30 St. Patrick Street 5th Floor Toronto ON M5T 3A3 647.258.0017 toronto.uli.org Speaker Biographies: Local Planning Appeal Tribunal: A Year Later Joseph Ragusa, Principal, Sussex Strategy Group A founding partner of Sussex, Joseph has been a Principal at the firm since its inception in 1998. With over 30 years of experience in government, consulting, and politics, Joseph has particular strength in policy development and government process, with an acute talent for assessing political dynamics. Joseph employs his experience, his relationships with stakeholders and government officials, and his reputation in pursuit of his clients’ government relations objectives. Joseph leads the Sussex provincial government relations practice. Prior to consulting, Joseph served as a senior advisor on the political staffs of several legislators. He has consulted to corporations, industry and professional associations, labour organizations and non-profit groups at the federal, provincial, regional and municipal levels in many sectors. Recent and past successes on behalf of clients have included engagements in healthcare, economic development, new and emerging technologies, infrastructure, real estate development, public-private partnerships, housing, transportation, environment, information technology, procurement, export development, tax policy, financial services, forestry, and tourism. Joseph’s strategic communication skills have been sought out by both the media and political leaders. He has appeared on Sirius XM Radio, CBC Newsworld, Michael Coren Live, Cable Pulse 24 and 1010 CFRB. Joseph has also been a keynote speaker at a variety of industry and professional association conferences and has had a number of papers published in various association and trade publications. Joseph has held management and advisory roles in numerous political campaigns since the mid 1980’s. David Sit, Community Planning Manager, City of Toronto David Sit is the Downtown Planning Manager at the City of Toronto responsible for overseeing the review of development proposals within the areas bounded by University Ave, Front Street, Bloor Street and the Don River. Prior to joining the City 3 years ago, he spent 18 years with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in various planning roles where he implemented provincial policies and various Planning Act reform legislation and provided land use planning recommendations to the Minister. Claudia Storto, Municipal & Planning Lawyer/ Former City Solicitor, City of Vaughan Claudia Storto received an honours degree in Urban Studies and Political Science at York University before studying law at Western University and subsequently being called to the Ontario Bar in 1999. She practiced civil litigation in private practice before moving into the public sector. Claudia has most recently been the City Solicitor for the City of Vaughan, where she worked in various capacities for over 15 years. Claudia specializes in municipal and planning law, with numerous appearances before the former Ontario Municipal Board. She has presented at various legal conferences and in 2016, received the Canadian Lawyer InHouse Innovatio Award for Litigation Management for her handling of the OMB appeals of the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Secondary Plan. Shamez Virani, President, CentreCourt Shamez joined CentreCourt in 2011 and is responsible for the oversight and management of all business areas and personnel with a focus on development, sales and construction. Shamez became a partner in CentreCourt in late 2015. Shamez was instrumental in the completed development of four residential towers: Peter Street Condos, Karma Condos, INDX Condos and Core Condos, consisting of more than 2,000 homes. Shamez is currently responsible for the day-to-day oversight of CentreCourt’s active development pipeline consisting of over 5,000 homes valued at over $2 billion dollars. Shamez’ prior work experience includes working in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs. Shamez holds an MBA with a concentration in Real Estate from Columbia Business School and an Honors Business Administration (HBA) degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario. Shamez is a Board Member of Hold’em for Life Charity Challenge (an organization that has raised in excess of $30 million for cancer research and other worthwhile charitable initiatives.) and is a Co-Chair for the 2018 Real Estate Industry Hold’em for Life event which raised more than $1.7 million for cancer research initiatives at Mount Sinai Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital. Mary Flynn-Guglietti, Partner, McMillan LLP Mary Flynn-Guglietti has over 30 years experience in the practice of administrative law with an emphasis on municipal law, land use planning law, environmental law and expropriation law. She has extensive experience in obtaining approvals of citywide and site specific official plan amendments, rezonings, subdivision approvals, severances and minor variances. She represents developers, ratepayers and municipalities. Mary regularly appears before various committees of adjustment, committees