Class Notes

Career highlights, reinventions, product launches, marriages and births. What’s your story? Tweet your update @CarletonAlumni or email us at magazine_editor@carleton.ca

RATHIKA SITSABAIESAN, BCOM/06, thought she would wait until she was 40 to pursue office. The late Jack Layton changed her mind. A few years ago, he told Sitsabaiesan, a keen and active organizer, that she was already doing the work of an MP and encouraged her to run. Canada’s first Tamil MP was elected NDP MP for Scarborough-Rouge River in the last federal election. Being a young, female minority in Parliament draws a wide gaze.

Sitsabaiesan, 29, has had to field questions about cosmetics, cleavage and when she’ll wear a sari in the House. She has also been able to point out that she reflects the people she represents in her diverse riding. Her Carleton work—she served as VP of CUSA and caucus chair of the New University Government—comes in handy. Sitsabaiesan is her party’s official post-secondary education critic. She’s advocating for a post-secondary education act and a national transit strategy.

TOM TIMLIN, BSc/86 was named Manager of Football Operations for the Carleton Ravens. He will develop the support structure and business plan ahead of the 2013 return of varsity football. The search for a head coach is underway and will be announced early in 2012. Timlin has physically returned to campus, but his portrait has hung in the athletics building since he was inducted into the Carleton Hall of Fame in 1997. Timlin was a four-year captain of Ravens football in the 1980s and keeps company on the wall with other athletes, including Pat Stoqua, BA/81; Janet Podleski, BA/88; and Gail Blake, BA/70.

1950s

Robert MacNeil, BA/55, DLitt/85, received an Honorary Tribute from the Canadian Journalism Foundation at a gala in June. He worked for Reuters, NBC, BBC and PBS over his 40-year career.

Joe Scanlon, BJ/55, DPA/56, an adjunct professor in the School of Journalism and Communication, had an article on folk songs about mine disasters in Nova Scotia accepted by the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters.

1960s

Maureen O’Neil, BA/64, was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada earlier this year.

MARK O’NEILL, BA/85 outside the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Que. O’Neill was recently appointed president and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation, the Crown agency that runs the museum and its affiliate, the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

1970s

Roy Christensen, MA/79, retired from the Delegation of the EU to Canada in May, after 35 years. He co-founded the Ottawa Diplomatic Association.

Nancy Greenway, BA/70, launched her first CD, Shades of Blue, in Ottawa on April 17.

Ewart Walters, MJ/79, was given the United Way Community Builder Award earlier this year.

DAN BERGERON, BA/02 shot portraits of former employees of the Gaspesia Pulp & Paper Mill. The Toronto-based photographer installed the images in August outside the abandoned mill in Chandler, Que. “It was interesting to put up street art in a place that is virtually free from any sort of graffiti and has very little advertising,” he says. Bergeron has created everyday heroes with his past works. His Regent Park series, which featured 20-foot-high portraits of the residents of Toronto’s oldest subsidized-housing project, allowed the under-represented to have an anchor in their community. The work was documented in the Fall 2010 issue of Carleton University Magazine. Read about Bergeron’s work at fauxreel.ca.

1980s

Suhayya Abu-Hakima, MEng/88, PhD/94, received the Order of Ontario in January.

Charles Chi, BEng/88, is Carleton University’s new chancellor. He is the chairman of Lytro, a company that is creating a new type of camera technology.

Martin Denyes, BJ/87, is regional managing partner for Ontario with the law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin.

James Little, BA/82, wrote Train Ride, a sketch of Dickens on the first train in Canada. It will be published in an upcoming fiction chapbook called Could Be and was shortlisted in the Quebec Writing Competition this past summer. His forthcoming historical novel is called River Runs North.

Janice McDonald, BAHons/89, MA/92, received a World of Difference Award from The International Alliance for Women and a fellowship with The International Women’s Forum Leadership Foundation, a program associated with Harvard Business School.

Ian R. Mackenzie, BAHons/84, MA/87, was recently appointed vice-chair of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario after nine years at the Public Service Labour Relations Board.

Karim Rashid, BID/82, co-designed the Skinny Can, made to fit in tight spaces. The slender polypropylene bin has a capacity of 7.5 L and a handle for easy transport and is made by housewares company Umbra.

