Waterloo alumni are making significant contributions to their industries, local communities and the world at large. The Alumni Awards recognize exceptional individuals and their efforts to build a better world.
Working tirelessly to advance important causes, this year’s award recipients are researchers, volunteers and business leaders — each one making their own unique impact.
View winners from:
- Faculty of Arts
- Faculty of Engineering
- Faculty of Health
- Faculty of Science
- School of Accounting and Finance
- School of Optometry and Vision Science
- School of Pharmacy
- Conrad Grebel University College
- St. Jerome's University
- United College
View past winners: 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016
Ian Weng (BAFM ’13, MAcc ’13)
Leader to Watch Award
Ian Weng is the co-founder and CEO of SPATULA Foods. SPATULA is a marketplace that curates and manufactures flash-frozen meals that are ready in less than 10 minutes with just a pan and a spatula. Prior to SPATULA, Ian was the head of strategy, planning and finance at Uber Eats Canada where he helped to drive exponential growth for the Canadian business. Ian obtained his MBA from INSEAD, MAcc from the University of Waterloo and CPA designation at KPMG.
Ian regularly speaks about entrepreneurship at Waterloo and INSEAD events and enjoys working with students and aspiring founders to get their ideas off the ground. Outside of work, Ian enjoys travelling and spending time with his growing family.
Jeannine LiChong (BA ’92, MAcc ’92)
Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award
Jeannine joined Waratah Capital Advisors in 2018 after a successful 22-year career at Gluskin Sheff + Associates. Jeannine is an executive vice-president and portfolio manager for the Waratah Income Fund and is on the Summerhill Resorts Ltd. Investment Committee.
In her previous role, she was an executive vice-president and portfolio manager for Canadian Equities, responsible for managing $2.6 billion. She was also a member of both its Executive Management and Asset Mix Committees.
She is currently the chair of the Toronto Symphony Foundation and is a past board member of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Jeannine received an Honours Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Accounting degree from the University of Waterloo and holds CPA, CA and CFA designations.
In addition to her roles on the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) Advisory Council and our Communications Sub-Committee, Jeannine generously gives her time to the School and is dedicated to supporting and mentoring SAF students. Jeannine has been the industry mentor for the CFA Investment Research Challenge team for a number of years, an honouree in the SAF Fellowship Program and is a member of the University of Waterloo Women in Finance Advisory Board.
Sara Cumming (PhD ’14)
Rising Star Alumni Award
As executive director of Home Suite Hope, Sara Cumming designs programs to help unhoused single mothers put together the crucial pieces they need: housing, jobs, childcare and more. These programs have led to lasting impact for single mothers and their children. Sara is also known for finding creative ways to build ties with the community: sourcing grocery donations for students during lockdown and brokering temporary residences at Sheridan College for Ukrainian refugees. For her current project, the Community Ideas Factory, she's working with 16 local organizations to build a life skills course that can be used and adopted by community organizations across Canada.
Sara's doctoral research at Waterloo laid the foundation for her work at Home Suite Hope and at Sheridan College where she's an award-winning sociology professor. But she also credits her insights to her own experience as the daughter of a single teen mom and a former single mother herself.
Chris Williams (BA ’91)
Alumni Achievement Award
Chris Williams is a highly accomplished filmmaker and director renowned for his outstanding contributions to the animation industry. With a career spanning nearly three decades, Chris has cemented his place as a prominent figure in the world of animated filmmaking by working on films such as Frozen, Mulan, Bolt. His most notable achievements include co-directing the critically acclaimed and academy award winning animated film, Big Hero 6 (2014), and producing, directing and writing his latest feature film The Sea Beast (2022), another award-nominated film.
Chris’ talent, passion and dedication to the art of animated story telling has earned him widespread recognition and admiration.
Erin M. Chapple (BASc ’98)
Alumni Achievement Medal – Professional Achievement
Erin Chapple has established an impressive 25-year career at Microsoft as a talented software builder, systems thinker and sought-after leader with deep enterprise product and business experience.
In her current role as corporate vice president of product management and design for Azure Infrastructure at Microsoft, Erin uses her deep understanding of how customers adopt technology to guide multi-billion-dollar portfolio decisions.
