Ms. Jill Ferrari

Jill Ferrari has more than 30 years of experience in private real estate development, legal practice, and consulting, with a focus on complex brownfield redevelopment projects. She is the co-founder of Renovare Development, which was named the 2025 “Developer of the Year” by Michigan RE Journals. Her practice includes commercial real estate development, economic development incentives, commercial real estate finance, nonprofit corporations, and small business startups. She works with a wide range of clients, including commercial real estate developers, municipalities, and entrepreneurs. Jill has been widely recognized for her leadership and contributions to the real estate industry. She is the 2025 Phoenix Award winner from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for her lifetime of work in brownfield redevelopment. She was named “Woman of the Year” by the Detroit Women’s Leadership Network in 2023, a Crain’s Detroit “Notable Executive in Real Estate” in 2021, a GlobeST Magazine “Woman of Influence” in 2021, a 2017 “Woman of Distinction” by the Wayne State University Council on the Status of Women and a 2016 winner of the Melvin Simon Award from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Foundation. She serves on the National Advisory Board for the Urban Land Institute’s Terwilliger Center for Housing and is a founding board member of the Women’s Sustainable Development Initiative, a nonprofit organization supporting emerging women developers working in low-income communities. In addition, Jill is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, where she teaches Real Estate Design and Development Fundamentals. Outside of her professional work, Jill is an award-winning screenwriter, science fiction enthusiast, and passionate advocate for adoption and the LGBTQ community.