r. Monique Frize of Osgoode, pioneering educator, researcher and feminist and the first woman engineer to graduate from the University of Ottawa, was honored May 30 at the 7th YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction Awards, earning the Trimark Lifetime Achievement Award. She helped shape the field of clinical engineering within biomedical engineering and is the first female chairholder of the Nortel/National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Established in 1974 by the Winnipeg Y, The Women of Distinction Awards, now celebrated in 17 Canadian communities, recognizes women considered role models, who have contributed to advancement of women and demonstrated initiative and a pioneering spirit. Other recipients included:
Rogers Television Award for the Arts - well-respected Gloucester photographer Michelle Valberg,
Business - Elizabeth Millar driving force behind the campaign to reduce wage discrimination in the Federal Public Service and other jurisdictions,
Voluntary Sector - Barbara MacKinnon has provided exceptional leadership to Causeway, the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Pinecrest Queensway Health and Community Resources Centre,
Education - Barb McNally, teacher, chair of school committees, university lecturer, Education Interaction Director at Nortel, Director of PARTNERS (Programs and Resources to Nurture Engineering Research and Science), President of the Ottawa-Carleton Learning Foundation and Vice-President of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation,
Community Volunteer - Nazira Tareen, leader in the Ottawa Muslim Women's Auxiliary, teacher of Islam and worker with new immigrant families,
Health - Louise Morrin, senior physiotherapist at the Ottawa Heart Institute, current editor of the Canadian Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation Newsletter and involved two ongoing studies in cardiac rehabilitation,
IT & Science - for accomplishments in research and teaching in chemistry, Dr. Susannah Scott was named Cottrell Scholar of Research Corporation (USA) in 1997, received the Ontario Premier's Research Excellence Award in 1999 and the University of Ottawa's Young Researcher of the Year award.
Young Women's Leadership - Jeannette Doe, 22-year-old Manotick entrepreneur, strongly advocates mentoring and co-op programs and has had co-op students working in all her three businesses.