Nominees for awards given to the most outstanding women in Metro Vancouver have been announced and 11 of them are in Burnaby and New Westminster.
The YWCA Women of Distinction Awards is celebrating its 38th year. The awards honour individuals and organizations whose activities and achievements contribute to the well-being and future of the community. The awards night also serves as the YWCA’s signature fundraising event.
Nominees for Burnaby:
- Arts, culture and design
- Sukhi Sangha – TV host, Channel Punjabi.
- Business and the professions
- Teresa Perri – Regional VP Vancouver Market, RBC Royal Bank.
- Environmental sustainability
- Tammara Soma – Co-founder and research director of Food Systems Lab and associate professor for SFU’s Resource and Environmental Management department.
- Non-profit
- Armin Amrolia – Associate VP, development strategies, BC Housing.
- Ann English – CEO and registrar for Engineers and Geoscientists BC.
- Reconciliation in action
- Stephanie Allen – Associate VP for BC Housing.
- Research, the sciences and technology
- Stephanie Simmons – Founder of Photonic Inc., tier 2 Canada Research Chair and silicon-based quantum technologies researcher at SFU.
- Young Woman of Distinction
- Sanna Bhayana – Co-chair at Hot Potato Initiative Foundation.
- Natasha Mhuriro – Co-founder and co-organizer for Black in BC Mutual Aid’s Support Fund.
- Outstanding Workplace
- Clio
Nominees for New Westminster:
- Reconciliation in Action
- Isabel Jackson – Gitxsan lawyer, Aboriginal law, Department of Justice Canada, B.C.
Individual nominees are also eligible for the Connecting the Community Award. To achieve the prestigious title, nominees select a YWCA program and use social media channels to promote votes. From March 8 to April 20, the public can cast their votes online and the nominee with the most votes will be crowned the winner. Scotiabank will donate $10,000 to the YWCA program area of the winner’s choice.
Award recipients will be announced at a virtual event on June 7. To purchase tickets for the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards, you can visit their website.
