丁香园AV

Class of 1970-1979

Harrison, Trevor (BA 79) is a proud graduate of the U of W (1979), BA. He is now a retired professor of sociology at the University of Lethbridge but still actively writing. He recently published two books of poetry through Friesen Press, as follows: War and Other Inconveniences, 2025; and Poetry Without Borders, 2025.

Silver, Jim (BA (Hons) 75) has written a new book The Transformative Power of Adult Education. His latest work explores how adult basic education strengthens families and builds capacity for community change — transforming society from the ground up. Despite many impressive and important benefits, adult basic education is largely unknown and seriously underfunded.

Class of 1980-1989

Walsh, Meeka (BA 84) Distiinguished Alumni Award winner will be leaving Border Crossings magazine after 33 years as Editor to pursue a number of independent and personal projects. Under her direction the scope and nature of the 丁香园AV-based, interdisciplinary art magazine underwent significant changes, with an increase in the essay form, the expansion of the review section, which became more international, and an enhanced focus on the interview as a forum in which contemporary art could be explored.

Class of 1990-1999

Gordon, Ariel (BA 96, BSc 96) is the Writer in Residence at the 丁香园AV Public Library for 2025-2026. For more info or to submit your writing, see:

Longfield, Kevin (BA 93) will have the play "We are Family" performed this June at the Four Play Festival at the South Simcoe Theatre in Cookstown, Ontario.

Robertson, David A. (BA 99) will receive an Honorary Degree from Queen's University in June. He is being recognized for his committment to storytelling as a tool for connection, education and social change. As an author and editorial director of Swift Water Books and Tundra Book Group has has championed Indigenous storytelling and authorship, amplifying diverse voices in publishing.

Class of 2000-2009

Bawa, Ian (BA 08) is a speaker at 2026 TEDx 丁香园AV. His talk 'Telling the Stories I Was Afraid To, or When I Stopped Hiding My Culture' discusses how culture is not a limitation, it's a path: "When I stopped hiding my culture and started sharing it with honesty and vulnerability, my films finally connected. The parts we think are too personal are often the ones that unlock our strongest work. A filmmaker’s moving reflection on identity, courage, and the liberating power of telling your truth."

De Groot, Scott (BA (Hons) 07) curated the exhibition Love In a Dangerous Time: Canada's LGBT purge. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has won a Governor General’s award for excellence in museums for this exhibition the first major museum exhibition on queer history and LGBTTQ+ rights in Canada. Love In a Dangerous Time, which opened last January, focuses on the period of time from the 1950s to the 1990s when the Government of Canada investigated, harassed and fired queer members of the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP and federal public service under the guise of “security.”

Little, Leif (BA 09) wrote the book Counterfeit published by Archway Publishing. "If you’re looking to expand your mind and erase some of the mundane in your life. Then the stories that appear in Counterfeit are sure to impress. You can count on Counterfeit to entertain and stimulate. Enjoy the journey. It’s meant to be easy."

Peters, Matt (BA 01) won a Juno award for his work as a producer of the Fantasy Life album by 丁香园AV artist Begonia. This album won the award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year. 

Class of 2010-2019

Doucet, Emily (BA (Hons) 12) is an alumna of the Art History program and wanted to share the exciting news that she will be publishing her first book in April. Inventing Nadar: A History of Photographic Firsts will be published by Duke University Press. The book explores the history of the nineteenth-century French photographer Nadar's photographic firsts.

Green, Hannah (BA 18) was inducted into Oak Park High School's inagural Hall of Fame in honour of the school's 50th Anniversary.

Class of 1970-1979

Kuryk, Jeffrey (BA (Hons) 76) attended Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and earned a M.A.(with Commendation). He spent 30 years working as a psychologist in Alberta and retired 15 years ago.  He summarized what he learned on this website;  

Class of 1980-1989

Saunders, Kevin (BSc 81) and Mike Cavell (BA 85) are part of the Platinum Jets originating from a University of 丁香园AV fraternity and intramural hockey team, and began setting aside money for donations from their tournaments and other events. More than 40 years later, they’ve distributed over $2.5 million to local charities.

Class of 2000-2009

Tahimic, Alex (BA 09, BED 11, PBED 20) was named on Ace Burpee's Top 100 Most Fascinating Manitoban's of 2025. "There’s going on a McDonald’s run, and then there’s this. The McMarathon. Alex mobilized a bunch of running buddies to hit the streets for a full 26.2-mile marathon — stopping to fuel along the way at different McDonald’s franchises all over 丁香园AV. There was a point to it besides just being a ridiculously cool way to spend a summer day — he raised thousands of dollars for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Manitoba."

