Fall 2022

Faculty of Health Alumni Awards celebrate 20 years

This year marks 20 years of recognizing and honouring alumni who influence the health and well-being of society through significant professional accomplishments, public service and support to the University of Waterloo.

The program began with the Alumni Achievement Award in 2002 and the Young Alumni Award was added in 2008. As we continue to engage alumni through different initiatives in the Faculty of Health, we saw an opportunity for a new award. We would like to announce our newest alumni award: the Alumni Volunteer Award, which recognizes alumni who have made significant contributions of their time to the Faculty of Health.

Alumni Achievement Award

RAYNALD HARVEY LEMELIN

R. Harvey Lemelin (PhD ’04, Recreation and Leisure Studies) has long subscribed to the belief that research and instruction should result in meaningful change in communities and society.

Lemelin is a professor in the school of outdoor recreation, parks and tourism at Lakehead University. He completed his PhD at Waterloo in 2004. Prior to that, he was at the University of Ottawa, where he received his bachelor and master’s degrees in sociology.

Besides an impressive array of prestigious grants, scholarly publications, invited presentations and awards, what distinguishes Lemelin is his ground-breaking and ongoing work with Indigenous peoples. At least 20 years before current efforts to recognise and adopt Indigenous teachings and scholarship, Lemelin forged authentic research collaborations and partnerships with Indigenous groups. For his doctoral research, for example, he worked with Indigenous groups in Churchill, Manitoba to examine the impact of the polar bear viewing industry there.

His focus is on the relationships between nature, society, health and well-being. He has made significant contributions to the understanding of Indigenous tourism and cultural livelihoods, climate change, historical site interpretation, parks and protected area management, human-wildlife interactions and rural and northern outdoor recreation and tourism.

One of his most innovative lines of inquiry is about the role of insects in leisure and tourism. His research on ‘dragon-hunting’ (the pursuit of dragonflies by enthusiasts) in Northern Ontario is an example.

Along with his numerous refereed papers, Lemelin is the author of several highly respected books on recreation and tourism. Lemelin was made Lakehead University Research Chair in Parks and Protected Areas in 2010 and he is a co-recipient of the Lakehead University’s Aboriginal Partnership Research Award.

In recognition of his extraordinary accomplishments as a scholar and innovative teacher, as well as his ongoing commitment to community service, R. Harvey Lemelin is the recipient of the 2022 Faculty of Health Alumni Achievement Award.

Young Alumni Award

NATASHA KNIER

Natasha Knier (BSc ’18, Health Studies) has shown extraordinary commitment to teaching others and making community contributions to health research and cancer awareness while pursuing a demanding PhD related to diagnostics and treatment of disease.

While at Waterloo in the Honours Health Studies (co-op) program, Natasha was a tutor, chair of the Applied Health Sciences Endowment Fund, media coordinator for orientation week, digital content manager for the TEDxUW Conference and a student ambassador.

Knier started a PhD at Western University in 2018 and dedicates her spare time to teaching and sharing her skills and knowledge while mentoring other students. In the community, she has also served as a social media coordinator for two different cancer outreach groups, the Cellular and Molecular Imaging Group at Robarts Research Insitute and various local conferences. She has worked with the Breast Cancer Society of Canada, leading fundraisers and writing digital content, as well as doing interviews and talks. Health research and cancer awareness are two areas she commits much of her time to.

Knier is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Doctoral Research Award. Her research has resulted in 37 conference presentations and seven published manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. She has also been involved in curriculum development and has taught as a teaching assistant and instructor.

In recognition of her accomplishments and aptitude for research, her enormous commitment to teaching and her involvement in the community, Natasha Knier is the recipient of the 2022 Faculty of Health Young Alumni Award.

Alumni Volunteer Award

MICHELLE MORRISSEY

Michelle Morrissey (BSc ’80, MSc ’83, Kinesiology) is the inaugural recipient of the Faculty of Health’s Alumni Volunteer Award. She is president of the G.O. Group, a consulting company she co-founded in 2013 following a distinguished career in the electrical utility industry.

Morrissey’s, gifts to the Faculty of Health have supported many projects, including scholarships, awards, equipment, expansion and more. Her most recent gift helped launch the Global Health Policy and Innovation (GHPI) research centre fund.

She has been a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council (DAC) since its inception in 2007. DAC members serve in an advisory capacity to the Dean of the Faculty of Health, promoting the Faculty’s interests to the general public, key external stakeholders, alumni and prospective donors. Members of the Council increase the Faculty’s impact on external audiences, promote strategic partnerships and enhance fundraising opportunities.

Before Morrissey was a founding member of DAC, she served as a member of the former Waterloo Advisory Council and was on the advisory committee for the Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD), which is housed in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences.

In recognition of her commitment to advancing the Faculty of Health through volunteer opportunities, Michelle Morrissey is the recipient of the 2022 Faculty of Health Alumni Volunteer Award.