Judges for 2022

Arts and Entertainment

Janet Bagnall was a feature writer, editorial writer and columnist during 35 years with the Montreal Gazette, specializing in coverage of children’s and women’s rights. A 2008 Women’s Y Women of Distinction laureate and twice an NNA finalist, since retirement she has worked on a number of community projects in the Eastern Townships.

Fabrice de Dongo is a bilingual communications leader with significant experience across financial and professional services, as well as in government. He currently leads media relations for the National Police Federation, a labour union representing approximately 20,000 frontline RCMP members across Canada and internationally.

Kate Jaimet is the senior editor of Canada’s History magazine. She previously worked at the Ottawa Citizen, where she spent seven years as a general assignment reporter and five years covering the environmental beat in the paper’s Parliament Hill bureau.

Joan Hollobon Award for Beat Reporting

Vanessa Lu is manager of strategic communications for the Ontario Science Centre. Previously, she was a reporter and editor at the Toronto Star for more than two decades. Her beats included health policy, labour, business and municipal politics.

Kelley Teahen is vice president, communications and marketing, at Parachute, Canada’s national charity dedicated to injury prevention. In 2022, her work won an IABC Gold Quill Award and nine International Safety Media Awards. She previously held senior communications roles at OCAD University, University of Waterloo and the Stratford Festival. Her journalism career included roles as a reporter, columnist and editor at the London Free Press, where she won five Ontario Newspaper Awards and served as a professional member of the Ontario Press Council.

Chris Welner is an award-winning editor and writer with a career in newspapers, magazines, and corporate and government communications from Halifax to Calgary. The Montreal native has worked at the Toronto Star, Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald, and in the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick governments. He has worked in international sport and the energy industry and was editor of IMPACT Magazine in Calgary. Chris runs his own communications consulting firm, Crystal Writing Co. He was the 2012 Alberta Magazines Editor of the Year and is a former vice-president of the Alberta Magazine Publishers’ Association.

Stuart M. Robertson Award for Breaking News

Elysia Bryan-Baynes spent nearly two decades as an anchor, reporter and lineup editor in Montreal. She wrote news and features for globalnews.ca, and covered the ins and outs of Quebec politics at the National Assembly. She now facilitates the Global News Academy’s race and reporting course and is a mentor to diverse reporters through a program offered by the Canadian Association of Black Journalists.

Shannon Miller is a former journalist who worked for two decades in small, medium and large newsrooms in B.C. She held every newsroom role imaginable (and some unimaginable), including managing editor and senior news editor at the Vancouver Province. Shannon currently manages media relations for Canada’s largest credit union, Vancity, and writes about seaweed.

Shaun Poulter is the executive director for strategy, public affairs and government relations at CBC/Radio-Canada. For 13 years he was a journalist for CTV and ISN. 

Breaking News Photo

Phil Carpenter has worked as a photojournalist for more than 20 years, including 13 at the Montreal Gazette, and since 2017 has been a reporter and video journalist at Global News in Montreal. He has taught photojournalism and visual journalism at Concordia University for more than a decade, helping to develop the institution’s graduate diploma in visual journalism. In 2009, Phil spent a month in Rwanda teaching multimedia journalism as part of a program to train working journalists. He is the author of Breast Stories, a book that explores issues of femininity and female identity through the profiles of more than 50 women from across Canada who have had a mastectomy.

Shane Kelley worked for more than 20 years as a photojournalist for three Canadian daily newspapers: the Toronto Sun, Toronto Star and Montreal Gazette. Along with news, sports and general photojournalism, she also photographed and wrote a weekly Style column for the Montreal Gazette for 15 years. Shane has also produced work for various American newspapers and magazines.

Riziero (Reg) Vertolli has spent 40 years in photojournalism and was the photography director at Metroland Media in Ontario before his retirement. Reg is now the academic coordinator and instructor for the digital photography certificate at Sheridan College’s continuing education program. He has also served on the advisory board for the photojournalism program at Loyalist College.

Business

Wassim Garzouzi conducts a national law practice as a senior partner with RavenLaw LLP. He is the past-president of the Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers and is well known as a prominent human rights lawyer actively engaged in the advocacy of civil liberties. Wassim is an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa’s faculty of law, teaching the advanced labour law course, in both the French and English programs. He is the co-author of Winning Cases at Grievance Arbitration, a text on law and the practice of labour arbitration advocacy.

Athana Mentzelopoulos works for the Government of Alberta as a deputy minister in the office of the Official Administrator of Alberta Health Services. She has spent most of her career in government at both the federal and provincial levels. She has also worked as vice-president of government relations at the Canadian Credit Union Association.