Bill Wells, BA/82, was recently appointed senior vice-president and CEO of Parkbridge Communities, which develops and manages marinas, resorts and land-lease communities across Canada.

SUZY KENDRICK, BJ/06, is PR manager for DNA11, original creators of DNA art and CanvasPop, a photo-to-canvas printing company whose work is shown here. After graduating from Carleton, Kendrick (on canvas), moved to New York City, where she worked at Good Morning America while completing a diploma in Globalization and International Affairs at Bard College. She runs a boutique PR company called Lilybelle Communications and recently joined the International Association of Business Communicators as Student Membership Marketing Liaison to help recent grads understand the role networking plays in entering the workforce.

1990s

Robert Cribb, MJ/94, won a 2010 Canadian Investigative Journalism Award and received a Massey Journalism Fellowship and a fellowship from the Atkinson Foundation to write stories on end-of-life issues in Canada. He is an investigative reporter with The Toronto Star.

Danya Daccash, BA/93, BSW/95, MSW/98, worked at the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre and at the Sexual Assault Support Centre after graduation. She recently opened Deep Listening Tele-Counselling for Women, a private practice. Telecounsellingforwomen.com.

Victoria Dickenson, PhD/95, was named executive director and CEO of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, in Kleinburg, Ont.

Jane Furter, BAHons/93, has returned to Ottawa and joined Royal LePage Performance Realty as a broker and co-area manager of eastern Ontario. She recently moved from Muskoka, where she was a broker and area manager for Royal LePage.

Mary Gallagher, BSW/97, MSW/98, was recently promoted to the position of chief social worker with the Ottawa Catholic School Board.

Stephanie Jackman (née Smith), BA/95, lives in Calgary, Alta., with her husband, Dion, and their two-year old daughter, Layla. The couple founded Respect for the Earth and All People, a green business association. Stephanie’s work has received numerous accolades, including a Top 40 Under 40 nod and the imagineCALGARY Partner in Action Award. She was included in a list of the 20 Most Compelling Calgarians.

Hilde Garegg Gardsmoen (née Friedl), BA/92, married Thomas Gardsmoen on August 6, 2011. The couple resides outside Oslo, Norway, with their two children.

Elissa Golberg, BAHons/95, MA/97, is ambassador to the Office of the United Nations in Geneva.

Jennifer MacDaid, BAHons/95, obtained her Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute in June. She is a technical writing professional in Kingston, Ont.

Gavin McInnes, BA/92, runs the website Street Carnage and is a stand-up comedian. He split with media company Vice in 2008.

Troy Morris, BA/97, his wife, Belinda, and their sons, Broyt and Brauen, welcomed Brycelin Winter Morris on November 5, 2010.

Fuschia Sirois, MA/98, PhD/03, was named Canada Research Chair in health and well-being. She is an associate professor in the psychology department at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Que.

Carlos Alberto Tello-Campos, MEng/96, received the 2011 Best Doctoral Thesis in Canadian Studies Award in May from the International Council for Canadian Studies for his thesis “Urban Revitalization and Quality of Life in Inner City Montreal and Mexico.”

Jennifer Twiner-McCarron, BA/94, is the new head of production at Atomic Cartoons in Vancouver, B.C.

Phil Warsaba, BAHons/99, MA/04, was named associate vice-president of enrolment at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alta.

KEVIN HERSAK, BAHons/01, and his five-piece band, The Ethics, released their third album, What I Did for Modern Love, in October. The band, featuring guitarist Jeff Gleeson, BEng/02, covers big-city alienation and urban malaise in tunes with carefully crafted words and rhythms that bring to mind other national-capital bands such as The Wooden Stars. TheEthics.ca.

2000s

Catherine Binette, BEng/05, and John Callahan, BEng/07, welcomed their first child, Caleb, on June 23, 2011. The couple met at Carleton and live in Ecuador.

Robyn Bresnahan, BJ/01, is the new host of Ottawa Morning on CBC Radio. She returns to Ottawa from London, England, where she reported for BBC World News.

Elizabeth Bowie, BJ/02, received a Canadian Journalism Fellowship for 2011-2012. Bowie joins Massey College in Toronto for the academic year, taking courses in global affairs and playwriting.

Ben Buchanan, BID/03, is with the Windish Agency in Toronto. One of the bands he represents, Karkwa, won a Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year in 2011.

