Class notes

1967

• Anne Dagg (PhD ’67, DSc ’19) was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women.

1976

• Mike DeVillaer (BA ’76, MASc ’78) has written a book Buzz Kill: The Corporatization of Cannabis, published by Black Rose Books, Montreal.

1978

• John Lounds (BES ’78) was appointed as a Member to the Order of Canada.

• Cindy Matthews (BA ’78) released her debut literary short story collection, Took You So Long.

1981

• Peter Taylor (MA ’81) published his latest poetry chapbook Hell-Box with Frog Hollow Press, and his next full-length collection, Cities Within Us, will be published with Guernica Editions.

1982

• Judi Hess (BMath ’82) transitioned to new positions with Copperleaf: vice-chair of the board and chief strategist. Copper Leaf was named one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

• Dr. Tom Morell (BSc ’82) is the new chief of staff at Perth & Smith Falls District Hospital.

1983

• Auvik Networks, co-founded by Marc Morin (BASc ’87), Alex Hoff (BMath ’04) and David Yach (BMath ’83), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

• Kaush Rakhit (BSc ’83) was appointed executive chairman of Canadian Discovery Ltd.

1984

• Charmaine Dean (MMath ’84, PhD ’88) was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women.

1985

• Clear Blue Technologies, co-founded by CEO Miriam Tuerk (BASc ’85), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022. The company was recognized on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500.

1988

• IDENTOS Inc., co-founded by Hamid Arabzadeh (BASc ’88), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.
• Frank Yam (BMath ’88) is the first recipient of the prestigious 2022 ISACA Eugene Frank Founders Award, the highest recognition bestowed upon a dedicated ISACA member.

1989

• Jean Andrey (PhD ’89) received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Clean50.

1990

• FYidoctors, founded by Alan Ulsifer (OD ’90), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

1991

• Grindr appointed Vanna Krantz (BMath ’91) as chief financial officer.

• Andrew McDonald (BASc ’91) was appointed chief product and technology officer at AlayaCare.

• Host Papa Inc., founded and led by CEO Jamie Opalchuk (BSc ’91), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

1992

• Antonia Cetin (BA ’92) received the McGillivray Award from Canadian Parents for French Ontario, in recognition of her initiative, leadership and commitment to promoting the development of FSL learning in Ontario.

• Diane Freeman (BASc ’92) was re-elected Waterloo Ward 4 councillor.

• Mary Roe (BES ’92) was elected Waterloo Ward 6 councillor.

1993

• Gordon Bowman (BSc ’93) released the first book in his new series, Telepath: Fractured.

1994

• Crypto4A, co-founded by Jim Goodman (BASc ’94), was named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500.

• Kate Schooley (BA ’94) and her husband David are the new owners of the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans basketball team.

• Herb To (BA ’94) is the new CFO for Attura.

1995

• Skyline Group of Companies, co-founded by Roy Ashdown (BA ’95), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

• In October 2022, Todd J Pokrywa (BES ’95) captained Team Viera in the world's largest street hockey tournament, the Princess Margaret Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer tournament.

• Report on Business Magazine named Barbara Zvan (MMath ’95) Corporate Citizen of the Year.

1996

• Soma Gold Corp announced Chris Buchanan (BSc ’96) as the company's vice-president, exploration.

1997

• Brad Miller (BSc ’97) joined Moderna as its chief information officer.

1998

• Kathy Hay (BA ’98) was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women.

• Corey Kimpson (BA ’98) was elected Cambridge Ward 3 councillor.

• Adam Scott (BA ’98) was appointed vice-chairperson at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

1999

• Jennifer Clipsham (BES ’99) was recognized with a Clean50 award, in the Consultants and Enablers category.
• David Eby (BA ’99) is British Columbia's 37th premier.
• Intelliware appointed Chris Ford (BASc ’99) as its president.

2000

• PharmAchieve, co-founded by CEO Hooman Katirai (BASc ’00), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

• Lim Geomatics Inc., led by Kevin Lim (MES ’00), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

• Robert Pockar (MSc ’00) was appointed CEO of Canadian Discovery Ltd.

2001

• Xiaowu (Shirley) Tang (BASc ’01) was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women.

• Stephanie Thompson (BASc ’01) was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women.

2002

• Malgosia Green (BASc ’02) was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women.

• Karen Luk (BSc ’02) joined Vivante Health as senior VP of product.

• Ron Saporta (BASc ’02, MEng ’05) was recognized with a Clean50 award, in the Buildings category.

• Phillip Zoldak (BASc ’02) recently completed a PhD in mechanical engineering at Michigan Technology University and is currently the vice-president, engineering at Enginuity Power Systems.

2003

• Rewind, co-founded by CTO James Ciesielski (BMath ’03), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

• Brian Roth (BASc ’03) is the new CEO and director of Three Sixty Solar.

2004

• Natalie Gordon (BMath ’04), Founder and CEO of Babylist, was named one of the Most Influential Women in the Bay Area.

• Manifest Climate, co-founded and led by Laura Zizzo (BES ’04), is one of the 2022 LinkedIn Top Startups Canada.