In addition to her renowned technical and business expertise, she is regarded highly by her colleagues for her commitment to building diverse and inclusive teams — most notably as a founding member of the Women’s Leadership Council within Cloud + AI, which provides mentorship opportunities to thousands of women.
Michael J. Scott (BASc ’90, MASc ’92)
Alumni Achievement Medal – Professional Achievement
Michael Scott has built an impressive and highly recognized, 30-year career in medical devices and stem cell therapy product development.
As head of devices and cell therapy R&D at Novo Nordisk, Scott skillfully oversees the development of delivery technologies for critical cellular medicines and therapeutic programs, including developing novel treatments for chronic heart failure, Parkinson’s disease and insulin-requiring diabetes.
Scott’s peers consider him a rare blend of outstanding scientist, visionary leader and consummate teammate. They attribute his success in creating designs for demanding clinical environments — from ground-breaking heart valve therapies to pioneering encapsulation devices — to his deep technical and regulatory knowledge, ingenuity in solving problems and ability to instill purpose within his team.
George Yu (BASc ’86)
Alumni Achievement Medal – Professional Achievement
George Yu spent nine years as a software engineer before he was accepted into the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City.
George is now a world-renowned luthier, a maker of violins, based in Louisville, Kentucky. He models many of his handcrafted instruments on rare, centuries-old violins.
Prized by great musicians, his instruments delight the audiences who hear them played in the New York Philharmonic, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Lyra Baroque Orchestra and other ensembles.
His career as a luthier enables him to combine his engineering knowledge and love of music to create award-winning instruments. George’s peers say that he has contributed significantly to the modern renaissance of violin-making worldwide.
Baoling Chen (PhD ’15)
Rising Star Alumni Achievement Medal
Baoling Chen has carved out a sterling and well-earned reputation for herself in the biotechnology research world. She has served in progressively more senior research leadership roles at Lambton College — including as the NSERC Industrial Chair for College, Bioindustrial Process Research Centre Coordinator and Canadian Bio-cleantech Applied Research Network Manager.
Baoling’s colleagues at Lambton College are continually impressed by her ability to forge alliances and raise significant funding with biotechnology incubators and industry partners across the province.
Her talent in this area has resulted in two pilot plants, five prototypes, ten developed and 14 improved technologies, processes and products that significantly benefit our community overall.
Nancy Barber (BA ’98)
Alumni Achievement Award
Nancy Barber is an inspiration encouraging women to take leadership roles and develop their professional careers. As the president of Women in Aerospace Canada, she is striving to increase the visibility of women in the aerospace community and is leading by example.
In 2020, she was honored as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network. As noted in her nomination “her efforts have been extremely impactful for women striving to break into leadership positions and in the field of aerospace/aviation.” She is also published in the Journal of Sport Management.
Nancy’s commitment to education and the University of Waterloo has been long standing. She is a member of the Dean's Advisory Council and a representative of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies.
Outside of the accomplishments in aviation, Nancy is a member of the Revenue Development Committee for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. She also served as a board member and advisor for Empowerment International for several years and was a speaker at Women in Tech.
In recognition of her many accomplishments and her ability to empower others, Nancy is the recipient of the 2023 Faculty of Health Alumni Achievement Award.
Doug Ranton (BSc ’89) and Sandra Ranton (BA ’88)
Alumni Volunteer Award
Doug and Sandra Ranton have made significant contributions to their community, advocating for mental health and discuss the importance of suicide prevention.
Doug served as the alumni representative for the University of Waterloo Committee on Student Mental Health (CoSMH) for three years. They were tasked with executing the suggestions of the President’s Advisory Committee on Student Mental Health (PAC-SMH). As noted, when they were nominated, Doug “provided many insights that were vital to the functioning and success of CoSMH’s work and took a leadership role in fostering progress for several recommendations.”
As a couple, Doug and Sandra have established the Annual Jacob Ranton Memorial Basketball Tournament in honour of their son. The tournament supports the initiatives of the Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council (WRSPC) and raises funds to support the initiatives taking place. Doug and Sandra both had impressive careers as teachers and understand the impact this event has on the community.
In recognition of their commitment to advancing the Faculty of Health and the community through volunteer opportunities, Doug and Sandra are the recipient of the 2023 Faculty of Health Alumni Volunteer Award.
