Meet the Leaders Shaping Taza

IN THIS BLOG

• The Taza leadership team brings legal, finance, development, community experience, and Indigenous partnership expertise together to build a master-planned community grounded in culture, governance, and long-term impact.
• Each leader translates vision into action: integrating traditional knowledge, designing community experiences, structuring collaborative legal frameworks, stewarding finance and governance, and advancing land development that reflects Tsuut’ina identity.
• If you’re exploring Indigenous-led development, partnership models, or long-term community building, these leaders show how strategy, culture, and accountability can come together to build communities that stand the test of time.

Taza is one of North America’s most significant developments, guided by the Taza Leadership Team—a group that blends cultural integrity with disciplined execution. Their shared approach—partnership-first governance, intentional design, and long-term stewardship—moves Taza from vision to reality and demonstrates what’s possible when community priorities lead and strategy follows.

The following profiles highlight how each leader’s path and principles translate into collective impact—channeling Taza’s core pillars into measurable progress and ensuring the development remains community-led and future‑focused

The team behind taza’s momentum

At Taza, strategy isn’t a document, it’s a discipline. Every partnership we form, every design choice we make, and every dollar we invest is anchored to a larger purpose: sustainable growth that honours the land, respects our partners, and delivers enduring value for future generations.

James Robertson

President, Taza Development Corp

JAMES ROBERTSON, President, Taza Development Corp

James’ career is a testament to the power of adaptability and continuous learning. From his beginnings in property appraisal and consulting to leading major development projects, his path has been marked by a willingness to embrace change and learn from every experience. His leadership style focuses on alignment, problem-solving, and ensuring that every team member has what they need to succeed.

Early in his career, James embraced challenges that pushed him beyond his comfort zone, such as moving to Ottawa for a consulting role and later realizing that the city wasn’t the right fit. These experiences reinforced his belief in the importance of trying new things and being willing to pivot when necessary. At Taza, he applies this mindset to create a cohesive team environment where everyone is aligned and moving toward the same goals.

The result is a development strategy that not only addresses current challenges but also anticipates future needs, ensuring sustainable growth and innovation. His approach demonstrates how adaptability and collaboration can drive success in complex projects, setting a new standard for excellence in urban development.

What he owns:

• Ensuring team alignment and resource availability
• Leading problem-solving initiatives across projects
• Overseeing the vision and execution of development plans

By approaching development with creativity and intention, I’m proud to contribute to work that demonstrates how Indigenous communities can lead and deliver projects of this scale and impact.

Bryce Starlight

Vice President, Business Development

BRYCE STARLIGHT, VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Rooted in years of working alongside both industry and First Nations partners, Bryce’s path through Indigenous land management, resource development, and community engagement shaped a leadership style defined by adaptability, self-awareness, and the discipline to navigate complexity without losing sight of community priorities.

Early in his career, he pushed himself beyond his comfort zone. That experience forged his belief that the best ideas emerge when diverse voices are at the table. At Taza, he channels that ethos into durable collaboration frameworks with Nation and industry partners. Traditional knowledge and cultural integrity are not just consulted but embedded into planning and delivery.

The result is development that balances many interests while staying anchored to long‑term outcomes for the community. It also offers a model that expands what’s possible for large, partner‑led projects at scale.

What he owns:

• Indigenous partnership strategy and governance integration
• Collaboration frameworks with Tsuut’ina Nation, industry partners, and stakeholders
• Embedding traditional knowledge and values into planning and delivery

At Taza, nothing should feel accidental—whether it’s design, communications, partnerships, or community-building. I work to ensure every decision ties back to a larger purpose.

Maureen Henderson

Vice President, Community Experience

MAUREEN HENDERSON, VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE

Maureen’s career spans private development, public-sector environments, not-for-profits, and governance. This uncommon mix shaped her conviction that strategy only works when people feel informed, heard, and connected.

