W@L Summit-AGENDA

VIEW EVENT AGENDA

9:15 Am - 10:00 am

panel discussion #1

7:30 am - 8:30 AM

REGISTRATION & NETWORKING

8:30 am - 8:45 AM

INTRODUCTION

8:45 am - 9:15 am

KEynote speaker

Donna Orender Former President of the WNBA Founder & CEO, Orender Unlimited & Generation W.

EVENT AGENDA

2023

Inspired & Empowered

Cristina M. Gonzalez Senior Principal Langan

Women's Inspirations through the Generations and the Importance of Passing it Forward (breaking generational behaviors)

Moderator

Candace Chin Fatt Senior Project Manager Langan

Sara Barli Herald Partner Bilzin Sumberg

Donna Orender

Donna Orender learned early on that the games played on the courts and in the fields were vital learning and proving grounds for life’s opportunities. Recognized as a leader of growth and innovation in several high-profile companies, her ability to pivot as a former professional basketball athlete has served her well. Her passionate pursuit of working on behalf of women and girls is the result of her journey as a professional athlete, a corporate executive, a leader of an iconic women’s business—the WNBA, a board member, and the founder of Generation W. She was recognized as one of the top 10 Most Powerful Women in Sports, named one of Newsweek`s 100 most influential people in sports, and is a best-selling author with her 2018 release of WOWsdom! The Girl’s Guide to the Positive and the Possible. In 2011, Donna launched Generation W (www.genwnow.com), a dynamic platform of education, inspiration, and connection for women and girls, with the goal of building community. It has changed the trajectory of thousands of individuals who have become part of this inclusive and energetic community. Leveraging intergenerational connectivity and mentorship, Generation W and Generation WOW have positively impacted skills and opportunities while broadening perspectives on women’s equality and equity. Donna served six years as the President of the WNBA, during which time she solidified its base and led double-digit growth in all key business metrics. Prior to the WNBA, Donna spent 17 years at the PGA TOUR serving in the Office of the Commissioner. She developed a global and domestic media business leading global production, programming, distribution, and digital businesses for the TOUR. As the CEO of Orender Unlimited, she works with companies on strategic and growth initiatives. She currently serves on the board of the SPAC Goal Acquisition Corporation as well as on the privately held World Surf League Board and Cre8tor, an Israeli-based health and wellness manufacturing company. Her community board work includes the V Foundation for Cancer Research, UJA Sports for Youth Initiative, Jacksonville Public Education Fund, Jacksonville Chamber Executive Committee, and Maccabi USA, and she is a founding member of the board of Women in America. She has also been a Global Ambassador for Vital Voices, a Hall of Fame collegiate and professional athlete, and a recipient of the March of Dimes Sports Leadership Award. She enjoys speaking on leadership, change, and gender equity. She is a mom of twin sons and two stepchildren.

Founder & CEO, Orender Unlimited & Generation W. Former President, The Women's National Basketball Association

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WOMEN'S

LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

Breakfast and beverages will be served.

Pilar Illueca Director VVA Project & Cost Managers - Miami Office

Burnadette Norris-Weeks Partner Austin Pamies Norris Weeks Powell, PLLC

Emily Roque Staff Engineer Langan

Moderator

Anamaris Torres-Sanchez Senior Project Manager Langan

Coralee Penabad Principal Urban-X Group

Iana Kolev Managing Director PALMA

Lenny Rodriguez Principal Langan

Eileen Orta Managing Director, Development Oak Row Equities

9:15 Am - 10:00 am

panel discussion #2

I've Got Your Back - The Importance of Sponsorship

Moderator

Sarah Amritt Senior Project Manager Langan

Margarita (Margie) Martinez-Miguez Executive Vice President & General Counsel Scout Cold Logistics

Bryan Merritt Senior Survey Project Manager Langan

Tia Jessee Vice President - Development EDEN Multifamily

Jenni Morejon President & CEO Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority

9:15 Am - 10:00 am

panel discussion #3

How to Navigate through Difficult Conversations

Click on each individual below to learn more

Click here to donate additional funds to Lotus House

Candace Chin Fatt

Senior Project Manger Langan

Ms. Chin Fatt has more than 16 years of environmental consulting experience in Florida, the mid-south and southeastern United States. She is a senior project manager within Langan’s environmental practice in Florida and has worked with financial institutions, attorneys, and land developers. Ms. Chin Fatt’s experience includes performing numerous Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments (ESAs), source removals, tanks removals, development of remedial investigation plans, implementation of remedial plans, well and boring installation, soil and groundwater sampling, and regulatory closure assessments. Candace earned her Bachelor of Science in Geology from Florida International University.

