Kudos

Back to the fall 2023 issue

Sarah Bernstein, BA 09, was named winner of Canada’s 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize for her second novel, Study for Obedience. She was also shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was named to Granta magazine’s Best Of Young British Novelists list.

Michael Ogoms, MSc 22, was named a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar. The fellowship will support Ogoms’s doctoral research at the University of Glasgow on support for neurodivergent individuals in the workplace.

Megan Durnford, GrDip 93, won the Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary at the 2023 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival for Last Respects, a collaboration with her son Hugh Durnford-Dionne, a Faculty of Fine Arts student.

Morton Minc, BA 67, Concordia’s jurist-in-residence, received the inaugural Dean Jason Carey Distinction Award for Social Innovation: Law and Justice. The honour was presented by the University of Alberta, Campus Saint-Jean.

Clément Jodoin, BSc 75, was inducted into the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Hall of Fame.

Donald A. MacPherson, BA 82, was named a Member of the Order of Canada “for his long-time advocacy of harm reduction and evidence-based approaches to drug policy reform.”

Andrew Carter, BA 84, celebrated 20 years as host of The Andrew Carter Morning Show on CJAD 800 Montreal.

Dorothy W. Williams, BA 84, MA 99, was a recipient of a 2023 Library and Archives Canada Scholar Award for her contributions to the field of Black Canadian history.

Darren Entwistle, BA 86, was named one of the Top 25 Executives of Vancouver for 2023 by C-Suite Spotlight.

Daniel Cross, BFA 91, MFA 98, professor at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, was named a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Alanis Obomsawin, LLD 93, received the 2023 Edward MacDowell Medal, for outstanding contributions to the arts. Past recipients include Georgia O’Keeffe, John Updike and Toni Morrison.

Karyn Bye-Dietz, GrDip 95, was named to the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame.

Elaine Hum, BComm 96, was named one of the Top Women in Cybersecurity for 2023 by IT World Canada.

Rana Ghorayeb, BA 97, MEng 01, received the Inspiration Andrée Corriveau Prize from the Association of Quebec Women in Finance.

Vincent Morello, GrDip 98, was a finalist in the “Responsible for the financial management of a small or medium-sized enterprise” category at the Aces of Finance competition.

Shannon D. Walsh, BFA 00, MA 04, was the winner of a 2023 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts.

Abraham Tachjian, BA 04, was named by The Logic as one of the people to watch in Canadian fintech.

Gillian Sze, BA 06, MA 08, won the Pat Lowther Memorial Award for her latest book of poetry, Quiet Night Think.

Josh Usheroff, BA 06, was the winner of a World Independent Advertising Award in the “Restaurants & Entertainment” category.

Elisabeth Ann Gimber, BA 83, Mark Morgenstern, BA 89, and Robert E. Newton, BFA 90, BFA 96, co-produced and co-directed Stone by Stone (Pierre par pierre), a feature-length documentary that screened at Vues d’Afrique international film festival in April.

Grad Carmel Kilkenny, BA 86, also worked on the documentary as interviewer.

The Montreal screening was attended by Concordia President Graham Carr, along with New York alumni chapter representative Russell Makofsky, BComm 07, and his parents Howard and Fran, who are featured in the film.

Corey Pedneault, BComm 09, GrDip 11, was a finalist in the “Finance Succession” category at the Aces of Finance competition.

Nicole Antoine, BA 10, was one of 13 company founders selected for the EY Entrepreneurs Access Network Class of 2023.

Roshi Chadha, BFA 10, MA 14, was appointed Officer of the Order of Montreal.

Monique Leroux, LLD 11, was among six leaders who received the International Horatio Alger Award.

Sherry Romanado, EMBA 11, was named parliamentary secretary to the president of the King's Privy Council for Canada, as well as minister of Emergency Preparedness.

Johnnie Vu, BComm 11, was awarded a Canadian Forces Decoration medal by the Governor General of Canada. He was also a recipient of an RBC Global Citizen Award.

Valérie Lemaire, BComm 14, was a finalist in the “Finance Succession” category at the Aces of Finance competition.

Domenica Martinello, BA 14, won The Malahat Review’s Long Poem Prize.

Andrea Peña, BFA 17, won the Venice Biennale’s first international call for new choreographic work by an artist under the age of 35. Peña’s Bogotá premiered at the Biennale’s 17th International Festival of Contemporary Dance.

