2017

PREMIER’S AWARDS NOMINEES

Seneca has a wealth of experienced and accomplished alumni. Six have been nominated this year for the Premier’s Awards for College Graduates.

Gail Courneyea
(Health Sciences)

Gail is President and CEO of Angels of Flight Canada, a company she established to offer expertise for clients needing in-flight medical care. Now in its 29th year, Angels of Flight has successfully transferred 21,700+ critically-ill clients within Canada and 100 countries worldwide, by airline and air ambulance. A registered nurse and graduate of the Aeromedical Care program, Gail also facilitates training in aviation safety and in-flight medical care to healthcare providers, helping to improve patient outcomes. In 2007, she founded the Global Angel Charity Organization, which provides financial assistance to families in crisis needing medical transportation.

Erin Grant
(Recent Graduate)

Erin is a Boeing 767 First Officer at Air Canada with 10 years of aviation experience. A graduate of the Bachelor of Aviation Technology program, she has served as a Standards Officer at the Armed Forces Central Region Gliding School and assisted 90 cadets in receiving their pilot licences. Hired by Jazz Aviation LP as a first officer in 2014, Erin was subsequently promoted to captain, becoming the youngest captain in the department. She is a recipient of the Elsie McGill Northern Lights Rising Star Award and was named Top Female Power Pilot in Canada by the Royal Canadian Air Cadets.

Janelle Griffin
(Creative Arts & Design)

Janelle is an award-winning editorial guest producer with CNN based at the broadcast network’s headquarters in Atlanta. Born and raised in Toronto, Janelle is credited with producing award-winning guest segments for stories ranging from Whitney Houston’s death and the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012, to the final flight of NASA’s space shuttle in 2011 and the last three U.S. presidential elections. Janelle, a Broadcast-Journalism graduate, was a member of the production team that earned a Peabody Award in 2010 for CNN’s coverage of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Lalith Gunaratne
(Technology)

Born in Sri Lanka and raised in Toronto, Lalith is an entrepreneur who established renewable energy industries in Asia and promoted them for rural development. A Mechanical Engineering Technology graduate, he lived in Asia and Africa for 27 years, working extensively on development, education, organizational leadership, corporate social responsibility and governance. Lalith’s current work focuses on the Canadian extractives industry and Indigenous relations to bring renewable energy to remote communities. He links spirituality with emotional and rational intelligence through critical thinking and finding a balance with technology for a sustainable and resilient world.

Vic Pynn
(Business)

Vic is the Chief Operating Officer for Amadeus North America Inc., a Chartered Professional Accountant, author and public speaker. Over the past 25 years, he has held senior positions in the travel industry with American Express and TRX, Inc. A graduate of the Accounting and Finance program, Vic wrote the book, Anything is Possible When You Lead with Your Heart, which shares his insights on leadership and human potential. He served as the executive sponsor for the Amadeus Haiti Orphanage initiative. This led to Vic being named among the Global Business Travel Association’s Top 25 Most Influential Executives.

Monica Rutledge
(Community Services)

Const. Monica Rutledge works with the Toronto Police Service’s Aboriginal Peacekeeping Unit. An Ojibway from Red Lake, Ont., she was four years old when she and her twin brothers were adopted during the Sixties Scoop in which many Indigenous children were apprehended by the child welfare system. She is a graduate of the Law Enforcement (now Police Foundations) program. Through community outreach, Monica has worked to foster positive police-community relations and improve the quality of service to the Indigenous community. Prior to becoming a police officer, Monica spent two years volunteering with the Anishnawbe Health Toronto.