BOSTON- BioMed Realty Vice President of Integration, Environmental, and ESG Joanna Hilvert has played a pivotal role in realizing BioMed Realty’s vision for 330 Third Street in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, a site with a challenging, industrial legacy as a former manufactured gas plant. Environmental considerations have been at the forefront under her leadership within the firm. Since joining the Company in 2020, Hilvert has leveraged 25 years of experience in commercial real estate, land use, and environmental law to drive impactful results.
On March 12, 2025, Joanna Hilvert will be honored with the Outstanding Women of 2025 award at the annual Women of the Year awards gala at Burlington Marriott Hotel in Burlington, MA. To buy a ticket, please click here.
In addition, Hilvert oversees BioMed Realty’s ESG programs as she champions innovation, health, wellness, and inclusivity in the communities that the company serves. She played a key role in BioMed Realty achieving Real Estate Sector Leader status for Technology/Science as part of the GRESB Real Estate Assessment—the leading ESG benchmark for real estate and infrastructure investments across the world. Of the 17.5 million square feet across the company’s operating portfolio and in-process developments in the US, 47 percent is LEED certified or targeting future certification. BioMed Realty was also selected as a 2024 Mass Save Climate Leader.
“My success is largely due to trusting myself and listening to my gut,” said Hilvert in her Q&A with BRET. “There can be a lot of pressure to fit into a ‘mold,’ but I’ve only ever been successful when I do things my way.”
Active in the real estate industry, Hilvert is a CREW member, offers pro bono legal support to neighborhood development groups and affordable and senior housing developers, and contributed to Greenprint ULI’s 2025 Resilience Summit program committee. She also founded and leads three student service groups across elementary, middle, and high school levels, coaches youth soccer and lacrosse, and volunteers with Food for Free, an organization working to improve access to healthy food within the community, and Rosie’s Place, an organization that provides safe shelter and community services for LGBTQIA+ women.
Hilvert is currently Vice President, Integration, Environmental and ESG at BioMed Realty, a Blackstone portfolio company and the largest private operator of life science real estate. Previously, she served as Managing Attorney on the Integration team and practiced in the environmental department at Goulston & Storrs PC and the real estate department of Brown Rudnick LLP.
Read our full Q&A with Joanna Hilvert below.
Boston Real Estate Times: What do you enjoy most about your work?
Joanna Hilvert: For most of my career, I worked at law firms and interacted primarily with other lawyers. Now that I’m in-house at BioMed Realty, I get to collaborate with all kinds of experts from different fields. It’s been a great change, as it pushes me to think in new ways and come up with creative solutions. Even after 25+ years in the industry, I’m still learning something new every day, and that keeps things interesting!
BRET: What is the one thing you attribute your success to?
JH: My success is largely due to trusting myself and listening to my gut. There can be a lot of pressure to fit into a “mold,” but I’ve only ever been successful when I do things my way.
BRET: To which charitable, community and professional groups do you belong and why?
JH: I’m a member of CREW Boston. It’s an incredible network of women, and I am always inspired when I participate in CREW events.
BRET: In what way do you feel you have most positively influenced or served the local community, your company/organization or professional field?
JH: I try to bring positive energy to every interaction. While we can’t control every outcome, we can always control how we respond. Treating people with respect, acting with integrity, and adding a bit of humor can go a long way.
BRET: What are your hobbies and interests?
JH: I love traveling, hiking, yoga, Italian food, spending time with my family, and a good cup of coffee.
BRET: Your favorite books?
JH: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, Watership Down by Richard Adams, and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
BRET: Your favorite quotes?
JH: “Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.” – Brené Brown
BRET: The one person you would like to meet and why?
JH: I’d love to meet Michelle Obama. She embodies kindness, intelligence, hard work, practicality, compassion, and authenticity.
BRET: The core values you try to live by?
JH: BioMed’s core values—accountability, collaboration, capability, inquisitiveness, and courage—align strongly with my personal values and are essential for both professional success and personal growth.
BRET: What inspires you?
JH: My three daughters—aged 24, 20, and 18—are my greatest inspiration. They each demonstrate incredible courage, conviction, and compassion, and I learn from them every day. The future is in good hands with women like them leading the way.
