Most Influential Women 2007

Cassie Campbell, Calgary, Alberta
Although retired from Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team, Cassie Campbell continues to blaze new trails in Canadian sport. In 2007 she became the first female hockey player to be inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (after 101 men had earned their place representing hockey), and was also inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. Her work as an analyst on both TSN for international women’s hockey events and for Hockey Night in Canada continues to break new ground for women, and she promotes the women’s game at every opportunity. A long-time advocate for keeping sport free of abuse and harassment, she also expresses her passion through her involvement with Chevrolet Safe and Fun Hockey Program and her charitable involvement with McDonald’s through Ronald McDonald House of Southern Alberta where her annual street hockey tournament raises over $200,000 per year.

Polly Craik, Winnipeg, Manitoba
When community activist and business leader Polly Craik took her entrepreneurial skills and applied them to sport, the result was the most successful IIHF World Women’s Hockey Championships ever. The CEO of FineLine Integrated Response Solutions, Polly Craik chaired the organizing committee for the 2007 IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships, held in Winnipeg and Selkirk Manitoba in April, 2007. It broke the attendance record for the event, and set a new record for profit. The $751,706 in proceeds will be shared by Hockey Canada and Hockey Manitoba, and the other 12 Hockey Canada branches in the country. The money from this successful event will be poured back into female hockey development in Manitoba and across the country, as well as the National Women’s Team programs.

Charmaine Crooks, Vancouver, British Columbia
Although it is over 20 years since Charmaine Crooks represented Canada in athletics, winning a silver medal in the 4x400 metre relay at the 1984 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles, she has remained passionately committed to the Olympic Movement. She continues to serve on several International Olympic Committee (IOC) Commissions, including the IOC Press Commission, and is currently a member of the executive board of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC). She is also on the Board of Directors of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee, and this year, she was elected as Vice-President of the World Olympians Association (WOA). This group of over 100,000 former Olympic competitors works to further the Olympic values through educational and humanitarian programs.

Photo Credit: © Kim Stallknecht, Coaching Association of Canada

Melody Davidson, Calgary, Alberta
As a coach, Melody Davidson guided Canada’s National Women’s Hockey Team to its second consecutive women’s hockey gold medal at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy. In 2007, she was named the General Manager of the National Women’s Team Programs, becoming the first woman in the role. In additional to responsibility for the management of the National Team, she will also focus on working with the Under-18 and Under-22 players in the women’s program, and turn her attention to overall preparations leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. She is also serving as the head coach for Canada’s first-ever National Women’s Under-18 Team, which will compete at the inaugural IIHF World Women’s Under-18 Championship, to be held in Calgary in January 2008.

Guylaine Demers, Québec City, Québec
A professor at Laval University in Québec City, Dr. Guylaine Demers is the Director of the undergraduate program that specializes on coaching and sport administration. She serves as the vice-chair of Égale Action, the Quebec association for the advancement of women in sport and physical activity. She sits on the Coaching Association of Canada’s Coaching Research Committee and on the editorial board of the Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching. She was actively involved in the development and implementation of the new competency-based National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) in Canada. This distinguished academic is currently leading an extensive research project into the early years of female coaches experience in coaching with the CAC We Are Coaches Program. She is also a member of the Quebec council of sport leaders (conseil québécois des leaders en sport) which serves as the orientation committee on coaches’ development in Quebec.

The Honorable Helena Guergis, Angus, Ontario
First elected to the House of Commons as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Simcoe–Grey in June 2004, Helena Guergis was promoted to Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, with additional responsibilities for amateur sport in January 2007. Her sport responsibilities include the $140 million annual budget for Sport Canada, which is the single largest contributor and supporter of sports and athletics in Canada. In her role as Secretary of State for Sport, she has taken a keen interest in the revision of Sport Canada’s Women in Sport Policy, which was originally written in 1986. She has opened up the discussions on the policy within the sport community, bringing together a blue ribbon panel, and has indicated it is a priority for her.

Silken Laumann, Victoria, British Columbia
Olympic medallist Silken Laumann continues to be an influential figure in sport around the world. She wants to see that the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games inspire kids to play, and leaves a legacy of active and healthy children. Increasingly concerned with the health and inactive lifestyles of our children, Silken’s ActiveKids Movement inspires and connects a network of community champions who give our kids healthier and happier childhoods. Silken is an active member of the International Board of Directors for Right To Play, dedicated to reintroducing play into the lives of children in refugee camps around the world. Her book Child's Play, simple ideas for parents, educators and caregivers wishing to raise more active and healthy kids, was released in soft cover this year.

