Seneca RED Fall 2021 Alumni Magazine - 33

2021
PREMIER'S AWARDS
NOMINEES
Seneca has a wealth
of experienced
and accomplished
alumni. Six have
been nominated
this year for the
Premier's Awards for
college graduates.
Ross Emerson
(Business)
A global executive coach
and consultant, Ross
Emerson, Founder of
Ross Emerson Ltd., uses a
unique approach to help
board directors, C-Suite executives/teams,
and senior
leaders achieve sustainable
strategic transformation
and meet their business
goals. Mr. Emerson also
provides senior executive
coaching and consulting
services through the LHHP
International Center for
Executive Options EMEA
hub in London. He also
coaches senior executives
in the Kellogg-Schulich
EMBA program, which
was rated in 2020 by the
Economist as the #2 EMBA
program. When coaching,
Mr. Emerson applies a
systems-psychodynamic
approach which combines
psychoanalysis, organizational
design and systems
and complexity theory.
Sean Sportun
(Community Services)
An award-winning leader
with nearly three decades
in the security industry,
Sean Sportun focuses on
preventing crime through
community building and
engagement, rather than
enforcement. Working as
Security Manager for Circle
K Stores, Central Canada
Division, Mr. Sportun
pioneered a new culture
and created a philosophy of
crime prevention through
community engagement.
His unique programs, Positive
Ticketing and StreetArt,
reduced company loss
while enhancing employee
safety and overall community
safety. His work
resulted in store robberies
declining by 68 per cent
over a 12-year period. Mr.
Sportun has volunteered
with Crime Stoppers for
20 years and is currently
National Director, Strategic
Accounts at GardaWorld.
Ainka Jess
(Creative Arts and Design)
The CEO of She's4Sports,
Ainka Jess is changing the
landscape of sports media
by ensuring diverse women
are represented. Founded
in 2016, She's4Sports is
the first speakers-series
of its kind in Toronto and
currently has a network
of more than 5,000
women and men who
come together via events
and social media. Her
contributions to promoting
diversity and inclusion in
sports was recognized
when she earned the WXN
Canada's Most Powerful
Women: Top 100 award
and was named one of
150 Black women in CBC's
HERstory in Black project.
Dr. Sherry Boodram
(Health Sciences)
CEO and Co-Founder of
CannDelta Inc., Dr. Sherry
Boodram, is one of few
women of visible minority at
the executive level in Canada's
emerging cannabis industry.
Through CannDelta,
Dr. Boodram helps cannabis
businesses navigate
complex regulations and
bring their products and
services to market. In three
years, the number of staff
employed by CannDelta
has increased from two to
20 with offices in Ontario
and British Columbia. Prior
to CannDelta, Dr. Boodram
spent nine years with the
Canadian government,
including Health Canada's
Medical Cannabis Program.
An executive in a new industry,
Dr. Boodram is setting an
example for young women
in STEM programs.
Adebola Adefioye
(Recent Graduate)
For the last decade,
Adebola Adefioye has
dedicated her career
to improving the lives
of women and girls in
Africa and Canada. As
a newcomer to Canada,
Ms. Adefioye's family
experienced racial
discrimination which
inspired her to create the
Afro Women and Youth
foundation. Today, the
foundation continues to
provide regular training,
coaching programs and
mentorship opportunities
to build the confidence
of African women, youth
and girls. In 2020, Ms.
Adefioye was named a
finalist for the Women of
Inspiration Awards and she
won the Black Community
leadership Award at United
Way Greater Toronto.
Janine Barry
(Technology)
Janine Barry is an awardwinning
fintech leader
who has been instrumental
in bringing Manulife Bank of
Canada to the forefront
of digital banking. The
current Assistant Vice
President of Digital Engagement
at Manulife Bank,
Ms. Barry leads the team
responsible for creating
digital solutions to improve
the bank's services. She has
played a key role in driving
the organization's agile
delivery transformation,
pioneering and championing
human-centered design
which helped moved the
bank to new direct-tocustomer
digital capabilities.
Under her leadership,
the bank launched its
4.8-star-rated mobile app,
an AI-driven chatbot and
social channels.
RED 2021
33
Seneca RED Fall 2021 Alumni Magazine

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