Mary W. Rowe is President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI). For over 30 years, Mary has acted as an impassioned civic leader and a leading urban advocate championing place-based approaches to building livable and resilient cities. Living in Canada and the United States, Mary has supported a wide range of policy transformation efforts and has led local, national and international urban initiatives such as the self-organizing initiatives that emerged in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, the initial development of Re-Imagining the Civic Commons in key cities across North America, and the engagement components of HUD-supported Rebuild by Design that informed the creation of the 100 Resilient Cities program of the Rockefeller Foundation. She is also Senior Fellow with Shorefast and is a frequent contributor to national and international city-building programs such as UN Habitat, Ottawa City Building Summit, Livable Cities Forum, Mansueto Institute Summit, the Art of City Building, and the inaugural meeting of the G7 Urban Development Ministers in Potsdam, Germany. Under Mary’s leadership, CUI has expanded its work to include an international network from government, industry, community and city-building professions to advance research and collaborate on solutions to some of our greatest urban challenges.

Scott Brooker has completed over $2 billion in commercial transaction value since joining Cushman & Wakefield Ottawa in 2009. He specializes in the acquisition and disposition of investment properties across all asset classes. He has executed real estate transactions delivering exceptional value for local investors as well as some of Canada’s largest institutional investors. Scott has also executed over 1.9 million square feet in lease transactions over his career, including over 1 million square feet of Government of Canada leasing on behalf of local and institutional landlords.

Scott is a consistent top sales performer for Cushman & Wakefield Ottawa, ranking 1st (2022, 2021, 2020), 2nd (2019, 2018, 2016, 2014, 2013), 3rd (2015), and 5th (2012). He is the Ottawa Single Point of Contact for the Cushman & Wakefield Future Leaders program.

Scott is an internationally recognized leader in the commercial real estate field. He has been a speaker at the Ottawa Real Estate Forum, delivered Green real estate workshops in the United States and Canada, and been quoted by and contributed to a variety of media outlets.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in International Business from Dalhousie University and the Copenhagen School of Business. He was awarded the Commerce Alumni Association Award in International Business for Academic Achievement, and the Northstar Trade Finance Fellowship. Scott also holds two diplomas from Algonquin College in Business-Marketing and Business Administration.

Scott is a member of the Board of Directors for the The Bruyère Foundation. While at Dalhousie he was a Commerce Society Student Representative and part of the Dalhousie Chapter of the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research.

Sueling Ching is the President and CEO of the Ottawa Board of Trade. She is a community builder dedicated to innovating and advocating for business. Her connection to the Ottawa business community began in 2016 as she assumed the role of CEO at the West Ottawa Board of Trade, where she played a critical role in the consolidation of three local chambers of commerce to create a unified, influential voice for businesses in Ottawa.

Sueling has spent over twenty years working in a variety of business, leadership, and community development roles, including as the CEO of the YMCA of Brockville and Area, CEO of the Brockville and District Chamber of Commerce. She previously served as a member of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

A strong community advocate, Sueling has been involved in many volunteer and charitable causes including 100 Women Who Care, Make-A-Wish, Rotary International and The Royal Ottawa Foundation. More recently, she pursued her interest in entrepreneurship by launching a consulting firm focusing on women’s leadership, community development, and personal wellness.

Hugh Gorman, as a recognized leader in Canadian real estate, is committed to helping clients get the best possible return from their invested capital. Over more than 25 years in the industry, he has dealt in every aspect of the real estate lifecycle, from investment and development to management and leasing. Before becoming CEO of Colonnade BridgePort, Hugh was co-founder of BridgePort Realty Capital Partners. His career began at Canderel in 1991. From there, he advanced through progressively senior positions at Camdev, O&Y Properties and finally Oxford Properties, where he was Vice President Industrial, Canada, and Vice President Global Principal Investment. An award-winning contributor to the Canadian real estate and business communities, Hugh has served as president of both BOMA Ottawa and BOMA Canada.