John Rowsome
Journalism ’73
Last spring, John donated his Ryerson degree – the first applied arts degree in journalism – to the Ryerson Archives. He enjoyed a multifaceted career, including 10 years at Sun Media, 10 years heading a trade association, as well as positions in the offices of premiers, diplomats and attorney generals. “For everything that happened in my career, it was absolutely the foundation,” he said of his time at Ryerson. “But it’s only the second most important thing Ryerson provided me in my life.” John met his wife, Mary Ann Prebey, Nursing ’72, at Ryerson.

1980s

Cathy Crowe
Nursing ’85
A Distinguished Visiting Practitioner at Ryerson, Cathy received the Order of Canada in recognition of her advocacy work in helping the homeless. She has written extensively about homelessness in Canada, has been involved in multiple documentary films, and co-founded the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, the organization that identified homelessness as a national disaster in 1998.

Carmela Doctor
RTA ’88
Carmela spent many years in children’s programming at the CBC. She is now the director of client and business development at the Vaughan-based TAXplan Canada where she oversees day-to-day operations and technical development.

Janet Forman
RTA ’83
Writing under the name Jay Forman, Janet is publishing a three-book mystery series with Endeavour Press in the U.K., including One-Way Ticket, No Return, and Excess Baggage.

Suzanne Hartmann
RTA ’89
Suzanne began her career in television at Citytv and later at CBC, before moving to print, web and digital, writing for Style at Home, Canadian Living, and the Toronto Star. She works for Vitality magazine, and in her spare time runs her blog oldsagehands.ca. She is thrilled to have recently published her first children’s book, My Father’s Nose, now available in paperback.

Susan Marjetti
RTA ’83
The executive director of radio and audio for the CBC, Susan was the 2017 recipient of the Rosalie Award, which was established to recognize Canadian women who have blazed new trails in radio.

Bryan Press
RTA ’84
“I have enjoyed a rewarding career in the broadcast advertising business,” Bryan writes. “I have now joined the National Advertising Benevolent Society (NABS) as director of sales, representing donated media to ad agencies and clients. NABS is the only charity supporting the health and well-being of Canadian media, marketing and communications professionals.”

Yvonne (Wygergangs) Robertson
Hospitality & Tourism Management ’85
“In 1990, at the age of 30, I enrolled at the University of Toronto to obtain my Bachelor of Education. Since 2004, I have been with the Halton Catholic District School Board, teaching food and nutrition, and hospitality and tourism, incorporating all the skills and knowledge I obtained as a student at Ryerson.”

1990s

Finbarr O’Reilly
Journalism ’97
Finbarr spent more than a decade as a Reuters correspondent and staff photographer based in West and Central Africa. His coverage earned him national and international awards, including the 2006 World Press Photo of the Year for his photo of a mother and child at an emergency feeding centre in Niger. He embedded regularly with coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2011 before moving to Israel in 2014, where he covered the war in Gaza from inside the Strip. In August, he published Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and their Journey Back from War, with retired Sergeant Thomas J. Brennan. shootingghosts.com.