May Chazan, MA/05, received the Alice Wilson Award from the Royal Society of Canada. It’s given to women of outstanding academic achievement.

Vivian Cheng, BID/05, runs Blend Creations and recently launched the Honeycomb Hex Wrench Pendant, a stainless-steel piece of jewellery that also functions as a wrench. It was highlighted by Wired, ThinkGeek and Gizmodo.

Tina Depko, BJ/02, and Riley Denver, BJ/02, welcomed their first child, Julie Ann Denver, on July 23, 2011. Depko works as a political reporter in the Greater Toronto Area, and Denver is in public relations.

Kim Figura, BHum/04, MA/07, and her husband, Kalum, welcomed Abbey Elizabeth on May 31, 2011. Kim is a member of Carleton University Magazine’s advisory committee.

Thandi Fletcher, BJ/10, is this year’s recipient of the Michelle Lang Fellowship in Journalism, which honours the former Calgary Herald reporter who was killed in Afghanistan.

John Gleeson, BAHons/10, recently launched his Ottawa business called Adult Hockey Skills. The former Raven trains beginners and novices who are looking to up their game.

Victoria Goddard, BHum/04, completed her PhD in Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto. She is a teaching fellow at the University of King’s College in Halifax, N.S.

Ben Houston, BAHons/03, and his team at Ottawa software company Exocortex Technologies, worked on some of the effects in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Craig Merrett, BEng/06, completed his PhD in aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois and has returned to Carleton University as an assistant professor in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

Andrew Paterson, BEng/08, his wife, Kristin, and their first-born, Bradley Hudson, welcomed Charlotte Jo to their family on June 30, 2011.

Manique Werapitiya, BJ/03, and Kalum Galle, BArch/03, were married in June 2010 in Calgary, AB, where the couple resides.

ANDRÉ MARIN, BA/85, received the 2011 A.D. Dunton Alumni Award of Distinction at a ceremony in Toronto on November 1. As Ontario’s sixth ombudsman, Marin has led high-profile investigations into issues affecting millions, from newborns to taxpayers. His pioneering work—alongside his achievements in his previous position as Canada’s first Ombudsman for the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces—has drawn the interest of the global watchdog community. The A.D. Dunton Award is given annually by the Carleton University Alumni Association to a graduate in recognition of outstanding achievement in any field who serves as an inspiration to others. Visit Carleton.ca/alumni for nomination details.

CAINE RUCKSTUHL, BA/00, runs Toletta, a manufacturer of toilet seat covers. He recently was art director for a Toilet Signs à La Mode promo campaign with fashion photographer Liz Besanson. The toilet signs, featuring real men and women as opposed to stick figures, are free to use and can be downloaded from toletta.com/toiletsigns.

In Memoriam

Robert Bedard, BA/51
Patrick Bedson, BAHons/91, MA/96
Collett Calverley, BAHons/78
Allan Cassidy, BArch/79
Angela Chamberlain, BA/04
Don Cline, BA/74
Odette Condemine, BA/59
James J. Conroy, BEng/68
Abdulhamid Darrat, MEng/65
Douglas Arthur De Pencier, BCom/62
Jean-Paul Dionne, PhD/78
Elizabeth Elliott, MSW/86
Darren Grainger, BA/00

Bruce Grough, BArch/77
Noreen Harrigan, BCS/96
Dianne Hartling, BA/72
Carol Jean Hartry, BA/66
Lisabeth Holmes, BA/74, MSW/92
Marie Horricks, BA/73
Patrick Ilendo, BArch/02, MArch/06, BA/10
Norah Jackson, BA/71
Joshua Johnson, BA/08
Michelle Kerisit, MA/89
Patrick Lafrange, BA/69
Anne McNally, BA/63
Thomas Meagher, BCom/52
Catherine Morrison, BA/66, MA/69

Leo Nenonen, MEng/68
Barbara Owen, BA/83
Ramesh Paskarathas, BEng/02
John Poggione, BA/72
Victor Priscepionka, BAHons/78
John Psutka, BScH/76, MSc/78
James Rainville, BA/78
Phyllis Read, BA/92
Arthur Schoenherr, BA/68
Peter Sops, MA/97
John Strachan, BA/84
Ronald Thompson, BCom/68
Dolores Vader, MA/99
Cornelius Van Dyk, BA/74
Maxim Wells, BAHons/09

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