Kim Thúy, LLD 17, was shortlisted for the 2023 Dublin Literary Award for her novel Em.

Mzwandile Poncana, BA 21, GrDip 22, was named a 2023 Black Journalism Fellow by the Canadian Journalism Foundation.

Soodeh Abedini, PhD 22, was named co-runner up for the Breakthrough Research Prize at the Quebec Climate Solutions Festival.

Kyle Alden Martens, MFA 22, was awarded a 2023 Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art.

Aiden Nicell, BFA 22, won Project Spark’s Best Experimental Short Film award for Shadow’s Pass.

TOP 50 WOMEN LEADERS OF MONTREAL

Women We Admire, which recognizes the exceptional achievements of women, named its Top 50 Women Leaders of Montreal for 2023. Eleven Concordians made the list:

Carolena Gordon, BA 87
Leslie Quinton, Attd 94
Rana Ghorayeb, BA 97, MEng 01
Stacey Masson, BA 00
Julie Quenneville, BA 00
Andrea Roy, BComm 01
Celine Cohen, BComm 02
Patricia Lemoine, BFA 03
Bhoomi Pathak, BComm 04
Ashee Sarin, MBA 05
Andrea Limbardi, EMBA 16

MNBAQ CONTEMPORARY ART AWARD

Established in 2013 with support from the RBC Foundation, the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) Contemporary Art Award recognizes Quebec-based artists who have exhibited work without representation. For the first time, five artists shared the prestigious award — all are Concordia alumni:

Celia Perrin Sidarous, BFA 08, MFA 15
Ève Tagny, BFA 11
Anahita Norouzi, MFA 13
Sara A. Tremblay, BFA 13
Maria Ezcurra, PhD 16

SOBEY ART AWARD

One of Canada’s most prestigious prizes in contemporary art, the Sobey Art Award celebrates emerging artists across the country. Four Concordians were named to the 2023 longlist, with one finalist:

Marigold Santos, MFA 11
Anahita Norouzi, MFA 13 (finalist)
Renée Condo, BFA 17
Laura Acosta, MFA 17

GALA DYNASTIE

Launched in 2017, the annual Gala Dynastie celebrates and promotes Black artists from Quebec’s anglophone and francophone communities. Four alumni were among the 2023 finalists:

H. Nigel Thomas, S BA 74, MA 75 (author)
Anna Binta Diallo, GrCert 09 (visual arts)
Ève Tagny, BFA 11 (visual arts) Esther Calixte-Bea, BFA 20 (visual arts)

WOMEN OF DISTINCTION

Since 1984, the Women’s Y Foundation has recognized the commitment and achievements of women across Canada with its Women of Distinction Awards. Three Concordians are among Montreal’s winners this year:

Saôde Savary, BSc 77, GrDip 88 (Social Commitment Award)
Gina Cody, MEng 81, PhD 89 (Achievement Award)
Léa Clermont-Dion, postdoctorate fellow, Department of Art Education (Inspiration Award)

FANTASIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Fantasia International Film Festival, one of the top genre-film festivals in the world, took place this summer with screenings across Montreal, including on Concordia’s Sir George Williams Campus. From directors to actors and producers, alumni were well represented:

Sandrine Béchade, BFA 95
Alain Fournier, BFA 02
Tamara Scherbak, BFA 08
Pascal Plante, BFA 11
Simon Allard, BFA 12
Rémi Frechette, BFA 12
Julien Cadieux, BFA 13
Colin Ludvic Racicot, BFA 13
Alexia Roc, BFA 19
Charles Parisé, BFA 20
Hanna Fortin, BFA 22
Éloïse Grenier-Carpintero, BFA 22
Juliette Gariépy, BFA 22

SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE

Three Concordians were among the 2023 contenders for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada’s top literary award for fiction:

Sarah Bernstein, BA 09, Study for Obedience (Knopf Canada); winner
Kasia Van Schaik, BA 09, We Have Never Lived on Earth (University of Alberta Press); longlisted
Erum Shazia Hasan, MA 06, We Meant Well (ECW Press); longlisted

ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA

The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) honoured four Concordia faculty members with some of the highest accolades available to scientists, scholars and artists across the country:

Nadia Myre, MFA 02, assistant professor, Department of Studio Arts (fellow)
Angélique Willkie, associate professor, Department of Contemporary Dance (fellow)
Mireille Paquet, associate professor, Department of Political Science (member, College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists)
Michel Magnan, professor, Department of Accountancy (Yvan Allaire Medal)