After immigrating from Iran in 1979, Gina earned a master’s and a doctorate in building engineering from Concordia University, making her Canada’s first woman PhD in the discipline.
She spent more than 30 years in the private sector as an engineer, corporate executive and principal shareholder of a national engineering firm. Under her tenure, her firm was recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, and Profit Magazine named her one of Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs.
Gina is one of the few women to chair a TSX 60 company – the Canadian Apartment Properties REIT. She also chairs the European Residential REIT and serves on several other corporate boards.
Her frequent public speaking engagements centre on the value of education and on equity, diversity and inclusion, especially for women and immigrants in the STEM fields.
Gina is a member of the Order of Montreal, a member of the Order of Canada, and an honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the 34 Combat Engineer Regiment (CER) of the Canadian Armed Forces.
