Award Recipients: 2023
Every year, Algonquin College celebrates the incredible achievements of its alumni through the Alumni of Distinction Awards. These awards honour the extraordinary contributions our graduates make to the community while achieving career success.
Here are the 2023 recipients:
Alumna of the Year: Michèle Boudria
President and CEO, McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada
Journalisme – Ecrit, 1988
Michèle Boudria was destined for leadership.
More than 30 years after graduating from Algonquin College’s Journalism Program, this year’s recipient of the Alumni of Distinction Award as Alumna of the Year, and Premier’s Award nominee in the business category, can add President and CEO of McDonald’s Canada to her long list of accomplishments.
The head of the journalism program at the time, Hubert Potvin, helped Boudria see a different path for her career. It was him who took her aside and told her she wouldn’t be a journalist, predicting a different path for her.
“He said, ‘no Michèle, you are too natural at leading people’,” Boudria remembers. At the time she worked as a shift manager at a McDonald’s in Aylmer, Que, where she lived. At 16, she had already advanced from the drive-thru to leading people at the restaurant as a team leader and crew trainer. “It really stuck with me,” she said of those perceptive words of her journalism professor. “I often think back on those days as he was so insightful. It felt like permission to do something other than journalism and really pursue a career in management.
Apprenticeship: Imrun Texeira
Founder, Wanderlust
Cook Apprentice, 2014
With already more than 15 years under his belt in restaurants that circle the globe, Chef Imrun Texeira has made a name for himself in the culinary world.
His culinary stops include Noma in Copenhagen that many in the industry consider one of the top restaurants on the planet.
His list of recognitions includes the 2023 Leader Award of Excellence from Restaurants Canada. This award recognizes that in the development and progression of his career, he has set a new standard of excellence for his leadership, creativity, and ambition.
He has also been named as a recipient of the Top 30-Under-30 Award for hospitality leaders in Canada and as a rising talent in North America by The Art of Plating.
Business: James Hallett
Former Executive Chairman & Chairman of the Board for KAR Global (Retired)
Recreation Management, 1975
Jim Hallett’s life has turned out far beyond what he could have ever imagined.
His journey started in the tiny town of Lyn outside of Brockville in eastern Ontario where he and his two siblings were raised by a single mother in a home without running water and a furnace.
Today, as he enters the twilight of his career, he owns the Indy Fuel, a professional hockey team that began play in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) in the 2014-15 season. He is presiding over the building of a new $175 million event centre the Fuel will call home in his adopted home of Indianapolis.
He spent nearly three decades at the helm of the Fortune 500 company, KAR Auction Services, a leading wholesaler of used vehicles. Hallett retains his seat on the board of directors.
Changing Lives: Adam Joiner
CEO, BGC Ottawa (formerly the Boys and Girls Club Ottawa)
Social Service Worker, 2003
Opportunity changes everything.
It is the motto BGC Ottawa (formerly the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa) operates under and its chief executive officer, Adam Joiner, lives by.
“Every child will face challenges and adversities in their life,” said the graduate of Algonquin College’s Social Service Worker program. “We should strive to understand their lived experience while focusing on how you can bridge that and provide opportunities.”
After multiple leadership roles at the Club, Joiner became the CEO in May 2020. Managing a large, complex service organization and navigating positive change in a pandemic, has been a vital part of Joiner’s mandate as CEO. As a respected leader, he is known as a connector with a deep background in government relations and working collaboratively with multiple local partner agencies and stakeholders.
Community Services: Rachael Wilson
CEO, Ottawa Food Bank
Small Business Management, 2000
As a youth looking to make a difference in her hometown, Rachael Wilson volunteered at the Ottawa Food Bank.
Three decades removed from that first visit, she is captaining the charitable organization through some choppy waters as CEO, the first woman to ever hold that position.
Last year, one in seven households in Ottawa reported experiencing food insecurity, a significant increase from one in 15 just five years ago.
This year, demand at what is the country’s fifth largest food bank increased by 86 percent compared to March 2019.
“These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet; they are families, individuals, seniors, and children,” Wilson recently told parliamentarians at a finance standing committee debating the new grocery rebate program.
From a young age, Wilson, now a mother of two, says she knew community service would be her calling.
Leaning toward the non-profit sector as her vocation, she followed that path in her post-secondary education graduating from the small business management program at Algonquin College before embarking on a career in fundraising that brought her to the Ottawa Food Bank seven years ago.
For Wilson, giving back to the community aligns with her values.
Creative Arts & Design: eepmon
Founder and Digital Artist, EEPMON Inc.
Computer Engineering Technology – Computing Science, 2003 and
Bachelors of Information Technology – Interactive Multimedia and Design, 2008
Eric Sze-Lang Chan, widely known professionally as eepmon, is a highly talented digital and NFT artist who has garnered significant acclaim for his innovative and captivating creations.
