The most exciting kickoff at last night’s Ottawa RedBlacks game may have actually taken place off the field with the launch of CityBuildHERS.

It’s a new quarterly networking event, with a professional development component, led by Jennifer Cross, business development manager at Marant Construction, and Lauren Epp, manager of corporate partnerships and premium properties at OSEG (Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group), to celebrate and connect women in the commercial construction, design and real estate industries. The gathering served as a valuable opportunity to learn about the first all-women-led project in Canada.

Also part of CityBuildHERS are committee members Lynn Ferron, principal interior designer at HOK Ottawa; broker Sarah Vandenbelt from Koble Commercial Real Estate & Brokerage; and Kristen Buter, vice-president of property management for Mastercraft Starwood.

“The intent of these events is to connect women in all industries that impact city-building to form more working partnerships and to encourage more women-led developments and more women-led business connections,” Cross told the 150 attendees of the sold-out gathering. “When I say ‘business connections’, I want everyone to start talking about business when you’re here. How can we do business together? How can I help you? It’s also about being a conduit for other people, and not just thinking about how can you and I do business, but how can you do business with other people in my network. We’d really like to start having more of those conversations around actually forming some women-led developments.”

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