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In
2011, Dr Jodi Abbott received the FOX 40 Kitch MacPherson Award
of Excellence by Sports Officials Canada. A Skate Canada board member,
she serves as Chair of the High Performance Committee, as well as
a clinic leader and mentor for other officials. Dr Abbott, an internationally
respected official, is a volunteer who has held numerous roles in
in figure skating. She has been a judge for 18 years at the national
level and 12 years internationally, and was selected to judge at
the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Dr Abbott is qualified for
the highest level of officiating, World and Olympic level judge,
for all three skating disciplines in pair, singles, and ice dance.
She is President and CEO of NorQuest College in Edmonton. This is
Dr Jodi Abbott’s first time on the CAAWS Most Influential
Women List.
Canada’s
Minister of Health, Leona Aglukkaq’s influence and leadership
in addressing childhood obesity in Canada has made her an essential
member of the CAAWS Most Influential Women List for 2011. A strong
proponent in addressing one of the most critical health challenges
Canadians face (one child out of every 11 suffers from obesity)
makes her a leader for all Canadians. Working in partnership with
the provinces and territories and using sport and physical activity
as a tool to address the fact that young Canadians are not active
enough, Minister Aglukkaq is promoting healthy lifestyles and leading
the call to action. Additional initiatives such as efforts to reduce
injuries in children and youth who participate in sport and recreation,
make Minister Aglukkaq a leader to be respected. This is Minister
Aglukkaq’s first time on the CAAWS Most Influential Women
List.
Stacey
Allaster has continued her stellar work in 2011 as head of the WTA
by further building women’s tennis at an international level.
Along with fostering the sport’s popularity and developing
its fan-base, she has also lead a campaign that sends out positive
messaging about women in sport featuring tennis stars from around
the world. In 2011, the WTA unveiled a new global ad campaign with
the tagline Strong is Beautiful, featuring 38 current and next generation
stars of the sport. The campaign includes TV, print and digital
ads along with social media applications to be unveiled across 80
markets over the next two years. Allaster, whose contract with the
WTA was unanimously extended for five years this past year, was
described by a WTA board member as an "innovative thinker who
has positioned the WTA for a very bright future”. Stacey Allaster,
who was raised in Welland, Ontario, is appearing on the CAAWS Most
Influential Women in Sport List for the fourth time.
The
Sport landscape in Canada is in a constant state of evolution and
transition. However, there are leaders such as Caroline Assalian
who make growth possible while preserving collective wisdom. A veteran
of more than 20 years who has risen through the ranks of the COC,
Assalian worked with incredible energy in 2011 with partners like
National Sport Federations, Own the Podium, as well as Government
and corporate Canada to ensure that the Canadian team will be well
prepared and on track for success at the London Olympic Games. She
was Chief Sport Officer for the Canadian Team at the 2011 Pan American
Games, where she and her team helped ensure the sports achieve their
performance goals. A contributor to the CAAWS Women and Leadership
NETWORK, Assalian believes in the value of paying it forward to
the next generation of leaders. This is Caroline Assalian’s
second time on the CAAWS Most Influential Women List (2008).
In
2011, Claire Buffone-Blair led and managed the design and construction
of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, a state of the art museum
mandated to promote the importance of sport to Canadians and to
our culture. The museum, a massive undertaking, honours 520 Canadian
athletes and builders representing 60 sports. Buffone-Blair worked
in concert with a multitude of experts including architects, technology
companies, media and display experts, and specialist groups all
working to build Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Although she
has now moved on to a new challenge, under her leadership the museum
was officially opened on July 1, 2011 — on time, on budget,
and fully financed. Her influence was such that she helped raise
$10 million in corporate and philanthropic fundraising; administered
$15 million in government financial agreements; negotiated several
corporate agreements including a 10-year sponsorship deal with Rogers
Media to televise the annual Induction dinner; as well as other
contributions. This is Buffone-Blair’s first time on the CAAWS
Most Influential Women List.
Charmaine
Crooks is a woman who has been named to the CAAWS Most Influential
Women List seven times because her accomplishments in the realm
of sport far surpass those achieved by most. 2011 was no exception:
Crooks volunteered as Chair of Olympians Canada; the PASO Representative
on the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) Athlete’s Commission;
Vice President of the World Olympians Association (WOA); and served
on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes Commission
as the WOA's voice for the Olympians of the world. In 2011, she
also completed her term as Chair of the Pan American Sport Organization's
Athletes Commission and oversaw the election of its first elected
Athletes Commission at the 2011 Pan Am Games. Crooks continues to
be an ambassador for various non-profit organizations at the international
level, representing Canada when it comes to sport and social change.
