Contact:
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.9017; Marianne_Meadahl@sfu.ca

  
Photos on Flickr

Commitments to community engagement, the environment and homelessness have netted an executive director, faculty member and student from Simon Fraser University 2012 YWCA Women of Distinction nominations.

Joanne Curry, described as a “committed City of Surrey champion” has guided SFU’s Surrey campus since its inception 10 years ago and is nominated in the Non-Profit & Public Service category.

Meanwhile assistant professor Janet Moore at SFU Vancouver’s Wosk Centre for Dialogue in named in the newly added Environmental Sustainability category.

And communication student Hope Wang, one of six nominated for a Young Women of Distinction award, is focusing on improving conditions in the Downtown Eastside in her role with the Vancouver Board of Trade’s Leader of Tomorrow program.

The three are among 71 nominees in 11 categories who are in the running for the prestigious awards, to be announced on May 24.

Curry is cited for her leadership and dedication, which has shaped the development of what is recognized to be “a leading example of university-community engagement in Canada, one built on mutually beneficial relationships within the community.”

In addition to leading SFU Surrey, Curry has lent her visionary thinking to the university-wide and community consultation that recently resulted in a new strategic vision for SFU.

Moore is cited for inspiring “a generation of advocates who have individually and collectively contributed to a more sustainable region.”

She led the BC Working Group on Sustainability Education (2006-2010) and is co-founder of CityStudio. The multi-disciplinary hub of learning grows collaborations between post-secondary institutions and the City of Vancouver and is turning environmental and urban sustainability ideas into action.

Wang’s goal is to work in the non-profit sector tacking youth homelessness and empowering low-income immigrants. Besides her work on the Vancouver BoT’s inner-city sub-committee and with Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) Simon Fraser, the Richmond resident has worked as a media education facilitator with Pacific Cinematheque, working to intergrate technology and critical thinking skills into elementary schools in the community’s school district.

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