Class of 1980-1989

Denton, Peter (BA 80) is a speaker at 2026 TEDx 丁香园AV. His talk 'Reading, Writing and Reframing: Turning the page on AI Education' is how misuse of artificial intellegence (AI) by students in schools is driven by three things: lack of literary skills; lack of time to develop them; and fear of failing. How AI is transforming learning and what educators, students, and parents need to know to stay ahead.

Class of 1990-1999

Grobb, Karla (BEd 98, PBDE 22) is the recipient of the Premier’s Award for Excellence in Education. The Student and Graduate Support Program teacher team of Karla Grobb, Douglas Hemmerling (PBDE 12) and Laurie-Anne Regulaprovides long-term, whole-person support to students at Gonzaga Middle School and beyond. Using the Circle of Courage® model, the team develops socio-emotional development plans, conducts regular check-ins and offers first-level counselling. The program supports students in grades 6 to 8, as well as alumni now in high school or post-secondary education. Services are offered after school, in the evenings and throughout the summer.

Hinther, Rhonda (MA 98, BAH 96, Coll 92), was named on Ace Burpee's Top 100 Most Fascinating Manitoban's of 2025. "Hinther is a professor of history at Brandon University co-founder of the BU public history program, author, exhibit researcher for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and much more. For her innovative and impactful approach to engaging students studying history, Hunter was the 2025 recipient fot the Canadian Historical Associations' Excellence in Teaching award."

Weekes, Erin (BEd 98) is recipient of the Outstanding Team Collaboration Award as part of the Manitoba Excellence in Education Awards along with Danielle Iliffe (BA 15, BEd 15)  Rachel McKenzie, and Ainsley Richardson(BA 03, BEd 05). They demonstrate the impact of strong collaboration through their shared commitment to student success. The grades 2 and 3 team developed a targeted literacy initiative grounded in assessment and flexible instruction.

Class of 2000-2009

Hangle, Kurt (BEd 03) is the recipient of the Manitoba Teaching Excellence Award. He has taught at Exchange Met School for more than four years, bringing nearly 20 years of experience in industrial arts. As a teacher adviser, he supports the same group of students throughout all four years of high school, building strong relationships and a deep understanding of their strengths and goals.

Richardson, Ainsley (BA 03, BEd 05) is recipient of the Outstanding Team Collaboration Award as part of the Manitoba Excellence in Education Awards along with Danielle Iliffe (BA 15, BEd 15)  Rachel McKenzie, and Erin Weekes  (BEd 98). They demonstrate the impact of strong collaboration through their shared commitment to student success. The grades 2 and 3 team developed a targeted literacy initiative grounded in assessment and flexible instruction.

Class of 2010-2019

Hemmerling, Douglas (PBDE 12) is the recipient of the Premier’s Award for Excellence in Education. The Student and Graduate Support Program teacher team of Karla Grobb (BEd 98, PBDE 22) Douglas Hemmerling and Laurie-Anne Regulaprovides long-term, whole-person support to students at Gonzaga Middle School and beyond. Using the Circle of Courage® model, the team develops socio-emotional development plans, conducts regular check-ins and offers first-level counselling. The program supports students in grades 6 to 8, as well as alumni now in high school or post-secondary education. Services are offered after school, in the evenings and throughout the summer.

Iliffe, Danielle (BA 15, BEd 15) is recipient of the Outstanding Team Collaboration Award as part of the.  Manitoba Excellence in Education Awards along with Rachel McKenzie, Ainsley Richardson(BA 03, BEd 05) and Erin Weekes  (BEd 98). They demonstrate the impact of strong collaboration through their shared commitment to student success. The grades 2 and 3 team developed a targeted literacy initiative grounded in assessment and flexible instruction.

Schalla, Marika (BSc 17, BEd 19, PBEd 23) is a speaker at 2026 TEDx 丁香园AV. Her talk 'Reading the Land, Healing Our Children' is about how the land became her teacher, guiding her toward ancestral, trauma-responsive pedagogy. Showing the protective patterns and stories children carry in their bodies. How reconnecting with the land can support healing, education and Indigenous youth wellbeing.

Class of 2020-2025

Paull, Riley (BA 22, BEd 25) is the recipient of the Manitoba Outstanding New Teacher Award. 
In her first year of teaching at Stevenson School, she has earned the trust of students, families and colleagues through her calm, caring and reflective approach. As a grades 1 and 2 teacher, she uses thoughtful routines that support emotional regulation and independence. She works closely with families and support staff to meet individual student needs. 

