2011 WINNERS

 

Business
Geoffrey Stephens
Georgian College


Program of Study: Business Administration
Graduating Year: 1984
Job Title: President
Place of Employment: Capital Paving Inc.


Geoffrey Stephens became president and controlling owner of Capital Paving Inc. at age 35 and has grown its revenue from $18 million to $80 million in just over 10 years. He and his partners recently made a major ownership investment in Fowler Construction. In 2010, Capital was named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies and is an unprecedented three-time winner of the Ministry of Transportation’s Paver of the Year Award. Stephens was one of 40 Canadian entrepreneurs chosen for the 2010 Quantum Shift at Richard Ivey School of Business. He is active in the community, serving on numerous industry association boards.

 

Community Services
Brenda Combs
Sault College


Program of Study: Developmental Service Worker
Graduating Year: 1982
Job Title: Executive Director
Place of Employment: Nimkii-Naabkawagan Family Crisis Shelter


Brenda Combs, granddaughter of residential school survivor Fanny Nolan, has been referred to as one of “Canada’s thought-leaders” for her impactful work as a change agent in justice issues related to aboriginal women. Immediate past chair of the National Aboriginal Circle Against Family Violence, the largest organization in Canada aimed at the safety and well-being of native children and families, and executive director of Nimkii-Naabkawagan, Combs works tirelessly towards a violence-free society as well as contributing countless volunteer hours giving voice to the hundreds of murdered and missing aboriginal women in Canada who can no longer speak for themselves.

 

Creative Arts & Design
Jon Cassar
Algonquin College


Program of Study: Radio and Television Broadcasting
Graduating Year: 1983
Job Title: Director and Film Producer
Place of Employment: Cassar Filmworks


Jon Cassar is an internationally acclaimed film director and producer. For seven years, he served as director, producer and executive producer of the well-known television series 24. During his tenure, the series won multiple Emmys and a Golden Globe Award, while Cassar himself was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Direction in a Drama Series in 2006. Cassar is now working in the feature film industry. His mini-series, The Kennedys, premiered this past April and he is presently working with Steven Spielberg as executive producer and regular series director on the set of Terra Nova in Australia.

 

Health Sciences
Rahul Singh
Humber College


Program of Study: Paramedic
Graduating Year: 1993
Job Title: Founder and Director, Emergency Programs
Place of Employment: GlobalMedic


In 1999, paramedic Rahul Singh founded GlobalMedic, an organization providing efficient and cost effective disaster relief. He has led more than 50 missions in more than 30 countries. In 2003, the organization secured $850,000 worth of aid. By 2009, the organization had donated more than $10 million worth of relief items around the world. GlobalMedic’s methods have been adopted by some of the largest international relief organizations. In 2009, Singh was named one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, and in 2010 he was included on Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people in the world.

 

Recent Graduates
Teenaz Javat
Sheridan College


Program of Study: Canadian Journalism for Internationally Trained Writers
Graduating Year: 2008
Job Title: Senior Writer
Place of Employment: Canadian Broadcast Corporation


Teenaz Javat is an award-winning journalist whose work with the CBC’s Metro Morning has shone a light on the pressing issues facing the diverse communities in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Her research and leadership has garnered recognition from news organizations and community groups, including the Radio Television News Directors Association of Canada and the GTA police forces. In 2008, she was featured in an exhibit celebrating Toronto’s 1,000 creative women at the Luminato Festival. Her stories have appeared in many print and online publications in Canada, India and Pakistan.

 

Technology
Jerry Howell
Niagara College


Program of Study: Computer Engineering Technology
Graduating Year: 1988
Job Title: Owner/Operator
Place of Employment: Howell Family Pumpkin Farm, Chick-n-Mation


Jerry Howell’s entrepreneurial spirit began at the age of nine, selling pumpkins out of a wheelbarrow from the family farm. After graduation, he pioneered Howell’s Family Pumpkin Farm into an agri-tourism business from the ground up, promoting it as a Halloween destination for pumpkins and animatronic shows that draws thousands of locals and tourists. Combining farming with tourism and entertainment, Howell’s company, Chick-n-mation, uses state-of-theart electronics and software to create and sell singing, talking and moving animatronics shows to farms worldwide. He has received the International Amusement Parks Association Trade Show Award, and the Premier’s Award for Agrifood Innovation Excellence.