Bill Turpin worked in Montreal for the Sunday Express, The Star and The Gazette before moving to Halifax, where he became editor-in-chief at The Daily News. Subsequently, he learned about life on the receiving end of the journalism dynamic as a communications director for the Government of Nova Scotia.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary Award for Columns

Valerie Dufour is a senior manager for strategic communications at the National Capital Commission in Ottawa. From 2011 to 2020, she worked at the Canadian Association of University Teachers and for the New Democratic Party’s parliamentary communications team. Previously, she was a political reporter and investigative journalist in Montreal from 1999 to 2011. During her journalistic career, she worked for La Presse, La Voix de l’Est, Le Devoir, Le Journal de Montreal and RueFrontenac.

Sophie Gaulin has been executive director and editor-in-chief of La Liberté since 2009. Born in France, she studied Canadian civilization at the University of Bordeaux, where she developed a keen interest in Canada. She taught English in school and business settings for eight years. In 2006, she settled permanently in Winnipeg.

Kate McKenna is an award-winning reporter, currently assigned to CBC’s parliamentary bureau. She has more than 10 years’ experience as a journalist, including postings in Montreal, Halifax and Charlottetown. She is the author of a book on Prince Edward Island’s 30-year ban on abortion. Her work has also appeared on NPR, CNN and the BBC.

Editorial Cartooning

Danny Glenwright is the president and CEO of Save the Children Canada. A journalist by training, he previously worked as executive director of Journalists for Human Rights and managing editor at Xtra newspaper, The Philanthropist Journal and South Africa’s Gender Links news service. His work has taken him to more than 70 countries, and he has written extensively about gender and LGBTQ issues, media literacy and Canada’s role in international development.

Misha Warbanski is based in Whitehorse, where she is the manager of strategic initiatives for Polar Knowledge Canada. She has a biology degree from the University of Victoria and a journalism degree from Concordia, and spent almost four years working as a reporter/producer for CBC Radio in Montreal and Whitehorse.

Hugh Wesley is a veteran photojournalist who began his career at the Etobicoke Advertiser/Guardian before spending 28 years at the Toronto Sun as a two-way reporter, photographer and finally director of photography. Hugh co-founded Comfort Life magazine in 2002, and has freelanced for numerous Canadian dailies and magazines. For 34 years, he has served on the advisory board for Loyalist College’s photojournalism program.

Claude Ryan Award for Editorials

Anne McIlroy is executive director, strategic engagement, at the University of Ottawa. She spent more than 25 years in journalism, including 16 years at the Globe and Mail, where she was the first woman to hold the position of Parliamentary bureau chief. She has reported from across Canada as well as Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East. A graduate of Carleton University’s journalism program, she began her career at the Ottawa Citizen.

Deo Nizonkiza is a sessional lecturer in the University of British Columbia’s School of Journalism, Writing and Media and the UBC Sauder School of Business. He previously taught writing and English for Academic Purposes at the University of Burundi, McGill University and Douglas College in Vancouver. He holds a PhD in applied linguistics from the University of Antwerp, Belgium. 

Leslie Shepherd was a reporter, editor and manager for more than 30 years in Canada, the United States and Europe, working for the Canadian Press, the Associated Press, the Washington Post and the Globe and Mail. She has spent the past decade in health-care communications, currently as director of earned and social media for the Ontario Medical Association.

Explanatory Work

Michael Cooke is chair of Journalists for Human Rights. He has spent 50 years in newspapers, beginning as a teenage reporter on a weekly in the United Kingdom and much later as editor-in-chief of the Chicago Sun-Times, the New York Daily News and the Toronto Star.

Natascia Lypny is the features producer for CBC Saskatchewan based out of Regina. She leads in-depth and longform storytelling with staff and freelancers on the web, television, radio and social media. She also backfills as the News at 6 television anchor. Over the course of her career, she has worked as a reporter and editor in six provinces. Her work has been honoured with more than two dozen awards. She finds judging awards inspiring!

Mutsumi Takahashi is chief news anchor of CTV Montreal News. A graduate of Vanier College and Concordia University, she is honourary chair of Concordia University’s campaign to raise $250 million. She has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award by the RTDNA, received a member statement in the Quebec National Assembly and was named to the Order of Canada in 2018.

Feature Photo

Erin Combs worked for the Toronto Star for 28 years and was the paper’s first female photographer and visuals editor. In addition to her news photography, Erin also had an extensive fashion portfolio covering European and North American collections. She now lives in San Diego, where she continues to keep her camera busy with freelance work and travel, as well as doing philanthropic work for two non-profit organizations.

