BEAT X DIALOG - Designing Women of DIALOG
Shared life stories have the power to empower, inspire, and guide us through our personal and professional journeys. In this spirit, BEAT is excited to collaborate with DIALOG as they host an evening of conversation featuring five diverse voices from their design practice, each representing different disciplines, backgrounds, and experiences.
This multidisciplinary panel includes female leaders in architecture, interior design, engineering, landscape architecture, and specifications, each offering their unique perspectives from varied career paths. The discussion will explore key themes such as parenthood, bridging international experience, discovering alternate career paths, and the role of mentorship throughout one's career.
Each panelist will share their unique stories and insights, providing personal anecdotes and practical advice on navigating the opportunities and challenges within the design industry. The event will include a panel discussion, an interactive Q&A session, and opportunities for deeper connections through smaller breakout sessions.
Panel Moderators:
Chen Cohen
Interior Design
Cohen (who goes by her last name) is an exceptional designer who brings over 20 years of experience in large, complex institutional projects. Her background in both interior design and architecture allows her to deliver a holistic approach to designing buildings from the inside out. Her national and international award-winning work is characterized by exceptional quality of light, careful material choices, and timeless design details that seamlessly translate the architectural language to a human-scale. Her body of work spans a diverse portfolio of institutional projects, including higher education, civic, cultural facilities and museums, as well as sports and recreation projects.
Farah Al Amin
Architecture
Farah is an internationally trained architect, designer, and photographer. Labels aside, she flourishes in-between. She has been practicing architecture and photography for over a decade in the Middle East and Canada. In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, she co-founded Tri Design Studio, leading the design of multiple civic and commercial projects, as well as public art installations commissioned by Dubai Culture and DIFC Arts Nights. Her work involved close collaboration with local artisans, incorporating traditional crafts within architectural projects, fostering concepts of sustainability - an extension of her research in the Master's program in Sustainability in the Built Environment.
She’s currently an associate at DIALOG, contributing to design excellence across diverse project typologies, with a portfolio that includes educational, civic, and healthcare projects. She brings her design sensibility, curiosity, sense of exploration, and her collaborative spirit to every project she works on, aspiring to tell stories that ultimately elevate our human experience.
Panel Speakers:
Jacquie Leslie
Architecture
With more than 40 years experience in the architectural profession, Jacquie has acquired extensive knowledge in all facets of the business. This acquired knowledge is leveraged to develop and produce quality construction documents and problem solve issues efficiently and effectively. Jacquie provides insight at the conceptual and design development stages allowing for a practical, respectful and responsive approach to the design intent of the building while maintaining the highest level of building science protocol.
Mentoring production staff, coordinating across disciplines and management of the production schedule are just a few of the ways Jacquie keeps the project moving forward on time and on budget.
Collaboration with stakeholders, consultants, contractors, suppliers and management is vital to a successful project we can all be proud of, this is a goal Jacquie targets for every project regardless of project size or complexity.
Lauren Hardy
Mechanical Engineering
Lauren is a mechanical engineer with 18 years of experience in various sectors, including commercial and mixed use residential.
Her passion for mechanical design stems from its visual nature, even when much of the work is often concealed behind finished surfaces. She works with the project teams to provide efficient and sustainable mechanical designs that integrate with the architectural elements of the building.
Lauren is dedicated to mentoring and also enjoys engaging with her community through Girl Guide groups, to inspire interest in STEM fields. She takes pride in showing her children the buildings she's helped design, helping them connect her work to tangible outcomes in the world around them.
Laura Herbert
Specifications
Laura spent the first part of her career as an architectural designer and contract administrator and joined the DIALOG Specifications team in 2014 to develop her passion for specifications and contract law. She has gained design, contract administration, project management, and specification writing experience on a wide variety of project types and sizes. She has a proven record of interpreting the needs of clients and designers and delivering solutions that meet both functional and aesthetic requirements and writing customized contract documents to suit specific project needs. Her experience in writing specifications has given her the ability to thoroughly analyze and understand all aspects of project construction from contracts to building envelope design. Her ability to evaluate solutions based on research and precedent adds value to her project team.
Laura’s 18-year background in multi-storey residential, institutional, commercial, and recreation projects demonstrates her ability to resolve complex building requirements under varied project conditions and delivery methods. She takes a strong interest in sustainable solutions and has been a LEED® Accredited Professional since 2009.
Haniya Abi Khuzam
Landscape Architecture
Haniya is a landscape designer with over 15 years of experience, having worked on projects across Canada, the Middle East, and beyond. Her portfolio spans commercial, institutional, and residential landscapes, showcasing expertise in master planning, design visioning, project management, site analysis, and detailed design development.
She has played a key role in the realization of prominent projects, including transformative public spaces in Toronto, where she led mixed-use developments, condominiums, office spaces, and public parks. Notably, Haniya spearheaded the landscape design for a transit-oriented community and contributed to two major initiatives under the Golden Mile Secondary Plan, shaping a vibrant and inclusive urban vision for the area. Her time in the Middle East further honed her expertise, where she led large-scale infrastructure and master planning efforts, gaining valuable international insights. She also facilitated workshops and presentations, effectively engaging diverse cultural and professional audiences.
Haniya is passionate about creating meaningful connections between people, architecture, and nature. She is committed to designing spaces that foster community, harmony, and beauty while balancing aesthetics with functionality and sustainability—values she sees as a vital aspect of her work.
Nicole Moyo
Architecture & Urban Design
Nicole is a renowned designer recognized for her anthropocentric and holistic approach to crafting meaningful, innovative, sustainable spaces. She practices as an architectural designer, urban designer, and sessional lecturer. Her work spans various disciplines, and is driven by a deep commitment to creativity that merges human-centered design, public spaces, community engagement, intersectional sustainability, future thinking, and diverse cultural influences.
Nicole’s work has been featured in prominent publications such as World Architecture Community, Dezeen, Aspire, and ArchDaily, and she has been recognized by FRAME Magazine as an “emerging designer” for her expertise in off-grid design concepts. Her award-winning MA thesis, UKUBUTHA, focused on community-oriented waste-to-energy management and was showcased at major design events, including Design Indaba and Dutch Design Week. In addition to her design achievements, she has co-led the DEI Open Forum and community outreach initiatives for youth in STEM, as well as helped establish the Community Wellbeing Award for DesignTO, showcasing her commitment to inclusivity.
Please note this is a free event, registration is required.
Registration begins March 3rd, 2025
General Admission: Free