WOMAN OF THE YEAR
ELIZABETH JOHANNSON
2019Â Award Winner
Elizabeth is a Metis woman and President of the Non-Academic Staff Association (NASA). She was first elected President of NASA in July of 2015. She previously served as NASA Treasurer and worked in accounting in the Research Office of the Department of Family Medicine. Prior to working at the university, she was financial manager for a registered charity. Elizabeth is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CGA) in addition to holding a B.A. (Honours) in Theatre. Accounting and theatre may be an unusual combination, but she has found that it enables her to be both a creative problem-solver and have an efficient, practical attitude to task management. Elizabeth is a member of NASA’s collective bargaining team, and as president she also sits ex-officio on all NASA standing committees. Elizabeth is involved in a variety of organizations and committees including the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Scoping Group. She volunteers regularly at her children’s schools. She is an active member of Fair Vote Canada, which advocates for proportional representation, and served a term on their national council. She was also involved in advocating for a national inquiry into the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
GRADUATE STUDENT OF THE YEAR
SASHA VAN DER KLEIN
2019Â Award Winner
Sasha was studying at the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, where she studied under the supervision of Martin Zuidhof, an expert in poultry precision feeding. Her thesis investigated how day length during the rearing period of broiler breeders and controlling their body weight affects their reproductive success and nesting behaviour. Although van der Klein was an international student who moved from the Netherlands to pursue her PhD at the University of Alberta, she quickly became immersed in assisting with complex student affairs on campus. She was the vice-president of labour and then the president for the Graduate Students' Association, assisting graduate students with compliance issues in their research or teaching assistant contracts. During her time, she worked on the Sexual Violence Prevention Committee and helped to draft the university's Sexual Violence Prevention Policy.
FUTURE THINKER
DR. SHELLEY ROSS
2019Â Award Winner
Dr. Shelley Ross is Associate Professor and Academic Director of the Teaching & Learning Strategic Planning Initiatives, in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. She was awarded the Future Thinker Award (2019), for her co-edited book, Female Doctors in Canada: Experience and Culture (UofT Press, 2019). The book explores the experiences of women physicians in a system designed for men, and argues that as medicine becomes a female dominated profession, its systems, practices and individual members must change. In addition to her research, teaching and service, Dr. Ross is currently (April 2020) President of the Canadian Association for Medical Education.