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YWCA Lethbridge and District Announces 2011 Women of Distinction

trevor.kenney — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:07:28 +0000

The YWCA Women of Distinction Awards recognize outstanding women who live and work in Southern Alberta.

This year six women have been selected through a competitive process, and the honorees are chosen from a group of nominations.

Among the recipients this year are several with connections to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

The Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony showcases the talent and leadership of women in Southern Alberta. Women honoured have been trail blazers, entrepreneurs, innovators, social advocates, and volunteers.

The 2011 Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony will take place Friday, March 18 starting at 5 p.m. at the Lethbridge Lodge.

The guest speaker is Crystal Flaman, a social entrepreneur, multiple Ironman Triathlete competitor & 100km Ultra-Marathoner and Author.

Please call 403-329-0088 or stop by the YWCA for your tickets ($75 with a $50 tax receipt).

2011 YWCA WOMEN OF DISTINCTION AWARD RECIPIENTS

Dr. Olga Kovalchuk: Community Leader

Dr. Olga Kovalchuk, M.D./Ph.D. was born and raised in Ukraine. Living close to Chernobyl inspired her research into the effects of radiation on living organisms.

She is a medical doctor, cancer researcher and professor in Biological Sciences at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Her work is devoted to uncovering the molecular mechanisms of breast cancer development and using new approaches to cancer prevention, diagnostics and treatment.

Dr Kovalchuk has been invited to give lectures on her work in countries around the world and has received over $8,000,000 in funding from both Canada and the U.S. from granting agencies as diverse as Canadian Foundation of Innovation, Alberta Cancer Research Institute, U.S. Department of Energy Low Dose Radiation program, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Cheryl Dick: Community Commitment

Cheryl is the Chief Executive Officer for Economic Development Lethbridge and is highly respected for her strong and tireless commitment to providing exceptional leadership.

Her academic background, corporate experience and core values combine with her leadership in creating a vibrant organization that treats people equitably, achieves goals, celebrates success and serves society.

Cheryl completed her MBA in Executive Management from Royal Roads ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in 2003 and holds an "Accredited Public Relations" designation from the Canadian Public Relations Society.

Among other community service efforts, she has held volunteer leadership positions with the U of L Senate, Faculty of Management Advisory Committee, and Senate Honorary Degree Committee.

Bonny Greenshields: Social Advocate

Bonny is the owner and operator of Round Street Café, as well as, a wife, mother, grandmother and friend to many people and organizations in the Lethbridge community.

Bonny and her husband Malcolm moved to Lethbridge where she taught Special Education at Winston Churchill high school until 2004.

She found teaching extremely rewarding and values the connections she made during this teaching period. However, Bonny's dream was to own a three story building where she would have a coffee shop on the main floor, residences for international students on the second floor and live on the top floor.

When a property that fit her dream became available, she and Malcolm took a major risk, sold their home to buy the Wallace building on 5 Street South and in December of 2004 opened the doors of the Round Street Café.

Darcie James: YWCA Champion

Darcie was born in Medicine Hat, AB and relocated to Lethbridge with her family in 1969. She was honoured as Winston Churchill High School's top female athlete in 1976, earned her Diploma in Law Enforcement from Lethbridge Community College in 1979 and was one of the first two women constables hired by the Lethbridge City Police in 1980.

In 1996, she became the first woman in the agency to be promoted to Sergeant. In 2002, she completed her baccalaureate degree and in 2003, she earned the distinction of being the first woman in law enforcement in Lethbridge to achieve the rank of Staff Sergeant.

In addition to her career achievements, Darcie has left her mark on her community through volunteer service.

Arleen Albiez: Spirit of Women

Arleen was a Returning Officer for the City of Lethbridge (1950 – 1995), the first female Returning Officer (Lethbridge West) for the Province of Alberta (1972 – 1979) and the first female Federal Returning Officer (Lethbridge) in Canada (1979 – present). She is still the Federal Returning Officer for Lethbridge.

In her many years of being a Returning Officer, recruiting and hiring paid employees for elections, she has always ensured that women were given equal opportunities to work the elections, gain valuable experience, training and confidence. Many of these women have gone on to successful careers.

Arleen has also been a leader and volunteer extraordinaire in many other organizations in Lethbridge and District: The United Way (formerly Community Chest), Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Canadian Cancer Society, Head Start Program, Southland Credit Union, the Red Cross, the Order of Royal Purple of Canada, and the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization.

Kelsey Yule: Young Woman of Distinction 2011.

Kelsey is a young woman who has never let a challenge stop her. She grew up in a small agricultural based community, where independence and a 'hard work' ethic were instilled at a young age. Kelsey entered the beauty industry at age 18, and in two years owned and operated her own successful salon.

This business experience developed and sharpened her skills as a stylist and as a leader in the industry. She is the recipient of many awards and recognitions including: 2008 Alberta Salon/Stylist of the Year for Canada, 2008 Redken Cover Competition Alberta Finalist, 2007 Alberta/BC Salon Team finalist for Canada, Youth Initiative Award Winner and the L'Oreal Professional Runway Finalist.