With more than two decades in marketing, communications, and real estate, she brings clarity and empathy to how community is experienced—not just how it’s built. At Taza, she translates vision into human-centered moments across communications, placemaking, and resident engagement. She makes sure every story, space, and program ladders back to a larger purpose.

As the first residents arrive and places take shape, her focus is aligning decisions with lived experience. The goal is for Taza’s identity to be felt from day one and sustained for the long term.

What she owns:

• Community experience strategy across communications, placemaking, and resident engagement
• Alignment of design decisions with lived experience and community voice
• Cross-sector relationship-building (private, public, nonprofit, Indigenous governance)

My role is to support decision-making within a collaborative governance framework, balancing diverse perspectives to ensure outcomes reflect both the partnership and the long-term vision for Taza.

Linda Laratta

Vice President, Legal

LINDA LARATTA, VICE PRESIDENT, LEGAL

With more than 30 years in corporate work, commercial real estate, land development law, and high-end custom home construction, Linda brings a practical, relationship-aware approach to legal counsel. She keeps complex projects moving while protecting long-term reputation. Her background gives her a ground-level view of how deals, operations, and partnerships intersect. It also shows why legal structures must support both progress and trust.

At Taza, she builds and stewards the legal frameworks that operationalize shared governance. Her work spans land acquisition, transaction structuring, contracts, and leases. The goal is to honour culture and heritage while meeting commercial realities. In practice, she balances diverse perspectives to keep collaboration durable and outcomes aligned with the partnership’s long-term vision.

What she owns:

• Land acquisition, transaction structuring, contracts, and lease negotiations
• Legal frameworks that operationalize collaborative governance
• Risk management that respects culture, heritage, and long-term reputation

Stewardship means thinking long term, acting responsibly, and making decisions with care for the broader partnership and the generations that will benefit from Taza.

Kyle Sheard

Vice President, Finance & Administration

KYLE SHEARD, VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION

Kyle’s career across large-scale development and corporate treasury taught him that finance, at its best, is stewardship: patience and judgment applied to decisions whose true impact unfolds over decades.

Early exposure to complex capital structures and project delivery shaped his belief that discipline and transparency are what turn ambition into outcomes that endure. At Taza, he leads capital planning, investment management, and corporate strategy. He builds the financial and governance backbone that enables responsible growth. His lens—thinking beyond near-term returns to generational benefit—shows up in the systems, reporting, and decision frameworks that balance commercial objectives with long-term social responsibility for partners and community.

What he owns:

• Capital planning, investment management, and corporate strategy
• Financial governance that supports disciplined, sustainable growth
• Transparency and accountability across finance and operations

We have a responsibility to recognize how the land has been valued historically and how it connects to the cultural identity of the Tsuut’ina people. That perspective shapes how I approach planning, decision-making, and the communities we are building.

Travis Oberg

Vice President, Land Development

TRAVIS OBERG, VICE PRESIDENT, LAND DEVELOPMENT

Travis’s decade-plus in development spans geomatics, project management, public consultation, and sustainability. His approach is people-first, shaped by youth sports. Great teams share knowledge, adapt, and motivate differently to reach a bigger goal.

He brings that mindset to Taza. He guides end-to-end land development with a focus on places that connect people to land and culture. Those places are designed to evolve over time. In practice, his work integrates language and heritage into place naming and design, advances workforce opportunity pathways, and fosters collaborative project environments where diverse expertise strengthens outcomes.

The throughline is respect—for the land’s history, for the identity it reflects, and for the communities that will live with the decisions made today.

What he owns:

• End-to-end land development planning and delivery
• Integration of language, heritage, and sustainability into place-making
• Community-led consultation and workforce opportunity pathways

Built at the intersection of vision and discipline, Taza advances because its leaders turn values into systems—and systems into places people can feel. From strategy and governance to finance, legal, design, and delivery, their work aligns decisions with long-term value so every project serves a bigger purpose. If you want to see how this approach scales from blueprint to street level, explore our partnership model to understand how we structure collaboration and accountability—and dive deeper into the leadership team driving Taza forward.