Seven Conestoga graduates have been nominated for a 2024 Premier’s Award.
Seven Conestoga graduates have been nominated for a 2024 Premier’s Award.
Hosted annually by Colleges Ontario, the Premier’s Awards celebrate Ontario college graduates’ many successes in this province and throughout the world. Now in its 31st year, the awards recognize achievements in seven categories: business, community services, creative arts and design, health sciences, recent graduate, skilled trades, and science, technology and engineering.
“Congratulations to our nominees. Conestoga alumni continue to contribute tremendously to their communities and we are proud their work has been recognized,” said Conestoga President John Tibbits. “These nominations celebrate the far-reaching contributions Conestoga graduates make when they put their skills to practice as part of the global workforce.”
Premier’s Award winners will be announced at a ceremony on November 25 in Toronto.
Conestoga nominees:
Troy Miller - Business Administration - Marketing, 1993
Miller credits his college education for every stage of his career success, from manufacturing sales to co-owner and chief operating officer to board chair of a small-town materials data management company that he built into a global enterprise, tripling annual revenue in the last decade. Miller now applies his entrepreneurial mindset as co-founder of ASAP Data Solutions Ltd. and also volunteering as Marketing Program advisory committee chair, a role he’s held for nearly 20 years.
Category: Business
Fiona Coughlin - Business Administration - Management Studies, 2000
A passionate advocate of affordable housing and food security, Coughlin is leveraging her college education to revitalize her community. As the chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity Windsor-Essex, she’s led the construction of 52 affordable houses, including the first ever 3D-printed home in Canada; launched one of the most successful ReStores in Canada; and reimagined the Windsor Furniture Bank to help more than 650 people a year remain housed. Coughlin is also offering 220 youth a year skilled training opportunities and championing the renewal of Windsor’s marginalized communities.
Category: Community Services
Jolene MacDonald - Graphic Design, 1999
MacDonald believes that having a disability is a superpower. MacDonald launched Canada’s first design-focused marketing and communications agency in 2017. Through Accessibrand, she embedded accessibility into the operations of more than 165 Canadian and international organizations; inspired and taught her graphic design competitors to prioritize accessibility; and provided meaningful work opportunities and mentorship to more than 50 professionals with disabilities.
Category: Creative Arts and Design
Daniel Chen - Respiratory Therapy, 2019
Chen saves lives every day. A respiratory therapist at Toronto’s SickKids Hospital, he is also an educator, clinical researcher and volunteer mentor. His innovative approaches help streamline respiratory care in the emergency department and ensure families receive compassionate, child-centred care. Chen trains parents to manage their child’s cardiac and respiratory emergencies at home and has educated about 400 parents and clinicians as an instructor with the SickKids Learning Institute. He is also a clinical researcher who is quantifying the life-saving impact of respiratory therapists in Ontario.
Category: Health Sciences
Dima Aldera - Graphic Design, 2022; General Arts and Science: English Language Studies, 2019
Fuelled by an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for graphic design and community service, Aldera transformed a college capstone project into the world’s first and only independent and secure digital platform dedicated to reuniting families torn apart by the Syrian conflict. The findsuri.org non-profit organization has grown from 30 missing persons in 2023 to 573 today. Leveraging her local and international partnerships, Aldera has helped 30 families find closure. She is also supporting the mental health of Syrian families in Ontario with art therapy workshops.
Category: Recent Graduate
Alison Carden - Software Engineering Technician, 2006
Carden’s digital-first mindset and passion for innovation were seeded at Conestoga. Now the Global Practice Director of Products and Platforms at GHD Digital, Carden developed Canada’s first e-procurement tool and supplier performance-tracking technology, and a digital platform that allows residents to access municipal services online. Her innovations empower 623 municipalities - 450 in Ontario - to improve accessibility and efficiency for 11 million Canadians through technology, while saving 116,000 trees and a million hours of staff time.
Category: Science, Technology & Engineering
Brandi Ferenc - Women in Skilled Trades (WIST), 2005
As one of just 50 Ontario women in the refrigeration/gas fitter trade, Ferenc is committed to changing culture and attitudes as the founder and chief executive officer of Fair-Trades Toolbox. She has educated 100 employers on how to integrate women into their workforce; reached more than 25,000 youth with her message of equity and inclusion; and advocated for hundreds of women by giving them a platform to share their lived experiences. Brandi is also a Support Ontario Youth mentor and a college HVAC instructor who credits Conestoga’s Women in Skilled Trades program with opening a door when no one else would.
Category: Skilled Trades
Conestoga’s more than 200,000 alumni are making many contributions to the local community and around the world. More than 5,200 graduates are local entrepreneurs and alumni contribute over $6.2 billion to the provincial economy annually, according to the 2023 Conestoga: Adapting for Prosperity report by economist Larry Smith.
Visit the Alumni website for more information about Conestoga’s past Premier’s Award winners and full profiles of the 2024 nominees.