Bringing a perfect opportunity to network, reconnect and celebrate with colleagues and peers across the tech industry, this year’s Canada edition of the Women in IT Summit and Awards will be the first to take place in person since 2019, commencing at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto.
The ceremony will be the fourth of five awards events this year, the UK and Asia editions having happened in February and June, respectively, while WIT Awards USA will commence in September and Ireland in December 2022.
This will be presented on the same day as the Women in IT Summit Canada 2022.
The Women in IT Summit and Awards Series has been raising awareness of the contributions and successes of women in tech since 2015 while recognising the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion.
The full shortlist of exceptional women and allies participating in the Women in IT Awards Canada 2022 is as follows:
Advocate of the Year
Alma Barranco-Mendoza, Infogenetica Solutions Ltd
Frincy Clement, Women in Artificial Intelligence Canada, TELUS Business
Helen Knight, H. Knight Non-Profit IT Consulting Inc.
Nasheen Liu, The IT Media Group Inc.
Sana Abou Shaaban, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
Santa Di Stefano, Pythian Services Inc.
Shiyamali Paranirupasingam, Women in Artificial Intelligence (WAI)
Ally of the Year
Annayah Jean Fernandez Rivera, Accenture
Marie-Christine Legault, Cprime
Rhonda Rudnitski, SECURE Energy
Chief Information Technology Officer of the Year
Amanda Jane Preece, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Kristine Middlemiss, Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies
Michelle Joliat, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Data Leader of the Year
Andrea Niu, General Motors
Delsie Sequeira, ICF Consulting Canada
Diana Esparza, Export Development Canada (EDC)
Kasia Wakarecy, Pythian Services Inc.
DEI Initiative of the Year
Accenture Technology and I&D Recruitment Team, Accenture
Neurodiverse Professional Services Partnership, Salesforce
Women in Technology Group, Loblaw Technology & Analytics
Digital Transformation Leader of the Year
Darya Abdollahzadeh, realtor.com
Elaine Oei, Cineplex Entertainment Ltd
Elysia Douillard, JOEY Restaurant Group
Galia Forouzesh Far, Midfield Interactive
Marlene Ross, Oak Valley Health
Michelle Joliat, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Sumika Singh, Home Trust Company
Thanuja Karunamoorthy, Equitable Bank
Diversity Lead of the Year
Constance Frenette, Bell Canada
Sophia Dhrolia, Toronto Region Board of Trade
Employer of the Year
Entrepreneur of the Year
Cindy Gordon, SalesChoice Inc.
Innovator of the Year
Alison Menary, Embross/Toronto Public Library
Dr Chandana Unnithan, Lifeguard Digital Health
Garima Bajpai, Capital Carbon Consulting
Malgosia Green, Plenty of Fish
Stephanie Law, Greenlight Consulting
IT Team of the Year (led by a woman)
Colliers, led by Ferial Sheybani
Opendoor, led by Heather Natour
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, led by Lisa Schiraldi
SEDNA, led by Lakshmi Baskaran
ILoveMyQA, led by Margarita Simonova
RBC, led by Melissa Carvalho
Professional Engineers Ontario, led by Michelle Wehrle
Walmart Canada, led by Michon Williams
Eduplan Solutions, led by Nathalie Myara
Accenture, led by Jennifer Jackson
Next Generation Leader of the Year
Doris Qian, Government of Canada, Environment and Climate Change
Ellis Odynn, EY Digital Finance Institute
Garima Bajpai, Capital Carbon Consulting
Outstanding Contribution of the Year
Beth Gerritsen, Primary Care -Independent
Brenda Okorogba, Momentswithbren Consulting
Jenny Alfandary, Westario Power Inc.
Sustainable Tech Award of the Year
Tas Damen, Connected Canadians
Woman of the Year
Amanda Jane Preece, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Constance Frenette, Bell Canada Inc.
Jenny Alfandary, Westario Power Inc.
Julieann Esper Rainville, PointClickCare
Malgosia Green, Plenty of Fish
Maria Bolovis, eStruxture Data Centers
Michelle Wehrle, Professional Engineers Ontario
Santa Di Stefano, Pythian Services Inc.
Winnie Ye, Carleton University
To find out more about the Women in IT Awards Canada 2022, click here.