Sara Barli Herald

Partner Bilzin Sumberg

Sara Barli Herald is a Partner at Bilzin Sumberg, where her in-depth experience spans public-private partnerships (P3), affordable housing and tax credit, real estate, banking, commercial transactions, mergers & acquisitions, and corporate reorganizations. Her background as a C-level executive in seven verticals enables her to assist her clients in crafting creative solutions to complex business transactions, particularly those that involve the public sector. Over the past two decades Sara has been committed to optimizing companies and advancing communities with vision and leadership – working across the for-profit, non-profit, and public sectors. Sara has significant experience in leading non-profit organizations as a CEO, Board Member, and consulting strategic partner. Sara has been the recipient of many awards, among them, the American Red Cross Sara Hopkins Spectrum Award for Community Service and the Athena Award for Outstanding Business Woman. She is a native Miamian, Spanish speaker, and the mother of five children. Sara earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami and her Bachelor of Arts (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Florida.

Pilar Illueca

Director VVA Project & Cost Managers - Miami Office

Pilar is a director at VVA Project and Cost Managers. With over decade of experience as a Project Management Executive, Pilar has extensive experience managing ground up and interior projects in-house and as a third party for a diverse set of clients ranging from small businesses to large corporations. Her experience managing large teams and numerous projects simultaneously comes with a wealth of local knowledge of the Design and Construction industry in Florida spanning many sectors such as Higher Education, Technology, Law, Financial, Retail, Life Science & Residential. Pilar attended Barry University and hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Communications.

Burnadette Norris-Weeks

Partner Austin Pamies Norris Weeks Powell, PLLC

Burnadette Norris-Weeks is a partner in the law firm of Austin Pamies Norris Weeks Powell, PLLC. She serves as counsel to various governmental entities, including cities in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Additionally, her law firm handles serious personal injury, corporate and real property matters. Burnadette is the Chair-Elect of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce. She serves on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of Broward and the Community Foundation of Broward. She is a graduate of Leadership Florida and of Leadership Broward. Burnadette is founder of the Women of Color Empowerment Institute, Inc. (WOCEI), a membership organization with the mission to enhance and expand leadership opportunities by women of color. WOCEI spearheads a yearly conference that brings together hundreds of women in leadership from across the country. Burnadette also serves as a member of the Federal Judicial Nominating Conference for the Southern District of Florida. Burnadette’s extensive community and professional involvement has earned her the Above and Beyond Award from the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation; the Urban League’s Margaret Roach Humanitarian Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the T.J. Reddick Bar Association. She is a past honoree of the National Trumpet Awards Foundation and was recognized by Legacy Magazine as one of South Florida’s 25 Most Influential and Prominent Black Women in Business. Burnadette has received a “Leader of the Year” award from the Leadership Broward Foundation, among other impressive awards and recognitions. Burnadette is admitted to practice law before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida. She is married to Aaron Weeks and lives in Fort Lauderdale.

Emily Roque

Staff Engineer Langan

Emily Roque started as an intern at Langan two years ago in the environmental discipline. Upon her graduation from Case Western Reserve University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Emily stayed at Langan to begin her career. Emily’s focus is performing environmental site assessments, site monitoring, and remediation oversight. Emily excels in English and writing and has developed work plans for groundwater sampling and drilling, as well as health and safety plans for remediation projects.

Anamaris Torres-Sanchez

Senior Project Manager Langan

Anamaris is a professional engineer with more than eleven years of civil engineering experience. She specializes in site engineering, hydraulics and hydrology, storm water management, water distribution systems, and sanitary sewerage conveyance design. Her experience includes site/civil design for residential, commercial, and industrial projects; regulatory permitting; and construction observation and support. Anamaris has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico.

Coralee Penabad

Principal Urban-X Group

As a Principal at Urban-X, Coralee’s main focus is the oversight of all acquisitions, financing, marketing, and operations. She has more than 20 years of relevant experience and has played a leadership role in the acquisition, design, entitlements and finance of River Landing Shops & Residences. Prior to launching URBAN-X, in 2006, Ms. Penabad was general counsel to Leviev Boymelgreen Developers (LBD), an Israeli-based real estate partnership. She managed all legal matters associated with Florida operations, refinanced its entire Florida portfolio, managed all condominium sales, and all the partnership with Florida domestic legal matters. She guided LBD through its development of the Marquis Condominium and other Florida projects, its transition in management, restructuring and eventual buy-out/sale by its members. She was aslo lead attorney on transactions involving more than $750 million of real property for LBD. Ms. Penabad was awarded the Top Dealmaker, Real Estate Finance 2008 Award in South Florida by the Daily Business Review for her efforts in the refinancing and repositioning of LBD’s portfolio and was also recognized in the South Florida Business Journal’s “40 under 40” list of achievers. Ms. Penabad has a unique skill of identifying difficult issues and focuses on implementing simple solutions to turn around some of the most troubled real estate projects in Miami-Dade County including Paramount Bay, and 151 at Biscayne Condominium. Ms. Penabad has a bachelor’s degree in Business, Financing and has spearheaded the acquisition and development of River Landing Shops & Residences.

