These awards acknowledge contributions made by volunteers and long-time members within the association. They also foster excellence in the nursing profession and promote the profession to the public by highlighting the best of nursing practice, education, research, administration and policy.
Education/Mentorship
Award of Merit

Una Ferguson, Royal Ottawa Hospital
Una Ferguson is a veteran RN with more than 52 years of experience. She is also a grandmother of four who enjoys technology, which has led to a loving nickname from her colleagues on the Staff Nurse Interest Group and from her night co-workers: Techno Granny.
HUB Fellowship

Lhamo Dolkar, St. Michael’s Hospital
Lhamo Dolkar has always had a passion for health care. She worked as a homeopathic practitioner and educator in India before coming to Canada in 2009. When she arrived, she enrolled at Toronto’s Ryerson University to become an RN.
Leadership Award in Nursing Education (Staff Development)

Alicia Moonesar, Humber River Hospital
Alicia Moonesar says it is thanks to mentors and role models she looked up to as a novice nurse that she was inspired to work in staff development. She currently works as an NP at Humber River Hospital.
Leadership Award in Student Mentorship

Suzanne Fredericks, Ryerson University
Suzanne Fredericks has been teaching nursing students since 2003. After receiving her BScN from Ryerson University, she immediately started working on her master’s degree at the University of Toronto, followed by her PhD studies.
Group
Chapter of the Year

Sudbury Chapter
With the largest membership base in its region, and an active executive, RNAO’s Sudbury Chapter owes a lot of its success to persistence and listening to its members.
Interest Group of the Year

Community Health Nurses’ Initiatives Group (CHNIG)
The Community Health Nurses’ Initiatives Group (CHNIG) prides itself on collaboration, a skill that community health nurses use in their day-to-day practice. The group, which includes over 850 members, has had a busy year with a variety of unique events.
Promotion of a Nursing Program

Trent/Fleming School of Nursing
An essential goal for Peterborough’s Trent/Fleming School of Nursing is to always prepare nursing students for real-world nursing through evidence-based practice.
Leadership
Leadership Award in BPG Implementation

Arlene Masaba, University of Calgary
Arlene Masaba has seen first-hand the way that nursing is a truly global profession. She currently works for the University of Calgary, and is based in Doha, State of Qatar.
Leadership Award in Nursing Administration

Esther Moghadam, Ottawa Public Health
As the chief nursing officer and director of health promotion at Ottawa Public Health, Esther Moghadam sees herself as a change agent who can impact others. “Every leader has to be able to expect and manage change.
Leadership Award in Nursing Education (Academic)

Louela Manankil-Rankin, Nipissing University
Louela Manankil-Rankin is a dedicated educator who has worked in nursing education for 20 years. She graduated from the University of Toronto in 1986 and achieved her PhD at McMaster University in 2015.
Leadership Award in Nursing Research

Karey McCullough
For Karey McCullough, nursing was a calling.
Leadership Award in Political Action

Sepelene Deonarine
If you have attended RNAO’s Queen’s Park Day or Queen’s Park on the Road (QPOR), you have probably met Sepelene Deonarine, political executive network officer (ENO) for the Durham Northumberland Chapter and the International Nurses Interest Grou
Lifetime Achievement Award

Una Ferguson, Royal Ottawa Hospital
Una Ferguson is a veteran RN with more than 52 years of experience. She is also a grandmother of four who enjoys technology, which has led to a loving nickname from her colleagues on the Staff Nurse Interest Group and from her night co-workers: Techno Granny.
Lifetime Achievement Award

Vicki McKenna, Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA)
For more than 20 years, RN Vicki McKenna has been an activist for nurses, living by the words of her father, who “…would have this mantra…pay attention to what’s happening and help those around you,” she recalls.
President's Award for Leadership in Clinical Nursing Practice

Aric Rankin, De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre
Primary care NP Aric Rankin has always had a passion for working with Indigenous communities.
President's Award for Leadership in Clinical Nursing Practice

Salima S.J. Ladak, Toronto General Hospital
Salima S.J. Ladak, a nurse practitioner for more than 15 years, believes effective leaders are those who can recognize leadership in others and influence change in a positive way.
Student (Undergrad)
Student of Distinction

Mitchell Martel, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care
Mitchell Martel has always had a strong belief that nurses can make a huge difference with their voices.