of council and numerous municipal councils throughout the province of Ontario with a particular expertise in the Greater Toronto Area. Mary has extensive experience before the Ontario Municipal Board and the Courts of Ontario on appeal. She has appeared before the Provincial Court (Criminal Division), the former District Court, Ontario Court (General Division) and the Divisional Court. Mary has also authored a number of papers for the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Ontario Bar Association concerning practice and procedure before the Ontario Municipal Board. She has also written extensively on many aspects of environmental, municipal and land use planning law for the Ontario Bar Association, Insight Seminars, Canadian Institute and the Law Society of Upper Canada. Mary is also a member of McMillan Vantage LP Cyndi Rottenberg Walker, Partner, UrbanStrategies Inc. Cyndi Rottenberg-Walker is a Partner at Urban Strategies and brings a strong multidisciplinary background to her work as a planner, leading large teams committed to effecting positive change in urban and urbanizing settings at all scales. Known for her skill in motivating diverse groups toward a common purpose, Cyndi understands what it takes to create healthy and enduring urban environments that effectively synthesize public and private interests. Key projects include Campus Master Plans for Princeton University, Cornell University and a wide range of universities across North America; transformation of suburban Toronto’s Humbertown Shopping Centre into a fully integrated new mixed use community; creation of Saint John New Brunswick’s comprehensive Growth Management Strategy and Municipal Plan, revitalization of Toronto Community Housing Corporation’s Alexandra Park neighbourhood, and defining the future of the former Christie Cookie site on Lake Shore Boulevard at the heart of the Humber Bay Shores. She is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners and a member of ULI’s University and Innovative Development Council. Karen Stintz, President & CEO, Variety Village Currently President and CEO of Variety Village. Variety Village is an all-inclusive facility in Southeast Scarborough that has been serving hundreds of thousands of families since 1965. Before joining Variety Village, Karen was a Toronto City Councillor for 11 years and while serving on Council was Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission. The Toronto Transit Commission is the third largest transit system in North America. As Chair of the TTC, she oversaw large capital projects, a billion dollar operating budget and the implementation of new technology to improve customer service. She has also worked at the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and in the private sector. Her degrees include a Master of Public Administration from Queen’s University, a Bachelor of Science in Communication from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts from Western University. She lives with her family and two dogs in North Toronto. Joe Vaccaro, CEO, Ontario Home Builders’ Association In 2013, Joe Vaccaro was named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA). Prior to his role as CEO, Joe acted as the association’s Chief Operating Officer after serving as the VP of Policy and Government Relations at the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD). AS CEO, Joe oversees operations of the Ontario-wide organization which is comprised of 4,000-member companies organized into 29 local associations representing professionals within the new home and renovation industry. OHBA is focused on improving new housing supply, choice and affordability for Ontario’s new home purchasers and renovation consumers by positively impacting provincial legislation, regulation and policy that affect the industry. Prior to his industry association career path, Vaccaro served as a senior advisor and assistant to the Ministers of Economic Development and Trade, Chair of Management Board and the Minister of Government Services. A graduate of York University where he received his Honours Degree in Political Science with a minor in Philosophy, Joe identifies his summers working in the family residential framing and new construction business as shaping his understanding and appreciation for the social, economic and environmental impact the building and land development industry has on local, provincial and federal public policy development and decisions. Brian Zeiler-Kligman, Senior Associate, Provincial Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Sussex Strategy Group A member of the Ontario Bar, Brian has spent his career at the intersection of government, politics, business and the law. Brian is part of Sussex’s Ontario government relations practice, providing clients with market and regulatory insight, strategic business guidance, as well as issues management, public affairs and lobbying efforts in a variety of subject areas, including land-use planning and development. Beyond his work with Sussex, Brian teaches International Business part-time at York University and is an amateur stand-up comic. .