YWCA Metro Vancouver is pleased to announce 66 nominees in 11 categories for its 36th annual Bianca Fusco Zanatta nominated as Women of Distinction Awards, presented by Scotiabank.
In addition to the 11 nomination categories, the individual nominees are eligible for the Connecting the Community Award. Nominees will select a YWCA program area in which they are interested and use social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook to promote votes. From March 7th to April 19th, the public can cast their votes online and the nominee with the most votes will receive the Connecting the Community Award. Scotiabank will donate $10,000 to the YWCA program area of her choice.
We are proud to present this year’s nominees:
Arts, Culture & Design
Jessica Bouchard – Associate Director, The Polygon Gallery
Laura Byspalko – Managing Director, Indian Summer Arts Society / Indian Summer Festival
Dana Claxton – Department Head, Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory, UBC
Anicka Quin – Editorial Director, Western Living Magazine / Vancouver Magazine
Claire Sakaki – Executive Director, Bard on the Beach
Kelly Tweeddale – President, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and VSO School of Music
Jennifer Twiner McCarron – CEO, Thunderbird Entertainment and Atomic Cartoons
Business & the Professions
Tracey Arnish – Chief Member & Employee Experience Officer, Coast Capital Savings
Shelley Brown – Retired Partner and Board Member, Deloitte
Nicole Byres – Partner, Miller Thomson LLP
Emily Clough – Lawyer and Partner, Clark Wilson, LLP
Carey Dillen – President, YYOGA
Connie Fair – President and CEO, Land Title and Survey Authority of BC
Michelle Grant – Senior VP, Ernst & Young Incorporated
Cathy Imrie – CFO & Senior Vice President, Business, Ocean Wise Conservation Association
Kristi Miller – Founder and National Managing Director, First West Capital
Lisa Southern – Founder and Lawyer, Southern & Associates
Penny Wilson – CMO, Hootsuite
Community Champion
Joyce Fossella – Executive Director, Warriors Against Violence Society
Bianca Fusco Zanatta – Founder, Reach for Outer Space
Anna Godefroy – Co-Founder and Director, Binners’ Project
Mo Korchinski – Project Manager, Unlocking the Gates Peer Health Mentorship Program
Colleen Yee – Inspector of Centralized Operations Services Section, Vancouver Police Department
Education, Training & Development
Margot Butler – Academic Director, Humanities 101 Community Program, UBC
Sonia Butterworth – Assistant Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education, UBC Faculty of Medicine
Bethany Edmunds – Associate Dean & Vancouver Lead Computer Science Faculty at Northeastern University
Doreen Manuel – Director, Bosa Centre for Film and Animation, Capilano University
Tanis Sawkins – Director, Partnership Development Office, Vancouver Community College
Sheryl Staub-French – Professor, Civil Engineering Department, UBC
Marie Thom – Teacher Consultant for Early Learning and StrongStart, Richmond School District No. 38
Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Steph Corker – Founder, The Corker Co.
Carolyn Cross – Chairman and CEO, Ondine
Ashley Freeborn – Founder and Managing Director, Smash + Tess
Environmental Sustainability
Lauren Hornor – Partnership Lead, Western Canada, Swim Drink Fish Canada
Shelby Kitt – Member of the SFU Sustainable Transportation Action Research Team
Anna Mathewson – Manager, Sustainability, City of Surrey
Health & Wellness
Shelina Babul – Associate Director & Sports Injury Specialist, BC Injury Research & Prevention Unit, BC Children’s Hospital
Nurjehan Jane Devji – CEO (Retired), Delta View Campus of Care (now Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre)
Sheila Early – Forensic Nursing Educator
Allison Eddy – Chief of Pediatrics, BC Children’s Hospital
Victoria Lee – President and CEO, Fraser Health Authority
Heidi Oetter – Registrar and CEO, College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC
Camara van Breemen – Nurse Practitioner, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice
Non-Profit
Lynda Edmonds – CEO, Fraserside Community Services Society
Fiona Famulak – President, Vancouver Regional Construction Association
Genesa Greening – President & CEO, BC Women’s Hospital Foundation
Lisa Hubbard – Executive Director, North Shore Neighbourhood House
Ninu Kang – Director of Communications and Development, MOSAIC
Ingrid Kastens – CEO, Pacific Community Resources Society
Patti MacAhonic – Executive Director, Ann Davis Transition Society
Christine Mohr – Executive Director, Options Community Services
Alona Puehse – Chief Operating Officer, Open Door Group Social Services Society
Research, the Sciences & Technology
Suzanne Lewis – Chief Medical Officer & VP Research at Pacific Autism Family Network
Careesa Liu – Scientist in Biomedical Engineering at Simon Fraser University
Marianne Vidler – Research Program Manager, Pre-eclampsia and Eclampsia Monitoring, Prevention and Treatment, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
Cheryl Wellington – Professor, the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health at UBC
Young Woman of Distinction
Tanvi Bhatia – Program Facilitator, Leave Out Violence
Precious Ile – Chair, Coast Capital Youth Get It Community Council
Zeba Khan – Founder, PERIOD. at UBC
Shawna Narayan – Executive Director and Founder, Empower The Future Association
Rochelle Prasad – Founder, Camp We Empower
Jennifer Wildi – Coordinator of Canuck Place Visits and Chair of School Visits, Reading Bear Society
Outstanding Workplace
ACL
Finch Media
Glotman Simpson Consulting Engineers
Vancouver Airport Authority
The YWCA Women of Distinction Awards honours individuals and organizations whose outstanding activities and achievements contribute to the well-being and future of our community.
This year, we are proud to celebrate our 36th year of the Women of Distinction Awards. Since 1984, YWCA Metro Vancouver has paid tribute to more than 310 award recipients and 1,810 nominees.
Award recipients will be announced on May 13, 2019 at the Awards dinner at JW Marriot Parq Vancouver.
The 2019 Awards are presented by Scotiabank. Legacy Sponsors are BC Housing, Clio, Goldcorp Inc., iA Financial Group, Nature’s Path, MDA, Pacific Blue Cross, SAP, TD Bank Group, and UBC Sauder School of Business.
To purchase tickets for the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards dinner please visit our website: ywcavan.org/tickets