Juvarya Warsi
What do you do at Light House?
I run Light House’s quarterly Market Insights program, which delivers in-depth analysis and market intelligence to the BC green building industry. This means I have to stay on top of all the latest news, track industry metrics and analyze policy issues, to turn this information into relevant knowledge for industry to utilize. The bigger picture is that I manage and coordinate research as well as revenue generating projects in order to catalyze economic development in this sector.
Why do you think you are qualified to do this?
I started to think about sustainable development as it relates to economic growth during my undergrad in London, where I completed a Bachelor’s in Development Studies and Economics. I also then completed a Post Graduate Diploma in International Business, which provided me with the framework for analyzing business trends and recognizing the importance of factors such as communication and networking for industry to be successful. More recently, I gained exposure to the real estate sector in my last position (see below). Put this all together, and I believe I’m extremely well placed for my role at Light House.
Before Light House, where did you work?
I completed a one year co-op placement at Concert Properties, a renowned Vancouver real estate developer. I got to spend time in the Development and Acquisitions department as well as on the Corporate and Community Relations team, which gave me a good broad understanding of the major issues facing developers in Vancouver today and the real estate sector in general.
Describe a fun evening
Enjoying a fine glass of VQA BC wine with great friends (purchased at Taylorwood Wines in Yaletown during their Thursday night wine tastings). And talking about sustainability, of course!
What book are you currently reading?
“The Last Harvest” by Witold Rybczynski. Rybczynski writes about real estate development and land use for the layperson, following some key projects in the history of the US. It’s charmingly written and an easy but informative read. For instance, he tells us that when the US government got together all the top minds in industry to analyze issues in housing back in the 70s, they discovered that “…. building affordable and attractive houses was a lot more complicated than putting a man on the moon.” No kidding!
Do you have a role model?
I am fortunate to sit on the organizing committee for the Young Leaders Group of the Urban Land Institute’s newly formed BC District Council. My fellow committee members are all active, bright and successful young real estate professionals who share a passion for best practices in land use (and I would add sustainable development). I get a lot of inspiration from being part of this group. I’d also say the same of my grad school cohort from the McRae Institute – a fantastic bunch of overachievers it’s my pleasure to call my friends and associates!
Your favorite website
Besides www.SustainableBuildingCentre.com??
I visit my “My Yahoo!” Portal several times a day. It’s where I can get all the latest RSS feeds from loads of news sources, including The Guardian and The Economist back home and tonnes of industry publications, as well as getting updates from my Facebook page, weather reports and email alerts. It even has a personal budgeting application, though I have yet to figure out how that
works..