Greg Horn is a journalist and photojournalist based out of Kahnawake. A graduate of Concordia University, Greg has been involved in community journalism for nearly 25 years and owns the community weekly Iorì:wase. He is a two-time Quebec Community Newspaper Association photojournalist of the year.

Sébastien Michaud is from Montreal. After receiving his academic training in film photography at the turn of the 2000s, he pursued his career in visual art and photography, mainly in documentary photography. He has been working as a photography teacher for nine years. He was able to show his images in public at various photographic festivals in Canada and France. Many of his images are in private and public collections. He is working on two long-term projects, and serving on several selection juries and photographic competitions.

General News Photo

Alain Pierre Hovasse is a photojournalism consultant based in Vancouver. He spent more than 30 years as a professional photographer before retiring in 2013. Previous roles included: director of photography, QMI; supervisor of photo operations for the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee; director of photography at La Presse; assistant photo editor at the National Post; senior desk editor for the Association Press in London; Moscow bureau chief for Agence France Presse; photographer and editor for Reuters based in Brussels and London; and a photo stringer for United Press International based in Vancouver.

David Lee has worked in magazines for 17 years, first as a researcher at Canadian Business and then at Hello! Canada, where he served as assistant and associate photo editor. Working now at the University of Toronto as a photo and video editor, David says the thread that connects different facets of his career is a love of photography and the visual medium.

Julie Matus is a photographer, editor and director of photography whose career has spanned over 25 years with award-winning photographers and journalists. She has worked for the London Free Press, The Canadian Press, Weekly Scoop, GTA Today, Metro Toronto, Torstar’s New Ventures and was the director of photography for Zoomer magazine for over seven years.

Norman Webster Award for International Reporting

Okenge Yuma Morisho has been a public servant for more than 20 years. He has significant experience in public policy development and implementation at the federal and provincial levels, and has held several executive positions in Ottawa and Victoria. He currently serves as deputy minister with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in British Columbia.

Susan Murray worked as a journalist and foreign correspondent for the CBC for more than 20 years.  She was also a political commentator for TV Ontario and CPAC. Susan later worked as a political aide and as an executive in the forest industry. In retirement, she serves on several boards.

Graeme Smith reported for the Globe and Mail from 2001 to 2012, winning several awards including a Michener and an Emmy. His bestselling book about Afghanistan won the Weston prize for non-fiction. Graeme now works as a consultant on the Afghan peace process in Doha. He presented and co-wrote a documentary, Ghosts of Afghanistan, that will be broadcast this year in English, French and German.

George Brown Award for Investigations

Esther Enkin was ombudsperson for CBC News for six years. Before that, she held various senior positions in CBC news management. For over 30 years she worked in news and current affairs at CBC Radio and Television. She has written and lectured extensively on journalism ethics, codes of conducts and the role of ombudspersons.

Daniel Fontaine is Metis and the CEO at MICHIFCO, a 100-per-cent Indigenous owned-operated consulting firm located in B.C. Daniel is also the former CEO and deputy minister for Metis Nation British Columbia. He has had an extensive career working in government and the non-profit and private sectors. In 2013, Daniel received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for Public Service. He obtained a political science degree from the University of Manitoba and a certificate in media writing and public relations communications from Langara College. Daniel was a civic affairs columnist with 24 Hours Vancouver and the Orca, and a weekly political commentator on the Bill Good Show on CKNW radio.

Janice Neil is an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, and a previous chair of the School of Journalism (2016-2021). Currently on the board of the National Newsmedia Council and J-Schools Canada, she has worked as a senior producer, reporter and writer with CBC and the Ottawa bureau chief of TVOntario. 

E. Cora Hind Award for Local Reporting

Karen Macdonald is the news director/station manager at Global Montreal. A Quebec City anglo, Karen is passionate about the role journalism plays in protecting democracy. She judges the NNAs because it allows her to sample the outstanding quality journalism being produced across Canada day after day. Her claim to fame is being the editor and publisher of North America’s oldest newspaper, the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph, for more than a decade.

Winston Sih is a freelance multi-platform journalist and television host. He was known as a daily television host for Breakfast Television, digital correspondent for CityNews, and co-ordinating producer, digital, for Citytv. Winston is a journalism and media lecturer at the Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Megan Stewart is an executive producer at CBC News Vancouver. She previously worked as a section editor at a newspaper, where she led a months-long feature series that was a finalist for a national award. She won a National Online Journalism Award and has been recognized by her peers for her work as a sportswriter. She has reported from six Olympic Games.