His works have been seen in fashion, comics and museums, and exhibited worldwide.
For the uninitiated, NFT (Non-Fungible Token) art is essentially a type of digital art format. It leverages next generation Web3 / Blockchain technology that authenticates digital artworks as one of a kind.
This is new and leading-edge technology.
In 2021, Chan launched his CityLights series in Times Square as NFTs and sold out in less than two hours.
Health Sciences: Suzanne Madore
Executive Vice President, Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer – The Ottawa Hospital
Nursing, 1990
The opportunities that nursing afforded Suzanne Madore were boundless, she remembers when she set out on her career. When she was doing her clinical placements at what would become the Pembroke Regional Hospital, Madore had her sights set on being a bedside nurse. She never really once thought back then about a leadership position or thought about people who were in leadership positions.
More than 30 years ago when she graduated at the top of her class, Madore says, nursing meant caring for patients, putting patients first.
It was as simple as giving a back rub, tucking the sheets in, or simply sitting at the bedside and just listening.
Unfortunately, she muses, today’s nurses don’t have the time.
“Even if they had the time, I’m not so sure that the importance of those little things is recognized today,” said Madore, pointing out now the profession is much more fast paced, pushed by technological advances.
“We can’t lose sight of the importance of conversation. The listening. The communication. You know, the touching somebody’s hand, giving a backrub, this type of thing.”
While Madore says some of those basics have been lost, nurses today have to be much more skilled to keep pace with ever changing technological advances.
She stresses not all change is bad, noting the healthcare world has changed a lot for the good as well.
Brian Fraser Recent Graduate: Alycia Lameboy-Dixon
Justice Projects Officer, Department of Justice and Correctional Services at the Cree Nation Government
Law Clerk, 2019
General Arts and Sciences: Justice Studies, 2018
General Arts and Sciences: English for Academic Purposes, 2016
Alycia Lameboy-Dixon is a Cree woman from Chisasibi in the Eeyou Istchee territory, a remote community of more than 5,000 people. A personal responsibility to give back to her community was instilled in Lameboy-Dixon early on, as culture and family played a significant role in her upbringing. Upon completing her Law Clerk Ontario College Diploma, Lameboy-Dixon began a prestigious role at Gowling WLG law firm in their advisory department, supporting and advising on Indigenous case files.
Lameboy-Dixon’s personal experience, combined with her skillset, made her an invaluable asset to her team. Fluent in Cree as a mother tongue, Lameboy-Dixon communicated and understood clients’ needs in a way that others on her team could not. During her time at Gowling WLG, she had a hand in roughly 500 case files.
Read Alycia Lameboy-Dixon’s story
Technology: Niel Harper
Chief Information Security Officer
Business Information Systems, 1995
The child of a career public servant and diplomat, Niel Harper spent much of his life moving from place to place. Originally from Barbados, he came to Ottawa in 1992 and enrolled in the College’s Business Information Systems program. Following graduation, Harper returned to Barbados where he was part of a team at the forefront of introducing the Internet to the country. After a few years of working in information systems across several industries, Harper took on a new role at AT&T Wireless as Technical Operations Manager, leading the team that deployed the first 2nd generation cellular network in Barbados.
Rena Bowen Volunteer of the Year: Nathalie Maione
Directrice Générale, Action Logement and President/Co-Founder, Helping with Furniture
Early Childhood Education, 1983
Nathalie Maione is a mother of six children, grandma to three more, works full-time and over the past 15 years has provided new beginnings to thousands of families across Ottawa through her volunteer organization Helping with Furniture.
The charity provides furniture and household goods to refugees, recent immigrants and people relocating from shelters, leaving abusive situations, struggling with mental illness or at risk of homelessness.
A graduate of Algonquin College’s Early Childhood Education program in 1983, Maione’s dedication and enthusiasm over close to four decades has made a huge impact on people in the Ottawa area.
Her tireless efforts have led to her receiving the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal and the United Way of Eastern Ontario’s Community Builder Award.
Employer of the Year: Nokia
Algonquin College is among the top three post-secondary institutions across Canada that telecommunications tech giant Nokia draws its young talent from.
The mutually beneficial relationship is ‘extremely important’ to Nokia, assures Campus Relations and Program Manager, Linda Krebs. She is responsible for all aspects of early talent attraction, branding and retention for the Kanata high-tech anchor.
And it is that connection that led to the College naming Nokia as this year’s recipient of the Employer of the Year honour as part of its Alumni of Distinction Awards program.
“Time after time, Algonquin College turns out well-rounded students with needed hands-on practical experience,” Krebs said.
It is a win-win for the two institutions as many of Nokia’s employees are also professors at the college.