2016 Award Recipients
Jolene Mahody
Business Award
Jolene Mahody, EVP and CFO for Chorus Aviation is a Chartered Accountant and has received her Fellow of Chartered Accountant designation, which is awarded for outstanding career and community achievements. She joined Air Nova in 1992 and has had an impressive and varied career track that has seen her take on increasingly senior roles. Jolene played a key role in the merger of four regional airlines into what eventually became Jazz Aviation LP, a successful IPO in 2006 and the evolution of Chorus.
Brigadier General Lise Bourgon
Flight Ops/Maintenance Award
Brigadier General Lise Bourgon is a highly respected maritime helicopter pilot with over 2200 hours flying the Sea King. She has been a pioneer of gender integration and her career includes numerous milestones: she was the first female LtCol pilot commanding officer of an operational squadron, first female colonel wing commander, and the first female commander of joint task force- Iraq in Kuwait commanding over 600 CAF personnel. She has twice been the Canadian representative for the Women in NATO Working Group. She has worked on issues affecting women in the CAF and wrote her staff college thesis on retention and work-life balance. She has multiple degrees, the latest a Master of Public Administration.
Dr. Sylvie Beland
Government Award
Dr. Sylvie Béland, Internationally recognized aerospace and space scientist whose work has contributed to new technologies to the Canadarm2 and the International Space Station. She is the first woman aerospace R&D director at the National Research Council in charge of the largest laboratory in the country with a staff of 100. She has held a number of senior positions at the Canadian Space Agency and served a five-year term as Counselor on Space and Commercial Affairs at the Canadian Embassy in Paris. She also acted as a Permanent Delegate of Canada to the European Space Agency. She is now the NRC co-champion on the National Women In Science and Technology Committee. She has written many papers and a book on high performance resins and their composites, and has received many awards including the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee.
Navreet Saini
Rising Star
Navreet Saini graduated from Ryerson University’s aerospace engineering program in 2012 while completing three consecutive internships with Bombardier Aerospace. Upon graduation she accepted an avionics engineering position with Bell Helicopter and has since transferred to the flight test and experimental department. During her undergrad she worked on the ramp at the Brampton Flight Center where she also obtained her private pilot’s licence and night rating. She aspires to work in the human factors and aviation safety sector.
Watch the Elsie Award presentations on Youtube.