7 UBC alumni awarded
the YWCA Metro Vancouver
Women of Distinction Award
April 18, 2024
The YWCA Women of Distinction Awards presented by Scotiabank honours extraordinary women leaders and businesses. It’s more than just a trophy. It’s a symbol of progress, and togetherness. It’s about bringing our diverse community side-by-side to empower one another. To stay true to our mission of advancing gender equity. It’s a celebration of over forty years of rallying behind women and gender-diverse people who are beacons of progress. People who have raised their voices to raise the standards for all. It’s a platform where we can all feel seen and heard. To celebrate women who are making a difference every single day. Recognizing the mosaic of intersectional obstacles we’ve overcome, to carve our different paths towards the same goals.
Raheil Moradi, BA 2015 | Founder, Pay It Forward
Category: Connecting the Community Award
Raheil is Founder of Pay It Forward, a grassroots initiative she established amid her own financial hardship to provide meals for individuals in the Downtown Eastside. Since 2017, Raheil has grown her initiative from seven to 115 volunteers, serving over 500 meals bi-monthly. Focusing on well-balanced, home-cooked meals, her vision breaks the barrier of quality in charitable food services by providing moments of comfort. Raheil has secured sponsorships and in-kind donations from local businesses and during the pandemic, she continued serving meals and coordinated with the Door Is Open organization to support their need for perishables. Beyond Pay It Forward, Raheil has held board positions at the West Vancouver Chamber of Commerce and Impact North Shore, and leadership roles for Save a Child Foundation Canada and the Aga Khan Foundation.
Dr. Tamara Shenkier, Med Res 1987 | former Head – UBC Medical Oncology Residents Training Program
Category: Education, Training & Development
Tamara is former Head of the UBC Medical Oncology Residents Training Program and, as the first woman to lead the program, she transformed the curriculum, emphasizing the importance of emotional support, education, and research for residents. Dr. Shenkier also introduced new evaluation models to provide trainees with ongoing feedback, communications skills development and support to increase their chances of a successful career in oncology. Tamara chaired the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Medical Oncology subspecialty committee, where she revamped the educational program and instituted ongoing assessments to provide students with tools for success to improve the quality of graduating oncologists. Tamara also created and was President of the BC Cancer Medical Staff Engagement Society to fund activities which enhance MD wellness and address clinical inefficiencies.
Jessica Regan, MA 2007 | CEO & Co-Founder, FoodMesh
Category: Entrepreneurship & Innovation
As CEO of FoodMesh, Jessica focuses on reducing food waste by redirecting unsold items to those in need. Supporting over 2,500 food businesses, farmers and charities, Jessica’s company has saved 30 million kilograms of food from landfills and has shared 25% of its revenue with hunger-relief organizations. Jessica has founded three other businesses, including EcoTrek Tours, which designed and delivered local eco field trips for school districts in the Lower Mainland. Beyond business, she served as a Board of Director for the Gitga’at First Nation Economic Development Council, helping create economic self-determination. A commitment to empowerment led her to initiate programs supporting orphans, Indigenous entrepreneurs and a micro-loans program. She is currently collaborating with the UN to create a blockchain project in food recovery.
Dr. Melissa Lem, Med Res 2007 | President, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE)
Category: Environmental Sustainability
Melissa is President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and Founding Director of PaRx, Canada’s national nature prescription program. PaRx has mobilized over 12,500 health professionals in Canada to register and prescribe nature. Making history as the first President of colour in CAPE’s nearly 30-year history, her campaign work to end fossil fuel promotion in BC schools resulted in a commitment by BC’s Education Minister to review and revise provincial policy on educational resources. As an ambassador for CAPE, Melissa significantly increased its annual budget, helping to secure approximately $1.5M in funding. Her dedication to sustainability extends to her role as a climate columnist for CBC Radio’s Early Edition, and Clinical Assistant Professor at UBC, where she mentors and advocates for environmental initiatives.
Chelsea Minhas, BSW 2009, MSW 2010 | Chief Program & Impact Officer, Covenant House Vancouver
Category: Non-Profit
Chelsea is Chief Program Officer at Covenant House Vancouver, where her dedication to harm reduction led to the Covenant House Harm Reduction Pilot Program. Distributing more than 2,000 harm reduction kits and 370 naloxone kits to youth in a developmentally appropriate way, the program has significantly improved mental health outcomes and reduced harmful incidents. Chelsea’s anti-human trafficking project, in collaboration with Women & Gender Equality Canada, resulted in the Lower Mainland Anti-Trafficking Table and the Youth Anti-Trafficking toolkit, praised across North America and utilized by over 50 agencies within a year. Chelsea began at Covenant House as an on-call youth worker 16 years ago and has shown unwavering commitment to uplifting and supporting youth. Chelsea also gives extensive time to Mamas for Mamas, helping address families’ essential needs.
Dr. Jacquelyn Cragg, BSc 2007, MPH 2011, PhD 2015 | Canada Research Chair and Assistant Professor, UBC’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Category: Research, Sciences & Technology
Jacquelyn serves as Canada Research Chair and Assistant Professor at UBC’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and has revolutionized acute pain management for spinal cord injury patients through her research. With a background in mathematics, statistics and calculus, Dr. Cragg’s unique approach to inquiry led to her discovering a class of pain medications that alleviates immediate complications and improves muscle strength recovery; she also redefined how cardiovascular risk is understood in spinal cord injury patients. In addictions epidemiology, Dr. Cragg has shed light on the escalating methamphetamine trends in Canada, drawing much needed attention to the crisis. As a L’Oréal-UNESCO Ambassador for Women in Science, she actively champions women and girls in science and Jacquelyn leads the Fostering Science program, mentoring foster care youth in science fair projects.
Stephanie Quon, BASc 2024 | Founder and Executive Director, The Sprouts Initiative
Category: Young Woman of Distinction
Stephanie is Founder and Executive Director of The Sprouts Initiative. Under her leadership, Sprouts has acquired over $50,000 in grant funding, engaged 300 individuals in volunteer roles and donated over 12,000 meals to local shelters. Reaching out to local non-profit organizations, Stephanie works with them to explore the accessibility challenges they face and helps apply for federal accessible technology grants – she has received over $1.32M in funding over 87 projects in three years. At UBC, Stephanie volunteered with the AMS to lead the opening of a sensory room mainly for disabled, autistic and neurodiverse individuals to self-regulate. While completing her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, Stephanie volunteers with UBC Women in Engineering and worked with the Faculty of Applied Science to create video content, encouraging underrepresented populations to pursue engineering.
Award accolades are sourced directly from the awards webpage. To learn more about this award please visit: https://ywcavan.org/women-distinction-awards