Nancy Lee, Vancouver, British Columbia
As the on-site Host Broadcaster, the Olympic Broadcasting Services Vancouver (OBSV) will be responsible for producing and transmitting unbiased live radio and television coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. As the Chief Operating Officer of the OBSV, Nancy Lee brings a wealth of experience to the role from her years as the first women to run the most important sports production and broadcasting operation in Canada, CBC Sports. She brings the same consistent leadership to this role, and will ensure women’s sports receive fair and equitable coverage at the Games. A long-time promoter of bringing women into senior roles, her influence will continue to be felt in the Olympic broadcasting industry.

Pat Messner, Carleton Place, Ontario
Throughout 2007, Pat Messner facilitated the growth of competitive and recreational adaptive water skiing in Canada despite recovering from significant hip and shoulder reconstructive surgery. She took the Canadian Adaptive National Team to the 2007 Worlds Championships, where they had the experience of a lifetime winning one silver and 2 bronze medals and finishing 7th overall. In 2007, Pat was also a Senior Trainer who developed and delivered SkiAbility training to Facilitators, allowing adaptive water skiing to be introduced to numerous athletes with a disability across Canada. She also found time to contribute to the development of the new WSWC NCCP Coaching Program and was named 2007 Water Ski and Wakeboard Canada's Coach of the Year.

Margo Mountjoy, Guelph, Ontario
Physician Margo Mountjoy continues to be a leader in aquatics in Canada and internationally. In addition to running her own Sport Medicine Clinic in Guelph, she is significantly involved with the Sports Medicine field for Synchro Canada and within all aquatic sports in Canada. A member of the IOC Medical Commission since 2005, she is the representative for all the Summer Olympic Sports. This year, she was named to a key international position by the Aquatic Federation of Canada on the Bureau of the world governing body for aquatics. She will represent the four aquatic sports of diving, swimming, synchronized swimming and water polo at this international table of key decision-makers who are passionate about helping the sports grow. She was also nominated to the World Anti-Doping Agency – Therapeutic Use Exemption Committee which is responsible for ensuring equity in the anti-doping process so that athletes who require prohibited substances for legitimate medical reasons have the right to a fair process.

Kelly Murumets, Toronto, Ontario
ParticipACTION has returned as the voice and champion of physical activity and is inspiring Canadians to join the national movement to move more! Named this year as President and CEO of the revised ParticipACTION organization, Kelly Murumets is a passionate leader who has a history of effecting change in organizations. As the leader of ParticipACTION, Kelly is helping to achieve its goal as the national voice on physical activity in Canada. Although it is not involved directly in programming or program delivery, it acts as a catalyst for communications and action. An avid outdoor enthusiast herself, she is working with a wide variety of partners and stakeholders to make a difference in the lives of Canadians.

Carla Qualtrough, Vancouver, British Columbia
A human rights lawyer and a Paralympic athlete, Carla Qualtrough brings passion and dedication to everything she does. In addition to working at 2010 Legacies Now as Director of Inclusion, she is the elected President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) and is a member of the Legal Committee of the International Paralympic Committee. She has made a concerted effort to have the voice of Paralympic athletes heard within their organization by assisting in having an Athletes Council formed this year. As well, in a CPC partnership with the Department of National Defence, the Soldier On program has begun introducing injured soldiers to the many opportunities that involvement with Paralympic Sport can offer. She has also achieved special measures for youth with disabilities under the new federal Children’s Fitness Tax Credit, and oversaw a 2nd place finish for Canada at the 2007 Parapanamerican Games.

Sheryn Posen, Toronto, Ontario
For the past three years, Sheryn Posen has worked tirelessly to preserve Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Although without a permanent building to house the collection of sports memories and artefacts, this Chief Operating Officer has created alternative ways of introducing the Sports Hall to new audiences. She has instituted travelling exhibits on display at Canadian airports and in 2007 launched a completely revamped website. The site features interviews with many of Canada’s living sports legends and is a tremendous resource of information and photographs. This year’s induction dinner demonstrated the renewed interest in the Hall is continuing with a sold-out dinner honouring Mike Bossy, Cassie Campbell, Doug Flutie, Daniel Igali, Sam Jacks, Beckie Scott, Robert Steadward and Larry Walker.

Cathy Priestner Allinger, Vancouver, British Columbia
As the Executive Vice President - Sport, Paralympic Games and Venue Management for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, Cathy Priestner Allinger has been integrally involved in the background planning to host these games. An Olympic medallist in speed skating herself, Cathy is anxious to see Canadians have every advantage to compete successfully at the Games. With the focus on getting facilities ready in time to allow Canadian athletes ample training time at the facilities, she was proud to see the new ski jump facilities open in Whistler late in 2007, and will oversee several test events to ensure all is in readiness for the 2010 Games.

Sara Renner, Canmore, Alberta
This was a busy year for Olympic silver medalist Sara Renner, as she and husband Thomas Grandi welcomed their first child, daughter Aria, in February. She also found an outlet to express her concern about global warming, by working with the David Suzuki Foundation campaign Play it Cool. Along with her husband, she expressed her commitment to making changes in their personal lives to reduce their personal climate impact by going 'carbon neutral'. This involves reducing their emissions as much as possible, and then purchasing high quality carbon offsets from sustainable energy projects for whatever emissions remain. As a winter sports athlete, she understands how vulnerable skiing is to the effects of global warming, and is using her influence to inspire and encourage others to reverse the impact of climate change.

