Young Alumni Award
The Young Alumni Award recognizes significant contributions by individuals in their field, whether through professional achievement or community service. The winner must be 40 or under and set an inspirational example for future alumni.
2024 - Ritesh Kotak
Ritesh Kotak (JD ’22) is a technology and cybersecurity analyst who has dedicated his career to exploring how emerging tech will impact society. He is also a licenced lawyer in Ontario and practises in the area of privacy, cybersecurity and emerging tech. Ritesh began in public safety, delving into cybercrime and innovation. He transitioned to “big tech” for two years, specializing in innovation and smart cities. Later, he pursued law school, earning a JD with a focus on law and technology.
2024 - Alexis Normand
Alexis Normand (BA ’06, B.Ed. ’07) is a Francophone singer-songwriter who has earned international success with her trio, Rosie & the Riveters. She recently broadened her artistic horizons by delving into documentary production, and has even won a prize for her first short doc, Assez French.
2023 - Mattieu Gamache-Asselin
Software engineer-turned-entrepreneur Mattieu Gamache-Asselin (BASc ’12) is revolutionizing the way doctors and patients prescribe and receive medication. His digital health startup lets people access lower cost, same-day medication, and does so in a way that’s more efficient and seamless for all involved. In 2022, his company surpassed the $1 billion revenue mark.
2022 - Nathan Hall
Anti-racism, inclusion, social entrepreneurship — as founder of the platform Culture Check, Nathan Hall (BSocSc ’07) has offered help to thousands of people experiencing racism in the workplace and provided sensitive guidance to organizations that wish to make a genuine culture shift.
2021 - Yaovi Hoyi (YAO)
Yaovi Hoyi (BSocSc ’09, ’15) is a francophone singer-songwriter, speaker and entrepreneur. As YAO, he has been recognized through a number of national and international awards, including a Senate 150th Anniversary Medal for his leading role in the francophone community and his work promoting cultural diversity across Canada.
2020 - Soukaina Boutiyeb
Soukaina Boutiyeb (BSocSc ’11) is executive director of the Alliance des femmes de la francophonie canadienne (AFFC) and has been president of the Association des communautés francophones d’Ottawa (ACFO Ottawa) since 2017. She is committed to the causes of women’s rights and the promotion of French in minority settings.
2019 - Frances Tibollo
Frances Tibollo (JD ’15) is a commercial litigation attorney and human rights activist who made headlines in 2018 when she negotiated the release of two Canadian women being held in a Cambodian prison. She has made it her life’s mission to advocate for others and for justice.
2018 - Gwen Madiba Moubouyi
Gwen Madiba Moubouyi (BSocSc ’08, MSocSc ’12) is a multi-talented entrepreneur, designer, model and activist. A native of Gabon, Gwen was named one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network and made Next Big Thing Magazine’s list of young Black people who inspire.
2017 - Andrew Todd
Andrew Todd (BASc ’14, BSc ’14) is a rower and Paralympic medallist. He has competed in a number of international competitions, both as a para-athlete, and as an able-bodied athlete prior to suffering severe injuries to the bottom half of his body after being struck by a bus in 2013.
2016 - Katherine Levac
Katherine Levac (BA ’11) is a comedian from St-Bernardin, a town in eastern Ontario. Among her many accomplishments, Katherine has participated in a number of recorded comedy sketch shows and took to the stage for sold out performances of Un beau programme, a two-person comedy act at Montreal’s Cabaret Lion d’or.
2015 - Dr. Mélanie Lacasse
Dr. Mélanie Lacasse (BSc ’99, BA ’01, MD ’06) earned the praise of people in the Basse Lièvre area after taking the initiative to open drop-in medical clinics in a region chronically under-served by family doctors. Dr. Lacasse also volunteers with various organizations to improve access to healthcare for Papineau residents.
2014 - Aliya-Jasmine Sovani
Aliya-Jasmine Sovani (BA ’05) has worked at the intersection of sports and popular culture in her role as a journalist, host and producer on MTV Canada, MuchMusic, Fashion Television, the Discovery Channel and other networks. She is a rising star on the Canadian media scene.
2013 - Vincent Lam
Vincent Lam (BSc ’94 summa cum laude) grew up in Ottawa, undertaking his undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa. His family is from the expatriate Chinese community of Vietnam. He is an emergency physician who also does international evacuation work. He is the 2006 winner of The Scotiabank Giller Prize, for his short story collection, Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures.
2012 - Dave Blackburn
Dave Blackburn (BSocSc ’98, MSW ’01) has been a member of the Canadian Forces since 2005, specializing in the provision of psycho-social counseling to soldiers and their families. He has served in Europe and Afghanistan, and returned to Canada in 2010 as a member of the CF Directorate of Mental Health. He obtained his Ph.D in 2011, when he was also promoted to the rank of major, and continues to produce scholarly publications in his field. He has also written a book about his earlier work on suicide prevention in remote communities of northern Quebec.