Iana Kolev

Managing Director PALMA

Throughout her career, Iana has been a part of and has led numerous projects across the globe in wide variety of functional markets. With a background in technical design and coordination, she aligns project concepts with technical solutions that are integral to the design process and elevate the quality of project delivery for the firm. As the Managing Director of PALMA, Iana serves as the firm’s liaison with clients and consultants, while working directly with the project teams on a day-to-day basis and overseeing the timely and comprehensive completion of the firm’s services. Born in Bulgaria, Iana moved to the United States after receiving her Master Degree in Architecture in Germany. A mother of two girls, Iana is passionate about mentoring young architects and promoting the value of great design at any scale.

Lenny Rodriguez

Principal Langan

Lenny has more than 30 years of site/civil engineering experience. He is the south Florida site/civil team practice Principal/Vice President and co-manages Business Operations for the Miami office. Mr. Rodriguez’s experience includes public and private sector projects ranging from municipal utility improvements, roadway resurfacing and reconstruction as well as area wide drainage improvements. He has spearheaded the Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) and Corp of Engineer Dredge and Fill permitting efforts on numerous projects and is intimately familiar with the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (MDWASD) standards and specifications as well as the permit process. His extensive experience includes working with regulatory agencies such as Miami-Dade County Department of Planning, Environmental and Regulatory Affairs (PERA), South Florida Water Management District, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. Lenny received his Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from Florida International University and his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Miami.

Eileen Orta

Managing Director, Development Oak Row Equities

With 20 years of experience in the Real Estate Development industry, Eileen has taken part in developing over $3B of Real Estate throughout the US. After obtaining her BA in Business Management, she started her career developing the retail complex brand known as The Fashion Outlets notably in Las Vegas, Niagara Falls, and Chicago. After years of developing neighborhood enhancing projects in other states, she decided to refocus her career growth in her hometown of Miami, FL. At which time Eileen joined Florida East Coast Industries to develop the first privately funded high speed rail in the state of Florida, known today as Brightline. Along with the pre-development efforts of the Miami Central Station, Eileen also worked on the pre-development of two multi-family tower components of Brightline, ParkLine, as well as the development of the two office components, 2 Miami Central, and 3 Miami Central. After her success at FECI she was offered a senior level position at Terra Group to work on several projects for the firm including Grove Central, a true Mixed-Use Transit Oriented Development located in Miami’s Rapid Transit Zone. Her continued growth and experience in the Miami market attracted a Director of Development position with the global investment and development firm, Swire Properties. While at Swire, Eileen led the pre-development efforts for One Brickell City Center, located in the financial district of Brickell, and the future Mandarin Residences, a branded Condo & Hotel development on Brickell Key. Both developments combine to equal over 5M square feet of development, totaling over $3B.

Sara Amritt

Senior Project Manager Langan

Sarah is a senior project manager with Langan. She is a professional engineer with 12 years of experience in civil engineering projects in South Florida. She specializes in site engineering, hydraulics and hydrology, storm water management, water distribution systems, and sanitary sewerage conveyance deign. Her experience includes site civil design for residential, commercial, higher education, healthcare and municipal projects, regulatory permitting, and construction observation and support. She also maintains an active role in professional industry associations such as the American Society of Civil Engineers, Commercial Real Estate Women, Commercial Industrial Association of South Florida, and the Urban Land Institute. Sarah received her Master of Science in Civil Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering from the University of Miami.

Margarita (Margie) Martinez-Miguez

Executive Vice President & General Counsel Scout Cold Logistics

Margie is the EVP and General Counsel at Scout Cold Logistics where she oversees all legal affairs including the structuring of all contracts related to investments, development/construction, and leasing as well as all legal matters related to capital formation and governance. Prior to this role, Margie served as EVP and General Counsel for Flagler Global Logistics, the largest industrial developer in Florida and a subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries (FECI). In that capacity, she oversaw all legal affairs with a scope of responsibility materially similar to her current role at Scout Cold Logistics. Margie’s professional experience has also included serving as VP and Assistant General Counsel of FECI, where her involvement spanned across FECI and its subsidiary real estate, transportation, logistics and infrastructure businesses where she led a wide variety of legal matters including development and entitlement, financing, permitting and partnership issues related to project development. Prior to her role at FECI, Margie worked with the FECI family of companies since 1993 as outside counsel as a partner at the firm now known as Squire Patton Boggs, LLP. Her noteworthy career in the industry has afforded her the opportunity to work on a diverse range of construction projects from billion-dollar production facilities to world-class travel destinations, many of which involved multi-national parties. In addition, she has helped to structure and develop public-private projects, such as performance centers and baseball stadiums. She earned her Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science, cum laude, from the University of Miami.