Jane Roos, Toronto, Ontario
For 10 years Jane Roos has been campaigning passionately to raise funds for Canadian athletes. Her Canadian Athletes Now Fund (CAN Fund) has raised over $6 million dollars to directly assist athletes with their training to represent Canada on the world stage. One element of the Fund she is most proud of is that for every donation of $25 or more, the donor finds out which athlete they have supported and receives a tax receipt. In 2007, the CAN Fund launched a new campaign, called Patrons of Sport, designed to both raise awareness that our country’s best athletes make an enormous contribution to our country, and to raise money because these athletes need our help. The Patrons of Sport Campaign is not about sponsorship it is about philanthropy..."Sport Philanthropy"! Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk launched the Campaign as the founding donor with a one million dollar donation.

Teresa Schlachter, Calgary, Alberta
As the head coach of the 2006 Olympic Skeleton Team in Torino, Teresa Schlachter was extraordinarily successful at coaching athletes to three Olympic medals and a fourth place finish. She has now joined the Own the Podium 2010 (OTP) technical team, based in Calgary, as High Performance Advisor. OTP is a winter sport technical initiative designed to help Canada become the number one nation at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games (total medal count) and to place among the top three nations (gold medal count) at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. The initiative is a collaborative partnership of sport, government and corporate partners with a common goal of achieving unprecedented Canadian Olympic and Paralympic success in 2010. Theresa is responsible for providing regular ongoing technical assistance to a designated group of winter sports.

Beckie Scott, Panorama, British Columbia
This retired athlete continues to exert her influence in the world of sport by serving in many significant positions both nationally and internationally. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. Beckie was elected to the IOC Athletes' Commission at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games elections and is also a Board Member for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. She was a member of the IOC delegation that assessed the three bids for the 2014 Winter Olympics, and has now appointed to the IOC panel monitoring preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. She was the first Canadian Cross-Country ski athlete inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame this year, just a few short weeks after giving birth to her son Teo.

Hayley Wickenheiser, Calgary, Alberta
The most dominant female hockey player in the world continued to show why she is the most pre-eminent player in women’s hockey this year. In her first year as captain of Canada’s National Women’s Team, she led the Canadians to yet another World Hockey Championship, in front of a home-town crowd in Manitoba. She was a dominant player throughout that tournament. Always an athlete role model to many young women in Canada, she has become more comfortable lending her support to other issues and travelled this year on behalf of Right to Play. She also lent her support by writing the introduction to the new CAAWS’ Active & Free resource to encourage young girls to remain tobacco-free, and to encourage them to adopt a healthy, active lifestyle.

Ones to Watch

Kimberly Keba, Milton, Ontario
This graduate of the Recreation and Leisure program at Mohawk College helped her team win bronze at the 2001 Ontario College Athletic Association Volleyball championships. The only deaf player in the entire league at the time, this year she made the Canadian Deaf Women's Volleyball team and was named Team Captain. A natural leader, Kim led the Canadian Team to a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Deaf Games in Venezuela. She has a strong rapport with young children, and currently works two jobs, as a Residential Counsellor at E.C. Drury School for the Deaf and as a counsellor at a group home working with Deaf children with mental health issues. She is also attending Centennial College part-time to become a child and youth care worker.

Sara Nicholls, Ottawa, Ontario
Sara Nicholls is a long-time advocate in the world of sport for development. In particular, her work and now her research have focused on the role that sport for development can play in preventing HIV/AIDS transmission in impoverished communities.Sara is Canada's Youth Ambassador to the UN for the Millennium Development Goals. Through her work, she has been a tireless advocate for the power of sport to harness change in the developing world. Sara is frequently sought for her expertise in sport for development and she has made a major contribution to countless women's lives. At the ripe age of 30, she is one of the leading experts in Canada on sport for development.

Kristen Worley, Toronto, Ontario
Kristen Worley has worked tirelessly, engaging leaders of the sporting world in addressing issues of gender variance, impact of gender testing, transitioned athletes and inter-sexed athletes in sport. A transitioned athlete herself, Kristen has been outspoken at the highest levels of domestic and international sport. She helps guide and educate to change processes to ensure the protection of all women in all levels of sport participation. She has spoken at conferences, presented workshops and corresponds with leaders at all levels of sport to educate and inform. Her years of determined effort were rewarded with the recent announcement that AthletesCAN, in partnership with CAAWS and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) would take the lead to work together on a Sport Canada-funded project entitled Promising Practices: Working with Transitioning/Transitioned Athletes in Sport.