Amarah Epp-Stobbe (BSc ’14)
Alumni Inspiration Award
Amarah Epp-Stobbe is currently pursing a PhD in Kinesiology at the University of Victoria as a Mitacs scholar, Amarah focuses her research on predictive modelling of female athlete load in contact sports.
While in the Kinesiology (co-op) program at UWaterloo, Amarah’s was a member of the equestrian team. Amarah continued her education with a master’s degree in kinesiology at Queen’s University.
Since then, “Amarah has supported over one hundred athletes across several Olympic and elite national-level sports programs through strength and conditioning, performance analysis, biomechanics and data science. Internationally, Amarah has supported the Canadian Olympic Committee at two Olympic games, Tokyo 2021 and Beijing 2022, as a member of the Performance Technology Home Team — specializing in remote technical support and performance analysis for Canadian athletes and coaches during the Olympic game’s periods.”
Amarah volunteers with Victoria Ultimate Players Society and manages horse shows at the Cedar Vista Stables Show Series. Nationally, Amarah volunteers as a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Strength and Conditioning Association to empower and connect coaches.
In recognition of her commitment to academic, professional and personal excellence, Amarah Epp-Stobbe is the recipient of the 2023 Faculty of Health Alumni Inspiration Award.
Dr. Shaina Nensi (OD ’16)
Early Career Alumni Award
Dr. Shaina Nensi is a dedicated optometrist whose contributions at the Ontario Association of Optometrists and Canadian Association of Optometrists, including her role on the OHIP Negotiating Team, demonstrate her commitment to the profession. Dr. Nensi is passionate about giving back to both her local and global communities. She also operates a clinic in Kasabonika Lake, a fly-in First Nation community located 600 kilometers north of Thunder Bay, where she provides eyecare to the Indigenous families and residents of the island.
Dr. Johnathan Lam (OD ’99)
Alumni of Honour Award
Dr. Johnathan Lam is an accomplished optometrist and has played a significant role in the field of tele-optometry. Dr. Lam developed BCDO’s Rural Access Program, organizing and orchestrating in-person care for 58 rural communities in British Columbia, and initiating tele-optometric care in several of these communities. Dr. Lam has been a key partner participating in discussions and research, in partnership with the University of Waterloo, to support the evidence base for extending care to rural communities in BC (and ultimately support expansion across Canada).
Dr. Dennis Ruskin (OD ’76)
Distinguished Alumni Award
Dr. Dennis Ruskin has generously given his time and talents to the College of Optometrists of Ontario, having served on several committees. Dr. Ruskin served 10 years on Council (2009-2013) as the College’s vice-president and another year (2013-2014) as its president. During his presidency, the Ontario government proclaimed amendments to the Professional Misconduct and Conflict of Interest Regulations, which modernized the practice of optometry as we now know it in Ontario.
Dr. Paula Garshowitz (OD ’80)
Vision Champion Award
Dr. Paula Garshowitz graduated from the University of Waterloo School of Optometry in 1980. Following graduation, she went into private practice for more than 20 years. In 2003, Dr. Garshowitz joined the College of Optometrists of Ontario as assistant registrar, and ultimately served as registrar, from May 2011 to June 2019. During her time as registrar, the College enjoyed a sustained period of stability and growth, and earned respect among Ontario health regulatory colleges, other optometric regulatory authorities, and key stakeholders including the Ministry of Health and the UWaterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science.
Dr. Garshowitz has contributed to the profession through a multitude of volunteer positions in Ontario, Canada and internationally. These roles included involvement with the Optometry Examining Board of Canada, the Federation of Health Regulatory Colleges of Ontario, the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry, the Federation of Optometric Regulatory Authorities of Canada, the Council on Licensure Enforcement and Regulation and the Eye Health Council of Ontario.
Dr. Gordon Hensel (OD ’80)
Vision Champion Award
Dr. Gordon Hensel was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. After completing a BSc in Biochemistry at the University of Alberta, he went on to graduate from the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science in 1980. After graduation, he practiced for one year in Calgary with a group of ophthalmologists and then returned to Edmonton to start his own private practice, Millcreek Optometry Centre.
