Congratulations to our 2023 Awards of Excellence Recipients!

It is our pleasure to announce Career Professionals of Canada’s 2023 Awards of Excellence Program recipients.

With our new guidelines in place for the 2023 awards program, the bar was raised. Still, the competition proved rigorous as we received 42 outstanding submissions to evaluate. I’d like to offer special thanks to our 2023 team of judges who were presented with the difficult challenge of selecting the winners, honourable mentions, and nominees this year — this was not an easy task!

CPC’s membership comprises some of the very best in our profession. Please do send your congratulations to 2023’s Awards of Excellence winners, honourable mentions, and nominees!

Outstanding Career Leader

• Winner: Rita Kamel
• Nominee: Arjuna George

Outstanding Career Professional

• Winners: Brent Warman | Ibiyemi Balogun
• Honourable Mentions: Sweta Regmi | Tara Lehman | Alicia Ch’ng Lay Im
• Nominees: Robin Markel | Gail Kastning | Jean D’Souza | Sharla Kane | Michelle Precourt

Outstanding Community Outreach Strategist

• Winner: Lisa Gagner-Carr
• Honourable Mention: Peter Elmar Bordo

Outstanding Employment Interview Strategist

• Nominee: Kasindra Maharaj

Outstanding Social Media Strategist

• Winner: Emma Hartley
• Nominee: Arjuna George

Outstanding Résumé – Career Change

• Winner: Kamee Gilmore
• Nominees: Matt Purdey | Michelle Black

Outstanding Résumé – Creative

• Winner: Amy Watt
• Honourable Mentions: Kamee Gilmore | Lori Jazvac | Joy Halfkenny

Outstanding Résumé – Executive

• Winner: Karine Touloumjian
• Honourable Mentions: Shawna Quinn | Amy Watt | Marian Bernard  | Dorothy Keenan | Gabrielle Suttis

Outstanding Résumé – Internationally Educated Professional (IEP)

• Winner: Karine Touloumjian
• Honourable Mentions: Joy Halfkenny | Matt Purdey
• Nominees: Karen Shane | Eralda Isufaj | Shobana Thangavadivel

Outstanding Résumé – New Graduate Entry Level

• Winner: Marian Bernard
• Honourable Mention: Stephanie Steele
• Nominee: Shawna Quinn

Outstanding Résumé – Technical

• Winner: Gabrielle Suttis
• Honourable Mentions: Eralda Isufaj | Lori Jazvac

Outstanding Volunteer Contributors (Executive Director’s Awards)

Sharon Graham is thrilled to announce the CPC Awards of Excellence Executive Director’s Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Contributors. These awards stand as a testament to exceptional dedication and contributions in support of the growth of Career Professionals of Canada (CPC). Recipients of this distinguished recognition have demonstrated a significant commitment of time, energy, thought, and action, setting them apart as truly outstanding contributors.

This year, our Executive Director extends a special recognition to CPC’s inaugural board members for their unwavering dedication and integral role in shaping the foundation of our not-for-profit association. The remarkable commitment from each of these leaders has been instrumental in establishing the framework that drives our organization’s success:

Barb Penney | Cathy Milton | Dorothy Keenan | Erika Mendonça-DeSilva | Felisha Ali | Gabrielle LeClair

Nothing would be possible without the outstanding contributions of our many volunteers. Honourable mentions are extended to all volunteer teams, whose tireless efforts consistently elevate the mission and reputation of CPC.

Ambassador Team | Awards Judging Team | Certification Team | Communications Team | Social Media Team | Tele-networking Team

The recipients of the Volunteer Awards are as follows:

• Felisha Ali: Commended for exceptional contributions to website content and leadership of CPC’s Members Matter program.
• Skye Berry: Applauded for demonstrating unwavering loyalty as a CPC supporter and her dedication and integrity in the administration of our certification program.
• Joy Halfkenny: Honoured as one of our newest certification team volunteers for exemplifying grace and efficiency in evaluations, consistently stepping up when fellow team members are not available.
• Lori Jazvac: Recognized for long-term, compelling contributions to our news feed communications and her enthusiastic leadership of CPC’s tele-networking program.
• Dorothy Keenan: Acknowledged for invaluable contributions to the development and launch of CPC’s popular Special Interest Groups (SIG) program.
• Erika Mendonça-DeSilva: Recognized for her role in overhauling CPC’s Awards of Excellence program, contributing significantly to its current and future success.
• Karine Touloumjian: Celebrated for her ongoing support of CPC programs and for outstanding attendance and contributions at our new member Welcome Wagon sessions.

These outstanding members embody CPC’s core values and commitment to excellence. They exemplify the spirit of volunteerism and have played a pivotal role in advancing the mission of Career Professionals of Canada.

The individuals being honoured have dedicated a minimum of 20 hours of focused and impactful service to CPC within a single year. The selection of award recipients is thoughtfully determined by the Executive Director and subsequently approved by the esteemed judging team.

Thanks also to all of CPC’s ad hoc volunteers and silent partners who help make Career Professionals of Canada an exceptional organization.

Awards of Excellence recipients can use these logos on their website, social media, and marketing material (click on the image below to download the file):

CPC is now receiving submissions for the 2024 Awards of Excellence Program. Find out how you can be nominated in 2024.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who participated. It’s been another great year!

Cathy Milton has been a member of CPC for 12 years now, and holds MCRS, MCIS, MCCS, MCES, and MCWS designations. She is a member of the board of CPC and the association’s Compliance Director. When she’s not working, Cathy enjoys cooking, sailing in summer, and taking care of her pets.