(Connect Canada CRE has named its 2024 Canadian Women in Real Estate Award winners. This story profiles Jennifer Podmore Russell, vice-president of real estate development for the Squamish Nation’s economic development arm.)

Jennifer Podmore Russell serves as executive vice-president of real estate development for Nch’ḵay̓, the Squamish Nation’s economic development corporation.

Podmore Russell’s appointment in 2023 came after she spent 18 months on the company’s board. In her role, she leads Nch’ḵay̓’s real estate growth. According to Mindy Wight, the corporation’s CEO, she possesses a strategic visionary outlook, “paired with a deep understanding of the real estate market and development through a creative mindset.”

Podmore Russell helps Nch’ḵay̓ further its mission to foster sustainable economic growth, cultural preservation, and self-sufficiency for the Squamish Nation and its people, aligning its efforts with Squamish values.

Nch’ḵay̓’s diverse projects include the massive Sen̓áḵw development, a transformative 6,000-unit multi-residential project in Vancouver’s Kitsilano area that involves the redevelopment of a former brewery site. The project highlights the corporation’s commitment to long-term socio-economic benefits for the Squamish community and to positioning itself as a leader in Indigenous economic development.

Nch’ḵay̓ owns properties on and off the Squamish reserve. Podmore Russell is also guiding the development of 350 acres of reserve land. That work is in its early stages.

With Podmore Russell’s help, Nch’ḵay̓ captured a 2024 B.C. Achievement Foundation Indigenous Community-owned Business Award in the two-entity catego

Podmore Russell has has approximately two decades of real estate industry experience. Prior to joining Nch’ḵay, he previously served as senior vice-president at Vancouver-based Rennie, a firm specializing in marketing residential developments.

She has also led Deloitte’s real estate division in B.C. and was a founder and managing partner of MPC Intelligence, a real estate research and analytics firm. Earlier in her career, she held roles in sales, analysis, and research at Ledingham McAllister and Colliers.

Outside of her day-to-day duties, Podmore Russell has served on the boards of the Urban Land Institute’s B.C. chapter, which she chaired from 2014 to 2017; NAIOP Vancouver and the Mortgage Investment Association of B.C.

She has also played leadership roles with community organizations beyond the real estate sphere. Currently, she sits on the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation board. She previously served for five years on the board of the Atira Women’s Resource Society, which supports all women and children who are dealing with violence committed against them.

Between 2012 and 2015, she co-chaired the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters Burn Fund’s capital campaign. The Burn Fund provides life-saving, life-supporting, and life-enriching services designed to support burn survivors and increase the public’s knowledge about fire and burn safety issues.

These are just some of the reasons why Podmore Russell has won a 2024 Canadian Women in Real Estate Award.