William Southam Award for Long Feature

Natalie Clancy is an award-winning journalist and director of public affairs and communications at the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists. Prior to this role, she spent five years as director of communication at Unifor. Natalie spent 25 years reporting for CBC News across Canada in Halifax, Calgary, St. John’s and Vancouver. Her investigative reporting has won four CAJ awards, three Webster Awards, four Atlantic Journalism Awards, several RTDNA awards, a digital publishing award and a Canadian Screen Award.

David Gutnick recently retired from his job as a documentary producer at CBC Radio, where he worked for 36 years. His most recent book for children is Mr. Mergler, Beethoven, and Me. He lives in Montreal.

Katherine Monk is a bestselling author, filmmaker and journalist who started her career as a general assignment reporter at the Vancouver Sun in 1990, and wrapped it up as national movie critic for Postmedia/Canwest News Service in 2015. Author of Weird Sex & Snowshoes – And Other Canadian Film Phenomena, and more recently, Joni: The Creative Odyssey of Joni Mitchell, she has endeavoured to better understand the peculiarities of Canadian culture and celebrate our differences. A long-time contributor to CBC radio, Katherine reviews movies on-air, and scribbles for a website that celebrates the writing of retired writers, ex-press.ca.

John Wesley Dafoe Award for Politics

Mark Bulgutch spent more than 35 years with CBC News, beginning as a reporter and retiring as the senior executive producer of CBC TV News. He has also retired from teaching journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University after 35 years. He has written six books and will have a seventh published in the fall.

Miro Cernetig has written for some of Canada’s premier newspapers and was awarded the 2001 NNA for foreign reporting. During his time at the Globe and Mail, he served as bureau chief for Alberta and the Arctic, bureau chief and western editor in Vancouver, and later in the Beijing and New York bureaus. He was the Toronto Star’s bureau chief in Montreal and the Vancouver Sun’s western editor in Victoria before becoming a columnist. He has written and/or directed 10 documentaries that have been broadcast on CBC, BBC, National Geographic and other international broadcasters. Miro is also co-founder of CityAge, an international platform that connects thousands of leaders building the future of our cities.

Elena Cherney has been an editor at the Wall Street Journal since 2014, and is now chief news editor responsible for overseeing newsgathering around the world. The Yale University graduate previously reported for the Peterborough Examiner, Montreal Gazette and the Wall Street Journal (as its Canada correspondent), and was the managing editor and editor, Report on Business, for the Globe and Mail.

Presentation/Design

Roland-Yves Carignan was a reporter, editor, visual editor, and managing editor working in Montreal (Le Devoir, Montreal Gazette), Toronto (National Post), and Paris (Libération). After completing a master’s degree in social media journalism, he is now a journalism and social media professor at Université du Québec à Montréal.

Liam Maloney is a documentary photographer based in Montreal. His work has been published in TIME, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, Mother Jones, Le Monde, The Globe and Mail and many others. Known for his innovative approach to storytelling, his installations and photographs have been widely exhibited, from the Nobel Peace Centre to the MoMA. His work examines the intersection of technology and intimacy in contemporary conflict zones and explores new ways to tell some of the world’s oldest stories. Maloney is an assistant professor at Concordia University’s department of journalism.

Janet Matiisen is the former design editor at the Calgary Herald, where she worked for almost 25 years and won several design awards on her own and with her team. Currently, she teaches journalism at SAIT and looks for fun design projects.

John Honderich Award for Project of the Year

Catherine Boucek is vice-president of content at QuickSeries, a mobile app and content developer for the U.S. government and military. Before that, she spent more than 25 years working in digital media at Southam/Canwest/Postmedia, beginning as an online editor and later heading up national digital editorial projects including the Olympics and federal election websites. She also led content strategy teams across Canada as executive producer of Postmedia Content Works.

Sahar Fatima is the digital editor for the Boston Globe’s metro section. Sahar was previously a reporter and a digital producer at the Toronto Star, and has also reported for the Globe and Mail.

Rod Mickleburgh was a journalist for more than 40 years, 23 of them at the Globe and Mail. He was co-winner of the Michener Award for coverage of Canada’s tainted blood scandal, and the Globe’s Beijing bureau chief during the 1990s. Since leaving the Globe, Rod has freelanced, blogged and found time to write On the Line, a book about B.C. labour history, which won the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness.