Dr. Hensel served as President of the AAO from 1985 to 1986 and achieved his Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry that same year. Between 2002 and 2022, Dr. Hensel served as the registrar of the Alberta College of Optometrists. His passion for optometry and advancement of scope of practice has assisted Alberta optometry become a leader in the country.
Dr. Hensel is one of the original founding members of what is now known as EYE RECOMMEND.
Dr. Leland Kolbenson (OD ’76)
Vision Champion Award
Dr. Leland Kolbenson graduated from the School of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Waterloo in 1976. Upon graduation, he opened a practice in Tisdale SK. He is currently practicing in Golden, BC with his daughter Rebecca (OD ‘13). Over his career, Dr. Kolbenson contributed greatly to the profession through various committee, council and association positions. Dr. Kolbenson served in Saskatchewan for more than two decades in positions including president and registrar for the Saskatchewan Association of Optometrists.
Dr. Lorne Ryall (OD ’88)
Vision Champion Award
Dr. Lorne Ryall completed his Doctor of Optometry from the University of Waterloo in 1988 after graduating from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Science Honours degree (1981) and a Master of Sciences degree (1984). Dr. Ryall joined the Manitoba Association of Optometrists Council in 1993 and served as assistant registrar, before taking on the role of registrar in 1994, a position that he held until April 2021.
During his time as registrar, Dr. Ryall served as the Manitoba representative on the Canadian Council on Optometric Education and Regulatory Authorities starting in 1994, paving the way for the development of the organization that would create and administer the national entry to practice optometry examination in Canada, the Canadian Examiners in Optometry (CEO).
Denise Kreutzwiser (BScPhm ’11, PharmD ’18)
Alumni Achievement Award
Denise Kreutzwiser is a member of the University of Waterloo’s vanguard co-op pharmacy class who continued her learning journey by completing both year-one general hospital and year-two HIV specialty pharmacy residency programs. Denise transitioned her clinical focus from HIV and viral hepatitis treatment to chronic pain management in January 2017. She works in a large interdisciplinary outpatient clinic at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, ON as a pain management program pharmacist. Denise recently developed the, first of its kind, year-one ambulatory and post-acute care pharmacy residency program focused on pain, rehabilitation, and mental health care. The program, at St. Joseph’s Health Care London, focuses on training pharmacists to help manage pain experienced by Canada’s growing aging population, beyond prescribing drugs. Since 2017, Denise has served as a guest lecturer for the HIV/viral hepatitis/end-stage liver disease component of the IPFC curriculum at the School of Pharmacy. Denise is passionate about hands-on learning in the workplace and supporting the next generation of pharmacists.
Azeezat Adeyoyin Oyawoye (BSc ’21)
Early Alumni Excellence Award
Azeezat Adeyoyin Oyawoye moved from Nigeria in 2016 with the goal of exploring her interests in science, business, and art. It's been a challenging but rewarding journey. Since graduating from the University of Waterloo, she has established herself as a visual artist under the name Àbíkẹ́ The Artist while working as a project manager at Huge, a creative consulting agency with various clients including McDonald's, Google, Pantone and Lego.
As a visual artist, she creates vibrant art inspired by her Yoruba cultural heritage, through a contemporary lens. Her work depicts Black women and Orí, which translates to “head” in Yoruba but also refers to one's essence and purpose. She reimagines Orí as otherworldly beings that embody the soul. Her work also celebrates distinct African features such as thick hair, full lips, and broad noses.
Azeezat’s ultimate goal is to preserve her cultural history by telling Afro-infused visual stories on an amplified scale. Her 2023 collaboration with Raptors 905, featuring her signature Orí, is a reflection of this goal.
Simone Harrington (BSc ’06)
Distinguished Alumni Award
Simone has dedicated her career to driving transformative changes in healthcare. Her unique blend of skills in strategy, project management and policy change positions her as a driving force behind health system transformation, aiming to create a healthier future for communities and regions.
Simone is a critical member of the team that developed, designed and then implemented the largest voluntary hospital merger in Canada at Trillium Health Partners (THP) — a world leading, full system of care in Mississauga and West Toronto, serving over 1.7 million patients annually. She has progressed through several critical leadership roles including THP’s first director of strategy and project management, then associate VP of people, strategy and volunteers. Currently, Simone is VP at the Institute for Better Health (IBH), a national leader in health services research and supporting creation of THP Solutions which will drive innovation and create new revenue streams for THP to drive sustainability in health care, and lead THP as an Edge partner within the $30M Federal innovation network CAN Health Network. In her role at the IBH, she has been instrumental in bridging research and innovation ambitions with sound business strategies from HR to finance and project management to build success. This culminated last year with THP’s recognition for the first time as one of Canada’s Top 40 Research hospitals.