A long-time supporter of Big Sisters, she believes in empowering
others to be their greatest, something that is often achieved mentoring
younger change-agents within sport. 
Dr
Wendy Frisby’s research—targeted towards developing
more inclusive sport and recreation programs for women—influences
sport and recreation administrators, researchers, and policy makers
across Canada. In 2011, Dr Frisby worked to understand and improve
how local sport and recreation could create more inclusive programming
for immigrant women. Using an approach that is community-engaged
and action-oriented, she and her students worked throughout the
year with immigrant women, local government, and community partners
to understand and build on an exemplar newcomers health and wellness
program in North Vancouver. The ongoing study, which is funded by
the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, creates
impacts on a number of levels: involving immigrant women in generating
knowledge and change in their communities; developing a better understanding
of immigrant women’s needs and interests; improving policies,
partnerships, and practices; and creating a template to be used
in similar settings across Canada. Along with Dr. Gillian Creese,
she also co-edited a book entitled Feminist Community Research:
Case Studies and Methodologies in 2011. This is Dr. Frisby’s
first time on the CAAWS Most Influential Women List.
Wendy
Gittens led change in 2011 with the highly successful first ever
U25 Women’s World Wheelchair Basketball Championships. This
(IWBF) event, in partnership with Brock University, was a landmark
competition for the sport of wheelchair basketball and female athletes.
It united elite competition for female wheelchair-basketball athletes
in the under-25 age category for the first time in the world. The
seven-day Championship was highly successful, not only in terms
of organization but also sponsorship, and featured leadership development
opportunities for younger athletes. In the backdrop of the inaugural
Championship, the Futures Program was a landmark initiative designed
to encourage young female wheelchair basketball players to continue
to learn and grow within the sport as an athlete, coach or administrator.
Gittens can be credited with leading a team that ensured that participating
athletes from five continents would be delivered the highest standard.
Because this tournament has set the standard—also because
of her leadership in ensuring all athletes are provided with optimum
development opportunities—Gittens is included in the CAAWS
Most Influential Women List for the first time.
This
is Andrea Grantham’s second consecutive year on the CAAWS
Most Influential Women List. Her role in influencing policy on physical
activity and health, whether she is speaking to standing committees
on Parliament Hill or working with governments or corporate partners,
is undeniable. Her primary focus is supporting healthy lifestyles
for Canadians by influencing the delivery of quality physical and
health education programs in schools, and ensuring that schools
have the policies, programs and services in place to ensure that
all children can learn and play in a safe and welcoming environment.
In order to support the Government’s goal of supporting all
children in accessing active, after school programs, she took action
working collaboratively with eight other organizations to form the
Canadian Active After School Partnership, whose ultimate goal is
to increase physical activity levels and improve healthy eating
practices of Canada’s children and youth, working towards
supporting them in reaching or exceeding the 2015 Canadian Physical
Activity Targets. Grantham also worked in partnership with stakeholders
to develop Active Canada 20/20, a physical activity strategy and
change agenda for Canada. An advocate of prevention as an investment
to reducing Canada’s rising health care costs, Grantham continues
to speak publicly and to political officials to urge that an investment
in quality physical activity for all Canadians will pay off in the
long-term.
Dr
Vicki Harber’s influence in the world of academia as it relates
to sport and physical activity reaches far and wide. In 2011, she
was presented with the McCalla Professorship Award from the University
of Alberta. As well, she worked with the Tri Leisure Centre to create
a physical literacy inventory and run a pilot activity camp for
young girls. In 2011, Dr Harber also worked with Canadian Sport
Centre Pacific on a comprehensive survey looking at the physical
literacy levels in Olympians and National level athletes. That same
year, Dr Harber was a keynote speaker at the CS4L Summit in Ottawa,
and co-presented with Richard Way at the International Physical
Literacy Conference in Bedfordshire, UK on the topic of Physical
Literacy. A two time Olympic rower, she is on the Sport for Life
(CS4L) Leadership Team and is one of the members of the original
CS4L Expert Group, which is a movement to improve the quality of
sport and physical activity in Canada. This is Dr Harber’s
first time on the CAAWS Most Influential Women List.
Named
to the CAAWS Most Influential Women List for a second time, Lindsay
Hugenholtz worked with partners across Canada in 2011 to develop
and deliver a highly successful edition of the Canada Winter Games
for more than 2,700 athletes who competed in more than 20 sports.
