During a ceremony at Rideau Hall, Ashleigh Quarrell (HBComm '09) received a Governor General's Caring Canadian Award in April 2013. Created in 1995, the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award recognizes living Canadians and permanent residents who have made a significant, sustained, unpaid contribution to their community, in Canada or abroad. 

Ashleigh started volunteering at a young age, serving as a counsellor and fundraiser for eight years at Camp Quality. The camp provides an outdoor wilderness experience for young cancer survivors, terminally ill children and their families. Long after the end of each season, Ms. Quarrel would continue to provide support and ongoing friendship to her campers. She also volunteers with the Special Olympics, and organizes fundraising events to benefit such organizations as Habitat for Humanity and the Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay.

Julie Pauletig (BEd'86) was elected the 70th president of the Ontario Teachers Federation (OTF) in August 2013.

Julie was a daily occasional teacher with the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board before becoming an elementary school teacher with the York Catholic District School Board in 1986. As a first year teacher, Julie took on the role of teacher advocate and became involved with the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) local level as a collective bargaining team member.

In her new role as OTF president, Julie explains, "Maintaining a strong fully funded pension plan for retirees and contributing plan members is OTF's main priority."

Tbaytel officially announced that Michael Coffey (HBComm'92) was the new CFO in January 2014. Coffey will be leading the company’s financial and accounting divisions, a responsibility previously held by Tbaytel president and CEO Dan Topatigh.

Mr. Coffey is a graduate of Lakehead University and holds an honours bachelor degree in commerce and a bachelor’s degree in administration – marketing. In 1996 he received his chartered accountant designation from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. He also remains a member in good standing of the Institute of Chartered Accounts of Ontario.

“Michael’s demonstrated ability to lead a number of companies through periods of organizational expansion and financial growth has already proven to be an asset in the initial weeks since he joined Tbaytel’s executive team,” says Topatigh. 

Former long-time Thunder Bay politician and Lakehead Alumna Lyn McLeod received a high honour at Queen's Park in January 2014.  

Ms. McLeod has an MA in Psychology from Lakehead University.  She has devoted her career to public service:  former leader of the Ontario Liberal Party and the first woman to lead a major political party in Ontario. Ms. McLeod represented the riding of Fort William/Thunder Bay-Atikokan from 1987 to 2003. She has been Minister of Colleges and Universities, Minister of Energy, and Minister of Natural Resources. 

She continues to be actively involved in community work around the issues of education and health care as [the former] Chair of Health Quality Ontario, Board member with both the Ontario Power Authority and the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute. She was the Founding Chancellor of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) and is a past Chair of the Board of Governors of Confederation College in Thunder Bay. 

Lyn retired in October 2003.

The Ontario Council for International Cooperation named Conrad Koczorowski (HBA'08) their 2014 Global Changemaker.

Koczorowski has a long history of community engagement, from rebuilding computers for families who couldn't afford one, to volunteering hundreds of hours in the pediatric department at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.

As a PhD student, Conrad realized he wanted to apply his experience and research skills in a way that might make a concrete impact.  His search led him to a research position based in Uganda with the African Medical & Research Foundation (AMREF), an organization that works to address critical health challenges by raising funds, providing project support, building capacity, raising awareness and engaging the Canadian public in African health development.

While in Uganda, Conrad also learned firsthand about the door-to-door efforts of community health workers in rural communities, and witnessed the benefits of having someone in the community as a resource.  Looking back on his own experience growing up in a small community outside of Thunder Bay, he saw parallels to tele-health initiatives in Ontario, but with a greater focus on building personal relationships. 

Conrad is thrilled to have found a way to meaningfully apply his academic skills, and hopes to continue working on health initiatives in East Africa, with a long-term goal of bringing his skills back to Canada. 

Thunder Bay area singer-songwriter Shy-Anne Hovorka (BEd.'03) is bringing home a lot of hardware after winning four awards at the Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards (APCMAs) held in Winnipeg in September 2014.  Hovorka picked up Best Country CD, Best Entertainer, Best Single and Best Album Cover awards in addition to six APCMA awards she won in 2012.  

Hovorka announced her retirement from performing in early 2014, saying she wants to devote herself more fully to teaching young people in Northwestern Ontario. She works as a teacher in Nipigon, Ont.

Dave Mossman (BEd. '09) has been involved in event planning and management for almost a decade. He has worked with individuals, not-for-profits, and corporations to execute hundreds of events, including the 2011 Special Olympics Ontario Winter Games.

He’s now taking his expertise to the national level through his company MossmanEvents. Dave has also written a book called The Exchange that delves into the traumatic experiences he suffered on a high school exchange trip to Belgium. Beginning in October, readers can purchase The Exchange at: www.davemossman.com

Mark Tilbury, Lakehead University’s director of Alumni and Community Relations, earned his Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) designation in December 2014.

The CFRE is a globally recognized credential for philanthropic fundraising professionals. In the spring of 2014, Mark was honoured for his volunteer work with the Alumni Association of Lakehead University (AALU) when he received an Alumni Legacy Award. “Mark is a passionate Lakehead supporter,” declares Rob Jamieson, the past president of the AALU.

Rob Zuback (HBComm’88) started off 2015 with a new job as director of development and alumni relations at St. Lawrence College, which offers online and continuing education at three campuses in eastern Ontario.

Prior to joining St. Lawrence, Rob worked at the Canadian Red Cross Society. Earlier in his career, Rob played an integral role at his alma mater – he was Lakehead University’s manager, alumni relations for 14 years.

Gregory Lowan-Trudeau (BEd’06, MEd’08) was honoured by the Canadian Education Association with a 2014 Pat Clifford Award for Early Career Research in Education for his work developing a critical understanding among current and future teachers of the link between Aboriginal ways of knowing, the historical basis for land claims and rights, and how this relates to contemporary resource development issues and associated activism.

Gregory is an assistant professor with the University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education. In addition to his Lakehead degrees, Gregory has a Bachelor of Kinesiology and a PhD from the University of Calgary.