In 2022, Simone was honored as one of Canada's 100 Most Powerful Women by The Women's Executive Network. She also serves as a board member at Sheridan College, in the role of vice-chair since 2023.
Simone holds a Bachelor of Science & Business from the University of Waterloo's co-op program and an MBA from The Schulich School of Business at York University.
Michael Houston (BSc ’87, PhD ’93)
Distinguished Alumni Award
From an early age, Mike enjoyed strong ties to the University of Waterloo. As the son of long-time Kinesiology professor, Michael Sr., he and his family lived on campus for a number of years during his youth. He regularly attended Warrior hockey and basketball games, so it was no surprise that he chose to attend the University Waterloo as a student. After receiving his bachelor and doctorate degrees in chemistry, Mike pursued careers that fed his fascination with biotechnology.
Mike initially focused on peptide and proteins, but in the early 2000s became hooked on new therapeutic modalities based on nucleic acids. During this time, he was involved in developing delivery systems that were licensed to multiple companies. He pursued an interest in mRNA, leading R&D departments to develop drugs for orphan liver diseases. When COVID-19 arrived, global interest in the use of mRNA exploded, which resulted in the need for companies to make mRNA as well as the novel reagents and raw materials required for these new mRNA vaccines. While working as the chief scientific officer for TriLink Biotechnologies in San Diego, one of TriLink’s cap analogs was selected for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. It required a complete overhaul of the manufacturing of this compound, as well as the need to scale up production by 100-fold- ensuring his company could supply this reagent so Pfizer could start production of the vaccine.
Now semi-retired, Mike turns to a variety of hobbies to keep him busy. An avid mountain biker, Mike recently completed a 100-mile race. He also enjoys running, hiking, photography and cheering on his favourite NHL team – Go Leafs!
Dr. Laurie Wideman (BSc ’90)
Contributions to Science
Dr. Laurie Wideman is the Safrit-Ennis distinguished professor in the Department of Kinesiology at UNC Greensboro. She is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and was inducted as a fellow into the prestigious National Academy of Kinesiology in 2023 (Fellow #642). Dr. Wideman is heavily involved in interdisciplinary research focused on cardiometabolic risk development across the lifespan, with particular focus on longitudinal cohort studies investigating individual and familial factors influencing weight gain and obesity from childhood into early adulthood. She also studies exercise-induced changes in hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis as indicators of health and wellness. Her collaborative work in these areas has produced more than 120 published manuscripts and has been consistently funded by multiple divisions of the National Institute of Health (NIH) for almost 20 years.
Dr. Wideman is passionate about mentoring the next generation of scientists. Being a first-generation college student herself, she is especially enthusiastic about providing students the chance to engage in research, with the hope of sparking a passion for science. She has provided research-related mentoring to undergraduate and graduate students, acting as the primary mentor to more than 45 students and contributing guidance to another 55 students. She has also mentored numerous post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty, many of whom are women or minorities in science.
Dr. Wideman has over a decade of experience in research compliance, including 10 years as the chair of the Institutional Review Board for the protection of human subjects in research. She regularly teaches topics related to the NIH responsible conduct of research curriculum and helped design and initiate these lectures at UNC Greensboro. She is currently co-director of the Office of Research Integrity, where she helps oversee compliance in human, animal and cell-based research.
Dr. Corey Stephenson (BSc ’98)
Contributions to Science
Corey, originally from Collingwood, ON, earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo in 1998. Upon graduation, he pursued graduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh under Professor Peter Wipf. Later, he joined the lab of Professor Erick M. Carreira at ETH Zürich.
In 2007, Corey became an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at Boston University, marking the beginning of his impactful academic career. He later made significant contributions at the University of Michigan, where he advanced from associate professor to full professor by September 2015. Corey is set to take on a prestigious role as a Canada Excellence Research Chair at the University of British Columbia in the summer of 2024.
