YWCA Hamilton has announced the winners of the 47th annual Women of Distinction Awards, at a gala event at Carmens attended by more than 1,100 guests.
The Women of Distinction Awards celebrate women and girls who empower others, who are leaders in their respective fields, and who work to make our community a more equitable place.
Tamika Tulloch was named the Honorary Woman of Distinction for 2023. This award is presented each year to a woman who life has been touched by a YWCA Hamilton program who has distinguished herself through exceptional dedication and passion. Tamika is a graduate of YWCA Hamilton’s Construction Craft Worker Pre-Apprenticeship program, and is single mother to a two-year-old.
The distinguished list of 2023 Women of Distinction Awards winners are:
Shaila Jamal
Shaila is a Ph.D. researcher at McMaster University with training in geography and planning, and a STEM enthusiast who loves to teach data science to the Hamilton community. She is a volunteer researcher, educator, and a mentor to women in her field, including through YWCA Hamilton’s own Uplift Data Science training program.
Victoria Mancinelli
Victoria is deeply committed to advocating on behalf of women and racialized people in construction and the skilled trades. Through her work as the Director Public Relations, Marketing, and Strategic Partnerships at the Labourers International Union of North America (LiUNA), she has helped to ensure that women have the support they need as they navigate a male-dominated industry.
Dr. Sonia Anand
Sonia is a ground-breaking researcher, clinician, mentor and advocate for women in medicine, particularly in the area of women’s cardiovascular health. As a McMaster University professor of medicine and epidemiology and senior scientist of the Population Health Research Institute, Sonia has earned a global reputation for prioritizing research into women’s cardiovascular health, identifying health risk factors in diverse ethnic groups and for developing new therapies that benefit high-risk patients across the globe.
Marybeth Leis Druery
Marybeth has spent her career challenging traditional stereotypes of women in leadership. Marybeth spent her childhood in a strict Mennonite community, separated from society, where she was told that her only possible role as a woman was as a wife and mother. Despite the disapproval of her family, she studied math at University of Waterloo, independently financing her education, and went on to teach high school Math and Science.
Dr. Natasha Johnson
Dr. Natasha Johnson is a pediatrician and Adolescent Medicine Specialist. She is a champion for adolescent sexual health – specifically for marginalized, historically oppressed youth, and equity-seeking populations. Her ground-breaking work has ensured that trans and gender diverse youth can access life- saving, wholistic medical services – the first interdisciplinary service of this kind in the region.
Young Trailblazer Award – Shayna Earle
Shayna Earle is a fourth-year student in McMaster’s integrated biomedical engineering and health sciences program (iBioMed) where she focuses on Chemical Engineering. She is also Co-President of the McMaster Women in Engineering society. She is a leader, an advocate for women in engineering, and a mentor to girls considering STEM.
Lifetime Achievement Award – Janice Shearer
Janice is a philanthropist, athlete, and a proud grandma who has worked tirelessly for decades in many non-profit boards and organizations across the community. As a strategic professional with over 30 years of experience in consumer products marketing, post-secondary education and not-for-profit fundraising, she is currently serving as Board Chair of Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice.
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