Fast-tracking the

future of housing.

As Manager of the Centre for Housing Innovation (CHI), Deniz leads government-funded programs to advance solutions in tackling the urgent issues in Canada’s housing industry. She built partnerships with leading organizations, supported CMHC’s Level Up Challenge, and leveraged municipal and government relations to adopt new technologies, materials, and construction approaches.

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With a decade of experience in corporate innovation and program leadership, she began her career at Turkiye’s industry giant, Sabanci Holding, building entrepreneurship programs and designing corporate innovation partnerships. This foundation informs her work at CHI, where she guides companies through multi-cohort accelerator and training programs, helping them navigate product development, commercialization, and industry partnerships.

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Holding a master’s degree in Political Science from Carleton University in Ottawa, Deniz applies her understanding of governance, policy, and regulatory environments to advance housing innovation. Design Thinking training at the Hasso Plattner Institut in Potsdam complements her approach, enabling human-centred solutions to complex sector challenges.

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Originally from Ankara, Türkiye, she moved to Canada in 2021 and now calls Toronto home.

Alternative career choice?

Journalism. To whet my appetite, I write for a Turkish news outlet as a political columnist from time to time.

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Favourite shop:

Indigo. If I’m not taking your calls, you can find me in the coffee table books section.

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If she could learn anything:

I would love to be a hyperpolyglot and achieve fluency in multiple languages.

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Dream dinner guest:

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkiye.

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Favourite childhood book:

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. [Spoiler] I always knew that Snape was a true gem.

Shane oversees Alumni and Special Programs at DMZ. The department engages DMZ’s growing alumni network to give back to DMZ’s community, along with providing opportunities for them to benefit from DMZ’s ever-expanding global network. In addition, Shane also leads initiatives which exist outside of standard procedure at DMZ.

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Joining DMZ in the Fall of 2012 as a student staff, Shane graduated into a full-time role holding a variety of positions from front desk assistant to an operational coordinator, and ultimately landing on the programs team. Shane has led various programs, including the Validator/Incubator, developing DMZ’s first Accelerator, Playbook, and implementing the programming when DMZ moved from a membership fee model to an equity-based program over the pandemic.

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Shane holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University.

What is your favourite book of all time?

Stephen King's Dark Tower Series

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Favourite travel destination?

San Fran

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What’s the best part about working at the DMZ?

The view *swoon*

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How do you relax?

Music concerts, the Raptors, and video games

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What’s your go-to karaoke song?

Can't Hold Us by MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS

Tyler began his career as a mechanical engineer building multi-billion dollar infrastructure and energy projects, and shifted his focus to building businesses. Tyler has 10 years of experience helping businesses and their processes achieve operational excellence, and has spent the last 7 years focusing on building and mentoring emerging technology ventures that are shaping the built environment.

Scott Kaplanis is the Managing Partner at GroundBreak Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Toronto committed to finding and funding early stage property technology companies. Scott is an active venture investor and capital markets professional having spent nearly 20 years evaluating and supporting emerging businesses.

He has worked in both origination and asset management and has experience across industries and throughout the business lifecycle. Scott has worked alongside dozens of entrepreneurs and has provided guidance on areas including company and capital formation, C-suite recruitment, resource planning, corporate governance, M&A assessment and exit evaluation. As an entrepreneur and a father, he is well aware of the support needed – both practical and emotional – to create something great.