At least seven of the eight women named this past week as the 2009 YMCA of Western Ontario Women of Excellence award winners are part of the University of Western Ontario family.
Among those being honoured at a gala May 5 at the London Convention Centre, are:
Jean Wright (Community Volunteerism and Humanity) – for contributions to policy changes, services, education and programming for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Wright is on the board of the Centre for Studies in Family Medicine and the Development Disabilities Program at Western. She has been an interviewer for the medical and dental program entrance interviews for nine years.
Karen Pincombe (Arts, Culture and Heritage) – for contributions to the lives of female musicians, specifically percussionists, and for making a difference in the lives of children from all economic backgrounds. Pincombe studied music at Western, becoming the first female timpanist in the orchestra. She is an Associate Teacher with the Faculty of Education.
Marlene McGrath (Business, Professions and Trade) – for contributions and advocacy of women in the workplace, nationally and internationally. She attended the Faculty of Law.
Dr. Sugantha Ganapathy (Health, Science and Technology) – for leadership in the use of ultrasound in management of acute post-operative pain with regional anesthesia and for many innovations including the use of patient-controlled regional analgesia equipment. Ganapathy is a professor of Anesthesia and Perioperative, and Director of Regional and Pain Research at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. She established the Western post-graduate training program in regional anesthesia in 1995 and the training program in ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia in 2004.
Joan Francolini (Lifetime Achievement Award) – for strong and visionary leadership in the community at large. A graduate of Business Administration and Secretarial Science at Western, Francolini served as Chair of the Boards of Foundation Western and Brescia College University Foundation. She won the Dr. Ivan Smith Award for Western Alumnus of the Year in 2001.
Nicole Seymour (Young Woman of Excellence) – recognized for her infectious enthusiasm for science which has enriched the lives of children and volunteers. In her first year in the Faculty of Science, Seymour, with another volunteer, created and presented two science lessons for the YMCA’s community school programs. In her second year, she coordinated the design of a six-week outline of hands-on science activities and in her third year, expanded it and named it Super Science. The program quickly became popular with nearly 100 children and 45-65 volunteers each term. Seymour graduates this year.
Sandra Cooper-Ryder (Sport, Fitness and Recreation) – recognized for her skill, humanity, dedication and unquenchable spirit reflecting the highest values in sport. Sandra has been the head of Physical and Health Education at Banting High School and the sprints, hurdles and jumps coach of Banting’s track and field team for the past 20 years. A Western grad, Cooper-Ryder (BA’78) is also a Western Hall of Fame member.
Over the past 25 years, the bi-annual Women of Excellence Program has celebrated the achievements of nearly 70 women for their outstanding contributions to life in London and community.