We are honored to have the Women of Blackwell, Brooke Guzar, Renèe Mackay-lyons and Elishua Ben-Choreen conduct a BEAT Talk on Monday, September 9th, 2024. This session will be held in-person at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, building, University of Toronto, room DA330 . Event schedule and location details below.
BEAT is a volunteer-run organization made up of architects, designers, leaders, and entrepreneurs creating opportunities for community-building, advocacy, networking, and mentorship.
BEAT Talks are a series of discussions held at the offices of Architects across the city. Hosts will share their learned experience.
BEAT Talks qualify for OAA Structured Learning hours
About the Session
Join us as we hear from engineers at Blackwell: Brooke Guzar, Renée MacKay-Lyons, and Elishua Ben-Choreen. They will each share their experience navigating a career within engineering and the broader design consultant field. The speakers will expand on their unique trajectories in engineering roles and management positions; discussing the challenges they've faced, and the amazing projects and initiatives they've worked on along the way.
Location
Room DA330
John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto
1 Spadina Cres, Toronto, ON, M5S 2J5
Event Schedule
6:30pm Doors open
7:00-8:00pm BEAT Talk
8:00-8:30 pm Networking reception
About Blackwell
Since 1987, Blackwell has been a leading provider of structural engineering services to a diverse range of clients, including architects, designers, developers, and building owners. Under the leadership of the CEO, Brooke Guzar, Blackwell's team brings passionate dedication to defining problems and finding solutions, seeing every project as an opportunity.
More about Blackwell https://blackwell.ca/
About the Speakers
Brooke Guzar, CEO, P.Eng
Brooke Guzar is a structural engineer with 15+ years of practice in various engineering areas, from moveable bridges to heavy industrial hard rock underground mining applications, sculptures, and high-end custom residential work. She led the Halifax office of Blackwell Structural Engineers for 6 years, developing a close relationship with local architects and designers on projects across Canada. In 2023, Brooke was selected as Blackwell’s first CEO, and she now leads the firm with a passion for strategic planning, employee engagement, and effective project delivery.
Brooke splits her time between the Toronto and Halifax offices.
Renée MacKay-Lyons, Associate, P.Eng
Throughout her 15-year career, Renée has adeptly merged her love for architecture with her passion for physics and mathematics. Now based in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, she excels as an integral member of design teams across Canada, assisting clients in transforming their visions into practical and efficient structural systems. Renée is deeply interested in all building types, from public buildings to large institutional projects to custom homes. Her expertise spans mass timber, light wood framing, reinforced concrete, structural steel, and fabric and cable systems. As an Associate at Blackwell, she’s been a key team member on complex projects such as The LEAF at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg and the Trinity College Lawson Centre for Sustainability in Toronto.
Beyond her project work, Renée is an esteemed guest critic at various architecture schools and a sought-after speaker at conferences and public lectures. In 2023, she was a lecturer for the Timber Design course in the Department of Civil and Resource Engineering at Dalhousie University.
Elishua Ben-Choreen, P.Eng
Elishua was inspired to pursue engineering by her passion for creating positive built environments. Her 9 years of experience have allowed her to work on building projects from both the design consultant's and contractor's perspectives. After graduating from the University of Waterloo, she joined WSP in Ottawa to work on the structural design of Canada's largest heritage rehabilitation project—the restoration of Centre Block. One of the highlights of her time there was developing the in-situ masonry testing program and overseeing the investigative work on-site. In 2021, Elishua came to Blackwell as a Professional Engineer and shifted her focus to smaller-scale residential projects. Since then, she has worked on over 100 projects across the Greater Toronto Area. She continues to be energized by opportunities that bring her to site and allow her to problem-solve with the contractor and architect to meet design intent.