2005

• Super (previously known as Snapcommerce), co-founded by Hussein Fazal (BMath ’05) and Henry Shi (BCS ’14), is one of the 2022 LinkedIn Top Startups Canada. The company was also named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500.

• Postmedia Network Canada Corp appointed Mary Anne Lavallee (BA ’05) as executive vice-president, chief financial officer and chief transformation officer.

• Archon Systems, co-founded by Louise Leung (BMath ’05) and Stephen Fung (BMath ’05), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

2006

• Simone Harrington (BSc ’06) was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women.

• James Johnson (BASc ’06) was named a shareholder at WalterFedy Kitchener. He joins a group of architecture, engineering and construction management professionals in guiding the direction of the firm.

• Later, founded by CTO Ian MacKinnon (BMath ’06, MMath ’08), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022. The company was also named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500.

• Jennifer Vasic (BA ’06) was re-elected Waterloo Ward 5 councillor.

• Ryan Watkins (BA ’06), a partner at Whitten and Lublin LLP, is a 2022 Lexpert Rising Stars winner. The award recognizes him as one of Canada's leading lawyers under 40.

• Samantha Zimmerman (BES ’06) is the new executive director of the Guelph Youth Music Centre.

2007

• Ammar Atlaf (MASc ’07) joined SPARK Utilities Company as CEO.

• Mark Crowell (MA ’07, PhD ’17) is the new chief of Waterloo Regional Police.

• Ibraheem Khan (MASc ’07, PhD ’11) was recognized with a Clean50 award, in the Research and Development category.

• Top Hat, co-founded by Mohsen Shahini (PhD ’11) and Mike Silagadze (BASc ’07), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

2008

• Clearco, co-founded by Andrew D'Souza (BASc ’08), was named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500.
• Jane Hung (BMath ’08, MAcc ’08) was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women.
• Bonfire Interactive, co-founded by Alex Millar (BCS ’11) and led by CEO Omar Salaymeh (BASc ’08), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

2009

• Jeff Robertson (BASc ’09) was recognized with a Clean50Emerging Leaders award.

2010

• Cinchy, co-founded by CTO Karanjot Jaswal (BASc ’10), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

• TextNow Inc., led by CEO Derek Ting (BASC ’10), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

2011

• Prodigy Education Inc., co-founded by Rohan Mahimker (BASc ’11) and Alex Peters (BASc ’11), is one of Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022.

• The Family Crow: A Murder Mystery, a puppet show by Adam Prolux (BA ’11), won best original script and patrons pick honours from Orlando Fringe and best new play at the London Fringe Festival.

• Shelly Rampersad (BSc ’11) was named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women.

2012

• Nicolas Ermeta (BES ’12) was re-elected Cambridge Ward 8 councillor.

• Kitchener's Westmount Golf and Country Club named Garret Rank (BA '12) an honourary member.

2013

• Applyboard, co-founded by Martin Basiri (MASc ’13), is one of the 2022 LinkedIn Top Startups Canada. The company was also named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500.

• Nighthawk Gold announced Salvatore Curcio (BAFM ’13, MAcc ’13) as chief financial officer.

2014

• Truzaar Dordi (BA ’14, MES ’16) was recognized with a Clean50 Emerging Leaders award.

• Drop, co-founded by CEO Darren Fung (BSE ’14), is one of the 2022 LinkedIn Top Startups Canada.

2015

• Noram Lithium Corp appointed Dr. Vahid Sohrabi (PhD ’15) to its advisory board.

• Dr. Joey Spohn (BSc ’15) opened his practice at the Community and Primary Health Care clinic in Gananoque, Ontario.

• Aurum Lake Mining Corporation appointed Weizhe Zhong (BSc ’15) as a new director of the company.

2016

• Keith Choy (BAFM ’16, MAcc ’16) and Jade Choy (BAFM ’17) were named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 North America, in the Enterprise Technology category.

2017

• Helen Huang (BSc ’17) and Sefunmi Osinaike (BASc ’17) were named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 North America, in the Education category.

• Ariola Papjani (BA ’17) released the e-book 85 Original and Life Quotes, a collection of quotes, the stories behind them and prompts for reflection.

2018

• Shu Jiang (PhD ’18) was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 North America, in the Healthcare category. 

• Eric Lam (BES ’18) was named to Corporate Knights' Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders.

2019

• Ripple Ventures promoted Dominic Lau (BAFM ’19) from principal to partner.

2020

• Jacqueline Hutchings (BASc ’20) and Kayle Dale (BASc ’20) were named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 North America, under the Social Impact category.

2021

• Mario Kangeswaren (MPH '21) is the new medical officer of health in Chatham-Kent, Ontario.

• Ayo Owodunni (MBET ’21) was elected Kitchener Ward 5 councillor.

• Matthew Rose (BASc ’21) and his sister Danielle were named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 North America, under the Science category.

2022

• In November 2022, Sabrina Boyer (BA ’22) performed the latest addition to their ongoing body of work. With Late Stage Cavalier No. 1, Sabrina gilded their first car with gold leaf.