Bryan Merritt

Senior Survey Project Manager Langan

Bryan Merritt is a Professional Land Surveyor licensed in FL and NY and FAA Part 107 Certified Pilot and serves as the Manager for Langan’s Geospatial/Survey Group overseeing Florida, Mexico and Caribbean markets. He has more than forty years of experience in the Geospatial Industry. His experience includes management and direct technical experience in performing complex geospatial related projects and providing solutions to complex situations. He is versed in all facets of surveying and geomatics technologies which includes UAV/UAS systems; terrestrial and mobile lidar systems; 3D modeling and BIM (Scan to BIM); GIS data collection; building documentation and all forms of conventional survey technologies. Bryan has been published in many trade journals and has presented sessions on geospatial survey technology to many organizations. He is member of the Geomatics Engineering Program Advisory Council for Florida Atlantic University and is one of the founders of the United States Institute of Building Documentation (USIBD) which is a non-profit organization dedicated to actively promote, guide and support the building documentation industry.

Tina Jessee

Vice President - Development EDEN Multifamily

Tia is the Vice President – Development at EDEN Multifamily. She has more than 25 years of residential real estate development experience and has directly managed the development of over 3,000 units throughout South Florida. Previously, she worked with Wood Partners as a Development Manager in the South Florida office where she oversaw all aspects of ground-up development for numerous institutional quality and market-rate multifamily projects. She has also managed the development of luxury condominiums and multiple condo conversions throughout the South Florida market. Tia attended University of Florida and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance and International Business from Florida International University. She is an active member of ULI and currently serves on the ULI Florida Product Council’s Multi-Family Development Council. She lives in Lighthouse Point with her husband and three children.

Jenni Morejon

President & CEO Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority

Jenni is the President & CEO of the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority (DDA), a public-private partnership that powers the experience, growth, and prosperity of Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Prior to joining the DDA, Jenni had a 16-year career with the City of Fort Lauderdale and served as the director of the development services department where she led city planning, economic development, housing programs, code compliance, and building permits. Jenni serves on the national Public-Private Partnerships product council for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the advisory board for the ULI’s Southeast Florida/Caribbean District Council. She has served on the board of directors of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce since 2015 and is the chair of the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Coalition. Jenni is a graduate of Women Leading Broward Class 3, Leadership Fort Lauderdale Class 20, and Leadership Florida Cornerstone Class 40.

Cristina Gonzalez

Senior Principal Langan

Cristina has 41 years of engineering experience of which 39 have been in geotechnical engineering at Langan. Ms. Gonzalez has performed numerous geotechnical engineering studies, most of which have been for high-rise projects along Florida’s coast or projects with difficult ground conditions. Her work on numerous projects has resulted in groundbreaking technical solutions and “first-time-ever” techniques used in testing piles and in designing foundations. These solutions and systems are now a standard of practice in the geotechnical field in South Florida and beyond. Ms. Gonzalez’s numerous projects throughout South Florida include the Hard Rock Stadium (from its inception in 1985 through its current additions), the Kaseya Arena, Marlins Ballpark, PortMiami Tunnel, the MET project (three square blocks in downtown Miami), 1000 Museum (Zaha Hadid tower), Williams Island development and towers, Fontainebleau II & III, Aventura Mall Expansions from 1985 to current additions, Turnberry Ocean Colony, Turnberry Ocean Club, One Brickell City Centre, Water Street Development (Tampa), and many more. As a Senior Principal at Langan, Ms. Gonzalez is involved in several corporate committees and firm-wide initiatives. She is a founder of Women@Langan, and she is on the Board of Directors’ Ethics Committee. Ms. Gonzalez is involved in several professional organizations including Urban Land Institute (ULI), the ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative (Past Chair), American Society of Civil Engineers, the GEO-Institute (Board member), Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), and the Cuban-American Association of Civil Engineers (Past Board member). Additionally, she previously served for several years as a Director of Centro Campesino Farmworker Center, a nonprofit organization. Ms. Gonzalez received a Master of Engineering degree in Geotechnical Engineering from Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.), and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Miami. She has been an adjunct professor at the University of Miami, and a guest lecturer at Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, and Miami-Dade College.

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