PANELISTS
Yanah Fischer
Senior Project Manager, The Weitz Company
Yanah Fischer has been with The Weitz Company for over 14 years and has 17 years of industry experience. Yanah received both her Bachelor’s Degree in Design and her Master’s Degree in Building Construction from the University of Florida. She has completed over 40 projects at The Breakers Palm Beach, Capital Improvements at The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, numerous private luxury country clubs and is currently overseeing the New “Honors Village” on campus for the Undergraduate Residential Complex with Honors College at the University of Florida.
Julie Holmes
President, JK2 Scenic LLC.
Julie Holmes is the President of JK2 Scenic LLC, an architectural millwork and specialty construction company focused on bringing creative spaces to life. She joined the family-owned construction company in 2013, learning business and day-to-day operation strategies, and was responsible for the growth of the Scenic Division. JK2 Scenic spun-off into a separate company in 2017 and the company obtained Women-Owned Business certification in 2018. Prior to joining JK2, Julie spent 12 years a leader in the civil engineering and development industry, managing multiple projects for retail roll-out clients across the United States.
Julie is a registered Professional Engineer and was a Cum Laude graduate from the University of Florida, earning a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering while being on the Dean’s List in the College of Engineering. She is a two-time academic all-SEC student athlete and was a three-year letter winner of the University of Florida’s Women’s Swimming & Diving Team. She was a 2019 Women Who Means Business honoree by the Orlando Business Journal, has been serving on the Board of the Associated Builders and Contractors – Central Florida Chapter since 2019 and is the current 2024 Board Chair. She was recently voted onto the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management Industry Advisory Board in 2023 and the company has been honored numerous times for outstanding growth and excellence and construction awards.
Lysa Migliorati
President, LM Developers
Lysa Migliorati is a graduate of the University of Florida Bachelors of Design in Architecture 1998. She moved from Brazil with two small suitcases and a big dream to study in the United States. Upon graduation she followed her passion to work at Walt Disney Imagineering and stepped into an unexpected but perfect fit entry level development management role that shaped her entire career.
After 18 years at Disney Lysa helped develop many well-known projects, made her way into senior leadership and lived 3 years in Germany for the construction of the Disney Ships. She was told she had to put her pencils down for this role, but she never did and always stayed very active throughout the entire design process.
Currently Lysa is owner of LM Developers Design and Construction consulting and acting Design Director at BRE Resorts and Hotels- Hotel Division of Blackstone, a large private equity investment group. She continues to lead design teams to successfully complete multimillion dollar innovative hotel design projects on schedule and within budget. Her experience encompasses residential, hospitality, entertainment, retail, spas, theme parks, restaurants, cruise ships and civil infrastructure projects representing the owner.
Some of her projects include Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Downtown Disney, Disney’s Saratoga Springs, Pandora World of Avatar, Tiffins Restaurant Animal Kingdom, Disney Dream, Fantasy, Magic and Wonder cruise ships, Tiffany Jewelry Stores, Sports Authority Stores, Ritz Carlton Kapalua, Grand Wailea Maui, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Hotel Del Coronado and the Arizona Biltmore.
Lysa enjoys mentoring interns and junior professionals to become strong leaders without compromising who they are and strives to promote equality and diversity in the office and on the jobsites. She hopes to continue pushing the boundaries of what is not possible to be built and making the design and construction process more efficient.
Margo Thomas
Account Executive, Siemens
Margo Thomas has a bachelor’s from Flagler College and an MPA from Syracuse University. As an account executive with Siemens, Margo works with colleges and universities to improve energy efficiency and achieve their sustainability goals. This includes retrofitting existing infrastructure to create optimal living and learning environments as part of a Smart Campus. Through her work at Siemens, Margo also helps implement automation, digitalization, IoT and digital twin at colleges and universities that are adapting buildings to embrace technology of the future. Prior to joining Siemens, Margo spent 15+ years working in higher education, has published research on consumer behavior, and has a background in space and resource management on college campuses.
Sheeba West
Principal, Dix+Hite
Sheeba West is a Principal with Dix.Hite + Partners with more than 20 years of landscape architecture experience in Florida. She brings one main purpose with her to work every day: creating sustainably built places people enjoy. Her work focuses on connecting the community with each other and nature through parks, trails, complete streets, and open spaces that are inviting to pedestrians and bicyclists. She has extensive experience in leading design teams, and facilitating design through public in-person and virtual workshops and walking audits. Sheeba received her Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of Miami and her Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Florida. She is a licensed landscape architect in the State of Florida and an ISA certified arborist. In her free time, Sheeba loves to write, paint and serves on the City of Orlando Public Art Advisory Board and Seminole County Library Advisory Board.