People

Heela is a dynamic leader in the Greater Toronto Area’s city-building industry. As Vice President, Social Impact at The Daniels Corporation, one of Canada’s largest and pre-eminent builder/developers, Heela is responsible for corporate mandates and strategic initiatives that look beyond the bricks and mortar to ensure that the social, cultural and economic infrastructures of communities built by Daniels are as strong as the new buildings. This social purpose approach to real estate development has made Daniels a recognized industry and corporate leader.

Since 2009, Heela has been working on Phases 1, 2 and 3 of the revitalization of Regent Park in Toronto’s Downtown East. The revitalization of the 69-acre social housing neighbourhood to a mixed-income and mixed-use community is looked to around the world as a model for creating healthy, inclusive and resilient communities.

Heela strongly believes in the potential of the real estate development industry to positively shape how communities and cities come together to foster inclusion and resilience.

Heela’s passion for social change and community impact comes from her lived experience as an immigrant to Canada at a young age and growing up in a vibrant social housing community in Toronto’s inner suburbs. She seeks out opportunities to engage with local communities and is a Fundholder at the Toronto Foundation as well as a Board Member of Start2Finish, a national charitable organization committed to promoting the health and wellness of children in Canada through literacy and fitness education. Heela is also Co-Chair of the Program Committee and a member of the Management Committee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Toronto chapter.

An increasingly active public speaker, Heela has spoken on several panels and delivered presentations on real estate development as a platform for social change, creating mixed-use communities and her personal philanthropic journey.