By thinking outside the box, Kelsey offered cosmetology courses to high school students in remote rural areas of Southern Alberta via video conferencing. Her latest business venture is Purely Inspired Academy of Beauty, a high end school and salon in Lethbridge.

Additional information about the 2011 Women if distinction is available on their website:
http://www.ywcalethbridge.org/whats-new

Suriano looks to engage an online generation

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:36:02 +0000

Coming out of high school, Jason Suriano (BA '01) was focused on the fast track to a law degree. Now, 14 years later, he's navigating a museum gallery with a group of 10 year-old kids as they banter about video games – and he couldn't be happier.

Recently, Suriano launched Seek Your Own Proof, a new online game at Discoverykids.com. The game targets 6-12 year-olds and follows the story of three investigative siblings – Aidan, Milanie and Heiko Munro – who discover a secret underground agency known as the Central Institute for Exploration (CIE).

The teens are quickly drawn into a chase through time and history against enemy agents who are plotting to rewrite the past, change the present and alter the future. Online users can play the game in traditional form but also have the option of taking field missions to real museums and landmarks.

After debuting at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York, Suriano brought his game home to the Galt Museum.

"To start with, we're trying to make the history in your backyard the most relevant," says Suriano. "It's neat if kids get a little bit enlightened about their own surroundings. We're also trying to make it available in as many cities as possible, so that if I take my kids to Calgary or Edmonton on the weekend, a place like the Edmonton Art Gallery is a part of it."

Considering Suriano laughs about being one of the last of his generation to begin using a computer, there is no lack of irony in the fact he now designs computer games for a living.

"In Grade 12 I was still submitting hand-written essays," says Suriano, a Catholic Central High School graduate. "I always had a real interest in technology, it was always one of the things that I liked, I just didn't know how to get into it."

He began his post-secondary career at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta but decided to come home to the U of L after one year. It was in Lethbridge that he laid the foundation for his future.

"I'm a firm believer in the "things-happen for-a-reason" train of thought," he says of abandoning his legal aspirations.

Embracing the liberal arts philosophy at the U of L, Suriano discovered his passion. His humanities focus would then serve him well as he transitioned back to the U of A for a second degree, an MA in Humanities Computing with specialization in comparative literature.

"Before you work in the technology field, it's essential to have a grounding in the arts. Research and writing are keys, particularly with what I'm doing right now," he explains. "The work I do involves a lot of fact gathering, making sense of blocks of content from museums and distilling it all into worksheets and then online forms."

Once out of school, Suriano began working in the non-profit sector. With both a writing and technical background, he was hard to pigeon hole and found himself working for the Heritage Community Foundation as head of the Educational Learning Objects division.

After a stint where he did consulting work for his company, Hotrocket Studios, he and business partners Ken Bautista and Norman Mendoza struck off on their own and the seeds for Seek Your Own Proof were born. Their big break came when they secured Telefilm Canada and Canadian Film Centre (CFC) Telus Funding, one of only two projects in Canada. It allowed them to flush out the idea and enter it in the Kidscreen PitchIt! Competition in New York, where they won the top prize.

"That was the first sign that we were on to something pretty cool," says Suriano.
"The neat thing is that seed idea we came up with in 2005 is still novel now, there's really not a lot of this going on, especially within our demographic."

Galt Museum executive director Susan Burrows-Johnson says the game is a wonderful way to connect with today's generation of technologically savvy kids.

"Almost no one who works in museums plays games, and everybody under 18 does, so there's this huge generation gap that we've been worried about," she says. "It's not that history isn't interesting to them, because it is, it's the generation gap around the technology that we need to pay attention to. Kids use different tools in their learning process and that's the gap we're trying to bridge."

To come full circle and stimulate learning in his hometown is especially gratifying for Suriano, now a father of two.

"I approached the Galt a couple years ago when we were starting this portion of the project, and Susan was very open to it and supportive of the concept," says Suriano. "It's great we are now ready to bring it back here in this form."

GET THE FACTS

• Suriano now lives in Edmonton with his wife Jen and their children Ethan (4) and Malcolm (1).

• The debut field mission of the game involved facts around the King Tut exhibit at Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York. Officials estimate handing out more than 500 worksheets per week to visiting kids.

• Seek Your Own Proof is available for play or purchase at www.seekyourownproof.com

• CIE and Seek Your Own Proof have been recognized with several awards including: Grand Prize Winner at the TEC VenturePrize competition in Alberta; Best in Show at the Fusion Digital Media Venture Forum in Vancouver; PitchIt! Winner at KidScreen Summit in New York; and Most Promising Company at the Canadian New Media Awards

• Favourite U of L professors of Suriano's included Dr. Paul Viminitz and Dr. Goldie Morgentaler. "Paul's Problem of Evil course was very memorable," he says.

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YWCA Lethbridge and District Announces 2011 Women of Distinction

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