A graduate of the Saint Mary’s University Executive MBA program,
the first female Deputy CEO of a Canada Games, lead the development
of a Business Plan and an event forecast of $45 million, securing
approximately $36 million in government contributions, and working
with a team of approximately 70 staff and 580 planning volunteers.
Hugenholtz’s responsibilities included overseeing the strategic
planning process, managing government relations, directing the PMO
and the risk management process, and overseeing all legal and administrative
functions. Recently appointed Chair of the board of Motivate Canada,
Hugenholtz was also a presenter at the 2011 Sport Leadership Conference.
Training
for Olympic competition still occupies the majority of Clara Hughes’
time. However in 2011, this Canadian hero continued to dedicate
many of her spare hours to speaking about mental health and breaking
down the barriers of silence surrounding this issue. Hughes worked
tirelessly to reduce suffering by talking openly about her own struggles
with depression and advocating for change. As she trains with determination
for the race of her life at 2012 Olympic Games, she ‘considers
her work outside of the realm of sport to shine far brighter than
any and all of her athletic achievements’. As she works towards
her sixth Olympic Games, she also dedicates her energies to Right
to Play, Take a Hike, and being a proud spokesperson for Bell Canada’s
“Let’s Talk” campaign. This is Clara Hughes third
time on the CAAWS Most Influential Women List.
As
Director General of Égale Action, Élaine Lauzon spearheads
change to ensure equity so that women of all ages are encouraged
and given equal opportunity to participate in sport and physical
activity at all levels in Québec. In 2011, Lauzon was a tireless
advocate of equality of services and programs for all. Égale
Action created MentoreActive, which encourages girls in high schools
to incorporate sport and physical activity into their life and to
develop leadership skills. Québec en Forme, a partner of
Égale Action, helped promote both MentoreActive and On the
Move programs to support healthy lifestyles for young girls and
women. With initiatives such as the Gala Femmes d’influence
en sport et en activité physique au Québec and the
annual Conference «Success women’s way», Lauzon
also worked to build the profile of leaders and trailblazers in
sport to inspire others to get active. She advocates strongly for
more coverage of women’s sport in the media through Sportcom;
as well as working with schools to counter the fact that many girls
drop out of sport in their pre-teen years. This is Elaine Lauzon’s
first time on the CAAWS Most Influential Women List.
A
director on the Board of Special Olympics Canada, Anne Merklinger
has been named to the CAAWS Most Influential Women four times. In
2011, in addition to her responsibilities as Director Summer Sports
at Own The Podium she is an interim leader of the organization,
working as part of the management team sharing OTP leadership responsibilities.
Her influence is undeniable. Her goal is to ensure Canada’s
Teams have all they need to achieve success at the Olympic and Paralympic
Games in London and beyond. The goals are clear: place in the top
12 nations in medal count at the 2012 Olympic Games and place in
the top eight in the gold medal count at the 2012 Paralympic Games.
An advocate of women and leadership, Merklinger is also a contributor
to the CAAWS Women and Leadership NETWORK. 
As
President and CEO of ParticipACTION, in 2011 Kelly Murumets directed
an iconic organization whose reach has been re-energized to lead
and advocate for Canadians to get moving. ParticipACTION worked
to make it easier for Canadians to become active, and inspired with
multi-media campaigns such as Think Again. Under Murumets leadership,
ParticipACTION also signed a statement of intent to become partners
in the promotion of physical activity in British Columbia with B.C.’s
Health Minister . In 2011, Murumets also worked in partnership with
stakeholders to further a physical activity strategy and change
agenda for Canada called Active Canada 20/20. Murumets is a member
of the Bishop’s University Board of Governors, the Dean’s
Advisory Council for the Laurier School of Business & Economics
and speaks regularly to organizations across the country about physical
activity, sport participation and leadership. Kelly Murumets has
been selected to the CAAWS Most Influential List two previous times
(2007, 2009).
Chantal
Petitclerc is an athlete who has made the seamless transition to
leadership; she is respected for her skills in Canada and internationally.
