (Timber Sponsor)
Housing on Merit (HOM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and our mission is to create a bridge to permanent affordable housing for vulnerable populations. HOM is a co-developer of numerous bond-financed and government-supported multifamily housing projects, many of which benefit from allocations of federal low-income housing tax credits. We form long-term partnerships with developers who share our commitment to preserve and develop affordable housing, and we build communities where residents can access support services and growth opportunities to maintain safe, stable housing and make positive life changes.
LUCE et studio (Timber Sponsor)
LUCE et studio is a collaborative studio practicing at the intersection of architecture, art and design. The studio’s work spans multiple scales from regional masterplans to custom furniture. Commissions include projects for museums, corporate design firms, boutique hotels, civic institutions, colleges, and private residential clients. Canadian-born architect Jennifer Luce established the Studio in 1990.
Each LUCE project speaks to the importance of collaboration, demonstrating that group efforts result in powerful, inspiring environments, in step with the individual spirit of our clients. The studio’s work is diverse in type and merges multiple design disciplines, encouraging a cross-fertilization of concepts and environments.
Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services (Timber Sponsor)
Since 1981, Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. has worked to strengthen low-income families and neighborhoods through the promotion of affordable housing by providing affordable rentals to families and financial literacy.
Founded by a dedicated group of low-income Richmond residents, RNHS was established to reverse the adverse effects of systemic segregation, redlining, disinvestment, and blight. Today, RNHS has grown to serve the needs of over 7,500 families across the East Bay. RNHS continues to work for a more just and equitable society. RNHS is a HUD-approved Housing Counseling agency.
Rose Community Capital (Timber Sponsor)
Rose Community Capital (RCC), a division of the Jonathan Rose Company Holdings, is a commercial lender with a particular focus upon the affordable and moderate-income multifamily asset class. RCC originates, underwrites and services various types of debt, including acquisition bridge loan, construction, and permanent loans. RCC is a mission-based lender that actively seeks out opportunities to work with women and minority led real estate developers that historically have faced high barriers to entry into the commercial asset sector. RCC is led by Kelly Boyer, an affordable housing industry veteran who leads a diverse team of professionals located throughout the country.
SMMC (Timber Sponsor)
New York-based SMMC, which marks its 25th anniversary in 2019, is a boutique real estate marketing agency focused on residential and commercial real estate, placemaking and economic development. Its clients represent an industry who’s who and span the spectrum of real estate players from publicly-traded REITs (including the largest owners in NYC and Philadelphia), many of the country’s pre-eminent institutions, bi-coastal private equity funds, small, entrepreneurial owners, several of New York’s great real estate dynasties, and many major real estate brokerages. Recently it collaborated with one such family scion, Amy Rose of Rose Associates, on a ground-up 300-unit multifamily building, Hoyt & Horn, in Downtown Brooklyn. SMMC, which is proud to have designed and developed the WDC logo, is certified as a Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) and actively pursues opportunities where the designation lends value to clients and their partners.
Spectacle* (Timber Sponsor)
Spectacle* is home to designers, urban planners, visionaries and lovers of people and place. We bring over two decades of experience translating our clients challenges into impactful and memorable vision. With our understanding of real estate and the development process, through facilitation, we help you shape the persona of your project to establish an identity via name and logo. From this, icons and graphics systems emerge-and a place is born.
Stewart Title National Commercial Services - Dallas Fort Worth (Timber Sponsor)
The woman-led office of Stewart NCS-DFW understands that commercial real estate transactions can be complex. When dealing with sophisticated transactional structures and changing legal requirements, Stewart is the title company that can help simplify a multitude of intricate details. Our Dallas team can serve as your single point of contact to provide the customized title information, underwriting and settlement solutions you need.
Todd Interiors (Timber Sponsor)
Todd Interiors, founded by Caroline Todd, brings a unique perspective and detailed eye to a range of projects from high-end residential homes to commercial spaces, including the elegant Catbird Dallas restaurant, which hosted WDC’s evening program in downtown Dallas. Todd Interiors seeks to provide a well-traveled approach through the curation of fabric, finishes, and furnishings from local and international artisans alike. With a background in multi-family development and asset management, Todd Interiors offers experienced consulting on commercial projects from the early stages of design through project delivery, stabilization and disposition.
Seifel Consulting (Founder Sponsor and WDC Coordinator)
Seifel Consulting (Seifel) is a strategic economic advisory firm that helps clients achieve their project goals, meet complex urban growth challenges, and create financially viable and sustainable developments. Seifel’s expertise in guiding the successful development of a broad range of land uses has been cultivated through its work for both public and private sector clients on real estate projects ranging in size from $10 million to $6 billion, many of which have been led by women. Firm principal, Libby Seifel, and founder of the Women’s Development Collaborative is dedicated to advancing women’s leadership in business, real estate and technology.