His research group specializes in pioneering methodologies for complex molecule synthesis, focusing on single-electron transfer reactions through photochemical (photoredox catalysis) or electrochemical activation. Corey is widely recognized as a pioneer in photoredox catalysis, alongside other distinguished researchers. His work, rooted in understanding fundamental aspects like photophysics and catalyst selection, has revolutionized organic reactions. Notably, the group’s advancements in catalytic intra- and inter-molecular free radical chemistry, C-H bond functionalization, and natural product total synthesis have become vital tools for medicinal chemists. He has been recognized with several awards throughout his career including the ACS Cope Scholar Award, Sloan Fellowship, Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar award and several sponsored by industry (Eli Lilly Novartis, Pfizer, Boehringer-Ingelheim).
Father James Donohue (BA ’78)
Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
In recognition of his extraordinary accomplishment in professional and community life in alignment with the mission, vision and values of St. Jerome’s University.
Fr. Jim Donohue graduated from St. Jerome’s University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in Philosophy. He completed his Master of Divinity degree at St. Peter’s Seminary at the University of Western Ontario, and his Master of Theology at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois. In 2000, he received his doctorate in Systemic Theology at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He taught Theology at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland for 26 years. He was Mount St. Mary’s head hockey coach for 24 years – after nurturing a love for the sport as a player on the St. Jerome’s varsity team. Fr. Jim has co-authored a book and written innumerable articles, chapters and reviews throughout his career. He is presently serving as Rector of the Congregation of the Resurrection (C.R.) Seminary, Tanzanian Formation House, in Morogoro, Tanzania, and is the current Superior of the C.R. Tanzanian Mission in East Africa where he supports a growing and thriving mission with 20 Resurrectionist seminarians.
Angie Koch (BA ’99)
Distinguished Alumni Service Award
Angie Koch began her career based on a degree in Social Development Studies from the University of Waterloo. After several years working in the field of community development, Koch took a leap into a different field and became an organic farmer in 2007. She founded Fertile Ground Farm to grow fresh, high-quality produce to distribute through local food systems. Using a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) model, Koch and Fertile Ground provide food to more than 300 Waterloo Region households 19 weeks of the year.
Angie’s contributions to her community and to climate justice represent the ideals of Conrad Grebel University College. Therefore, Grebel named her as the recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Service Award. Angie believes that it is important to “draw people into their food story,” so connecting farmers with “eaters” is part of her purpose, while also working to reduce food insecurity. Demonstrating care for the environment, Angie uses ecological farming methods to balance goals of ecological stewardship, community engagement, food accessibility and financial viability. At Fertile Ground, she pays her employees a living wage, participates in farmer-led research and gives people in Waterloo Region a local and sustainable food option.
Jonathan Pinto (MAES ’16)
Young Alumni Award
Jonathan Pinto is the host of Up North, CBC Radio One’s regional afternoon show for Northern Ontario and is currently based in Sudbury. Jonathan began his broadcasting career at the CBC in 2010 as a Gzowski intern, advancing quickly to become a reporter/editor and an associate producer and studio technician for CBC’s Windsor Morning, before taking on his current role as host of Up North. After producing a food column for CBC Windsor between 2013-2016, Jonathan wrote a cookbook, The Best of Windsor Cookbook, which features over 90 recipes from the top chefs and farmers in the Windsor region. While pursuing a Master of Applied Environmental Studies, Jonathan lived in the graduate building at United College and served as the graduate representative on the Board of Governors.
Ka-Ping Yee (BASc ’98)
Distinguished Alumni Award
Ka-ping Yee is a recipient of the Governor General’s Silver Medal as the top graduating student from the University of Waterloo and of the Gold Medal from the Ontario Association of Professional Engineers. He went on to complete a doctorate at Berkeley and author approximately 20 academic publications. Ka-ping’s extraordinary talent has brought him great professional success in the IT sector with a variety of companies. This success has allowed him to dedicate his time to activist work and utilize his specialized technical skills to make contributions in several unique areas, such as developing a national survivor registry for victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and a Google crisis map platform for building and publishing maps to help people during natural disasters. A combination of excellence in his chosen field and excellence in activism, combined with a high-level application of technical expertise to important social problems makes Ka-ping an extraordinary role model.