One of Canada’s most decorated athletes, in 2011 Petitclerc
continued her work for the development of Paralympic sport. This
past year, she was also hired by UK Athletics as a coach in preparation
for the upcoming 2012 Paralympic Games in London. Petitclerc, the
first female Paralympian inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall
of Fame, is dedicated to clean sport and is a member of the board
of the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport. She is a member of the
Advisory Committee on the Future of Montreal’s Olympic Stadium,
and was also a board member for the Canadian Paralympic Committee
in 2011. Among her many volunteer roles, she also continued to dedicate
time as an Athlete Ambassador for Right To Play and as a spokesperson
for Défi sportif. This is Chantal Petitclerc’s sixth
time on the CAAWS Most Influential Women List.
In
2011, Karen Rackel became a trailblazer when she was appointed as
the first women ever to serve as President of the Royal Canadian
Golf Association in its 116-year-old history. As the National Sport
Organization for golf, the Association (operating as Golf Canada)
– which represents close to 350,000 members at 1,500 clubs
across the country – is responsible for growing participation
and excellence in the sport, a mandate which becomes even more important
with golf’s inclusion as an Olympic sport beginning in 2016.
A lawyer who also played some competitive golf (mostly as a junior),
Rackel is a member of numerous professional affiliations including
the Law Society of Alberta, the Canadian Bar Association, the Edmonton
Bar Association, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and
the Collaborative Estate and Trust Lawyers. Rackel is also Level
2 certified in the Golf Rules Education program. This is Karen Rackel’s
first appearance on the CAAWS Most Influential Women List.
Beckie
Scott’s leadership and work continued unabated in 2011. Respected
for her strong values and ethics, Scott is a member of the World
Anti-Doping Agency's Foundation Board (IOC Athletes Commission Representative);
a board member of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) as well as
the IOC Representative on the COC’s Athlete’s Commission;
and an International Olympic Committee member. Scott was named Chef
de Mission for the Canadian Youth Olympic Team in 2011. That same
year, along with Milaine Theriault she was appointed co-chair of
Cross Country Canada’s Women’s Committee, whose mandate
it is to facilitate opportunities for girls and women in all facets
of cross-country skiing. A two-time Olympic medallist who also volunteers
for Right to Play, Beckie Scott has been named to the CAAWS Most
Influential Women six times.
As
excitement builds for the London Olympic Games, the eyes of the
world will focus in on athletes such as Mary Spencer who has the
goal of being one of the first to compete in women’s boxing
at an Olympics. She trained hard and achieved spectacular results
in 2011 (gold at the Pan Am Games), however Spencer also impressed
Canadians with her leadership skills outside the ring and by her
willingness to give back to sport and her community. As a member
of Motivate Canada’s GEN 7 Aboriginal role model initiative,
she has been developing sport, physical activity and empowerment
programming with Aboriginal youth in First Nation communities in
Ontario. The goal for Spencer, who is a three-time World Champion
and an nine-time National Champion, is to give back to young people.
In 2011, she was also named Canadian Team flag bearer for the Closing
Ceremony at the Pan Am Games in Mexico. This is the first time Mary
Spencer is on the CAAWS Most Influential Women (she was named as
One to Watch by CAAWS in 2010).
Women
such as Andrea Carey whose influence is being noticed, were named
by CAAWS as Ones to Watch. Carey has a growing list of accomplishments
and has extensive experience delivering sport and fitness programs
- from community level programs to high-performance programs –
with a particular passion for creating physical literacy and integrated
programming for all. In 2011 she was a board member of the Canadian
Paralympic Committee, SportHost Victoria and ProMOTION Plus Victoria;
as well as a member of the British Columbia Physical Literacy Advisory
Committee. Carey presented at the Canadian Sport for Life National
Summit and was a guest lecturer at Camosun College & University
of Victoria on topics such as programming, event hosting, recreation
and sport systems and accessible programs. Carey also authored articles
on Canadian Sport for Life and Physical Literacy for the Times Colonist
and other publications.
Another
woman whose influence is emerging is both in Canada and on the international
sport scene is Alexandra Orlando, 2008 Olympian, who in 2011 was
elected to the first ever Pan American Sport Organization’s
Athletes Commission. She was also one of 10 elite athletes appointed
to the Toronto 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games Organizing Committee's
Athlete Advisory Council and played a critical role in establishing
the Council within the organization. Orlando, who competed as a
rhythmic gymnast for 12 years, was Canada’s flag bearer at
the closing ceremony of the Rio 2007 Pan American Games (where she
won three gold) as well as at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games
where she won 6 gold tying the Games record. Orlando also contributes
as an athlete ambassador with Right to Play and Kidsport; is a Canadian
Olympic Committee – Athlete Commission member; as well as
former Vice President of AthletesCAN.Canadian Association for the Advancement
of Women and Sport
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