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our vision
Breaking Ceilings | Breaking Ground is a platform dedicated to celebrating and amplifying the voices of women innovators in commercial real estate development across North America.
Our goal is to bring focus to women in the real estate development industry by celebrating and promoting their achievements and contributions. The platform will feature a podcast with interviews and success stories of women who have made significant strides in this traditionally male-dominated field. The podcasts will culminate in a book that encapsulates our journey over the next year.
This platform seeks to inspire future generations of women to explore real estate development as a career while fostering a supportive community for those already in the industry.
Molly McCabe
Molly McCabe is the CEO of HaydenTanner, a development and investor advisory firm accelerating impact and sustainability in the built environment. A veteran of commercial real estate finance and capital markets, she serves as a bridge between risk and return, visionary development and the bottom-line, to create financially and environmentally resilient buildings and vibrant, sustainable cities. Experienced in leading through complexity, she has also helped launch and guide several start-ups, new ventures and change management initiatives.
Molly sits on the boards of The Freshwater Trust, City Craft Foundation and is co-founder and board member of The Lotus Campaign, providing housing-driven solutions for homelessness.
Past Chair of Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Responsible Property Investment Council, founder of a VC funded, commercial mortgage-backed securities firm, and manager, institutional real estate capital markets group. Author: “Practical Greening: The Bottom Line On Sustainable Property Development & Investment.” “Financing and Driving Value: Responsible and Resilient Property Investing in the New Millennium.”
She is an industry leader on investment, climate change, social-impact and resilience. Mom, dog-lover, amateur “handy-woman,” serial entrepreneur (currently focusing on the intersection of climate and prop tech).
Jill Ferrari
Jill Ferrari has 30 years of experience in urban redevelopment. Her background includes private real estate acquisition and development, legal practice, and consulting. She is currently a Partner at Schenk & Bruetsch, PLC., where she co-founded the Elevate practice group, serving female founders and executives, primarily in commercial real estate.
In 2019, Jill co-founded Renovare Development, a majority woman-owned commercial real estate development company. Renovare has over 100 million in development throughout Michigan. Renovare was named the 2025 “Developer of the Year” by Michigan RE Journals.
Jill was named a Crain’s Detroit “Notable Women in Law" in 2026, a member of the "Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame" in 2025, a Crain's Detroit "Notable Executive in Real Estate” in 2021, a Globe ST Magazine “Woman of Influence” in 2021, a 2017 “Woman of Distinction” by Wayne State University and a 2016 winner of the Melvin Simon Award from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Foundation.
Jill is a founding board member of the Women’s Sustainable Development Initiative, supporting emerging women commercial real estate developers.
She is an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan, where she teaches Real Estate Development Fundamentals.