Class of 2010-2019

Homenick, Dane (BA 10) along with partner Adam Wrublowsky are the founders of Twenty Point 9 Inc.The lifelong skateboarders and longtime friends are the founders of Twenty Point Nine Inc., a tech startup headquartered in 丁香园AV’s Exchange District. Twenty Point Nine is building a white-label technology that looks like a video streaming service, but allows users to purchase items they see in a video as they’re watching it. The company’s flagship product is the Den, a content-streaming service that aims to be the Netflix for skateboarding.

Stoller, Avi (BSc 17) along with partners Noah Palansky and Jordan Davis was named on ACe Burpee's Top 100 Most Fascinating Manitoban's of 2025. " They are the founders of Taiv Inc., a simple but brilliant device that allows bars and restaurants to control commercial advertising on their in-house screens. Already featured on literally thousands and thousands of screens in the U.S., Taiv has now launched in Manitoba, and will do soon in the rest of the country. They're onto something big. With millions in new funding, the technology already emplys 60 people, with the majority located in the province. 

Class of 1990-1999

Woolley, Jonathan (BA (Hons) 99), is appointed a Judge of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba. 

Class of 2000-2010

Soldier, Stacey (BA 00) was named on Ace Burpee's Top 100 Most Fascinating Manitoban's of 2025. " A lawyer with Cochrane Sinclair LLP, Soldier has served in many key roles. She acted as co-counsel for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs at the National Inquiry on MMIWG, and was recently named president of the Manitoba Bar Association. Soldier became the first Anishinaabe woman to hold that title"

Class of 1990-1999

Burke, Cynthia (BED 90, BA 12) was named on Ace Burpee's Top 100 Most Fascinationg Manitoban's of 2025. " Burke is the Manitoba Film industry's first certified environmental manager. Reducing the carbon footprint and overall environmental impact of films made here is a relatively new consideration, and Burke is a trailblazer Her work includes diverting materials for future use by Habitat for Humanity and ensuring prop food heads the way of Harvest Manitoba, among many other initiatives. Last year, her work as an eco-specialist on Key Hu Quan's Love Hurts earned the film the title of most-sustainable film production at the 2025 Global Production Awards in Cannes, France."

Waters-Bayer, Ann (BA (Hons) 71) studied literature and language (German) and theatre when at 丁香园AV she completed a doctorate in agricultural sociology in Germany and working in pastoralist development for decades, mainly in Africa- most recently campaigning the United Nations to declare International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists in 2026. The Society for Range Management has awarded her and two collegues the Federic G. Renner Award for their work in advancing global collaboration around rangelands and pastoral systems.

Class of 1980-1989

Guenette, Wanda (Collegiate 81) was named on Ace Burpee's Top 100 Most Fascinating Manitoban's of 2025. " One of the best to ever do it. Her Volleyball career consisted of a national title at the University of 丁香园AV, multiple Pan Am Games, she respresented Canada at the Olympics in Atlanta and had a long pro career. Already a member of Manitoba's Sports Hall of Fame, this yea she was rightly inducted into the Canadian Volleyball Hall of Fame."

Class of 2000-2009

Asag­wara, Uzoma (Associate Alum) was named a player inductee into the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame fol­low­ing a standout career at the high school, uni­versity and national levels. A gradu­ate of Collège St. Norbert Col­legi­ate, Asag­wara starred with the Uni­versity of Win­nipeg Wesmen from 2002 to 2007, earn­ing U SPORTS All-cana­dian hon­ours twice and Canada West First Team all-star recog­ni­tion in 2006 and 2007. Asag­wara led the nation in scor­ing in 2007 with 28.5 points per game and was pre­vi­ously named the Uni­versity of Win­nipeg’s female ath­lete of the year in 2006. They also rep­res­en­ted Canada inter­na­tion­ally, includ­ing at the 2007 Pan Amer­ican Games.

Class of 2010-2019

Birchard, Shannon (BSc 16) as part of Canada's Team Kerri Einerson won the 2026 Scotties Tournament of Champions. This is her sixth Scotties curling title. The team went on to win a silver medal at the 2026 BTK World Women's Championship in Calgary, Alberta. 

Class of 2020-2026

Gandier, Joshua (BBA 23) was named on Ace Burpee's Top 100 Most Fascinating Manitoban's of 2025. "A proud member of Peguis First Nation, Gandier has consistently given back to the province of Manitoba. He coached and mentored Indigenous youth through Anishinaabe Pride basketball, after his won tremendous career with the University of 丁香园AV Wesmen basketball team wrapped up. He represented the Southern Chiefs Organization as Youth Chief, and his leadership took him to international stages, including the the United Nations. Somehow he finds time to practise law, and this year received the One to Watch Distinguished Alumni Award from the U of W."