Membership Spotlight May 2020

Friday, May 22, 2020

Joanna Holliday | Corporate Marketing Manager at Grosvenor Americas

Joanna, we are thrilled to highlight you on our Membership Spotlight.

CREW Vancouver Q&A

Q: You are not only a member of CREW but have been a valuable volunteer contributor for many years. What inspired you to become so involved with this organization?

Thank you, I’m honoured to be highlighted! I started volunteering with CREW in 2017 because my colleague, Alison Miles Cork, who was a Board member of CREW Vancouver at the time, encouraged me to get involved. I received an incredibly warm welcome at my first Marcomm Committee volunteer meeting and have since enjoyed every moment working with CREW. It’s so rewarding to be involved with inspirational individuals who manage to juggle working full-time, family lives, continued education, and are still able to give so much dedication to advancing women in the industry.

I became a member last year as I wanted to take advantage of the fantastic educational, networking, and mentor opportunities available to members, and I also wanted to further my commitment to the organization, to add to the growing membership base.

Q: What is your favourite CREW event throughout the year and why?

My favourite event is the Portraits and Prosecco annual event. The concept is fantastic; attendees enjoy food, drinks, and networking, and you can donate money to get a professional headshot captured by a top-tier photographer. I appreciate that it is a social and fun event combined with some informative content also. I enjoyed the 2019 event where Lucas Mattiello presented on body language and public speaking; the atmosphere was fun and relaxed, but we went away with some tangible learnings.

I also love the annual golf tournament as I generally attend as a representative of the Grosvenor sponsored hole. It’s such a fun and inclusive event and attracts a broad range of industry attendees.

Q: Can you explain your role as a Corporate Marketing Manager and share your favourite aspects of this role and working for Grosvenor?

I work closely with our Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications, Patti Glass, and together we manage and implement internal and external marketing and communications activities that support Grosvenor Americas’ business objectives and help build brand awareness.

My favourite aspect of the role is being a resource to all employees across our three North American offices. This allows me to form strong relationships across our organization and gives me exposure to, and a deeper understanding of their differing operational activities.

Working for Grosvenor is incredibly rewarding for several reasons; firstly, the culture and the people are fantastic. I’ve received unparalleled personal and professional support during my 8 and a half years with the company. Secondly, I’m incredibly proud to work for an organization that stands by its values to ‘do the right thing’ no matter what, and lastly, I’m continually impressed by the quality of the properties we own and the projects that we build and fund across North America and around the world.

Q: In your opinion, what is the biggest benefit of joining CREW?

The biggest benefit for me is access to and quality of the growing network of skilled women in CREW. It’s been so helpful to meet people from all different sectors of our industry; to share knowledge with and bounce ideas off one another. Knowing that I have such a large support network is incredibly comforting, especially as we navigate through unknown territory such as the current Pandemic. Keeping connected, especially now, is key.

Due to COVID-19 many of us are feeling the strain of social distancing and spending so much time at home, can you recommend a book, podcast or other activity to help pass the time?

I recently finished reading ‘This is going to hurt’ by Adam Kay, which is a book comprising journal entries of a junior doctor working for the British National Health Service (NHS) from 2004-2010. It’s hilarious and heartbreaking, I couldn’t put it down! It may not be good for the faint hearted though…

I’m also really enjoying exploring more of my neighbourhood. I live in Kitsilano and I’m trying to spend as much time as possible outside either walking, running or cycling. I keep finding beautiful streets I’ve never been down before and I love seeing so many creative heartwarming messages for healthcare workers that feature in windows of houses and on pavements in chalk.