Bob Levin Award for Short Feature

Jack Aubry worked as a reporter at the Ottawa Citizen for more than a quarter-century, mostly as a national writer on Parliament Hill, after serving as the Outaouais bureau chief and covering Ottawa city hall. He won a National Newspaper Award for Investigations in 1990. He recently retired as director of consultations and media relations for Finance Canada.

Nobina Robinson is a public policy expert, advocate and thought leader in Canadian higher education, innovation and skills policy issues. She has served in the Canadian Foreign Service and led two not-for-profits: the Canadian Foundation for the Americas and Polytechnics Canada. Between 2018 and 2020, Nobina was chair of Informed Opinions, which works to ensure that the perspectives and priorities of women are equitably reflected in the news media. Since 2022, Nobina serves as an Advisory Board member of Magnet, a national digital community workforce platform that connects talent to jobs.

Yvonne Zacharias began her career in journalism at the Chatham Daily News. Since then, she has worked at: the Regina LeaderPost, covering the Saskatchewan legislature; at the Calgary Herald, where she covered the Alberta legislature and became an assistant city editor; at the Montreal Gazette, where she wrote features and news, focusing mostly on education; and at the Vancouver Sun, where she covered news, features, business and sports, with occasional stints on the copy editing desk.

Sports

Brian Kappler started at the Windsor Star, then spent 30 some years at the Montreal Gazette as copy editor, “people” editor, entertainment editor, national editor, baseball beat writer, city editor, assistant managing editor and editorial page editor. For most of that time he also moonlighted as columnist Doug Camilli. Brian then spent three years writing editorials at the National in Abu Dhabi, UAE. 

Loreen Pindera recently retired from CBC News after 36 years as a reporter and editor. She is the recipient of many awards, including more than a dozen RTDNA awards for radio and digital journalism, and she was short-listed for a National Magazine Award for feature writing in 1991. She is the co-author, with Geoffrey York, of People of the Pines: The Warriors and the Legacy of Oka. An avid triathlete, she writes about her sport for Triathlon Magazine Canada.

Jack Romanelli is a senior editor with three decades in journalism and newsroom leadership. He has led several Canadian news organizations, including as managing editor of The Montreal Gazette and editor of the Halifax Daily News. Currently, he is managing editor of healthydebate.ca, a website affiliated with the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital focused on health care in Canada and mentoring health professionals to write for the public.

Sports Photo

Stan Behal spent 37 years as a photographer at the Toronto Sun, covering subjects as diverse as fashion in Paris, kings and queens, the Olympic Games, the suffering of the children of Chernobyl, and the destruction of the rainforest. He won three National Newspaper Awards and was honoured by the National Press Photo Award Foundation, the Missouri School of Journalism, the United Nations Environment Program and World Press Photo. Stan’s photojournalistic “mic drop” was the iconic photo of Kawhi Leonard’s “buzzer beater” that defined the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 championship season.

Bruno Schlumberger now delves into urban or street photography after 33 years as a photographer with the Ottawa Citizen. This passion is an ongoing project, which he considers the most challenging form of work and one of the purest forms of photography. It’s all about the discovery of unnamed situations that surround us at all times, transformed into framed images, with no purpose other than showing the mundane view of the world.

Jenelle Schneider is a former photojournalist who worked for the Calgary Herald and the Vancouver Sun. After 15 years in journalism, and realizing her goal of covering the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, she left journalism behind to pursue a life of adventure. She now runs a B&B on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua with her husband. 

Sustained News Coverage

Irene Caselli is a multimedia reporter and writer, with two decades of experience in radio, TV and print, now focusing on early childhood, reproductive rights, and carers. She is also a senior advisor for The Early Childhood Reporting Initiative at the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University. For a decade, Caselli was a foreign correspondent in Latin America, reporting for the BBC, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New York Times and others. In January 2021, she launched her own newsletter, The First 1,000 Days, where she writes about the foundational period of our lives.

Anne McNeilly retired recently as an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. Before joining the School of Journalism, she spent more than 25 years as a working journalist, including 18 years as an editor at the Globe and Mail and eight years as a reporter for the Ottawa Citizen and the former Kitchener-Waterloo Record. She won six provincial newspaper awards for beat reporting, feature writing, column writing and spot news.

Greg Quinn is a reporter and editor at Market News International in Ottawa covering the Canadian and U.S. economies, and previously worked for Bloomberg News. Greg is also author of “Crisis and Calm: Canada’s Central Bank From Dot-Com 2000 Through 2020 Covid Lockdown.”

Special Topic

Gabrielle (Gabe) Giroday is the media relations lead and editor of U of T Med Magazine, at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine. She reported for the Winnipeg Free Press and served as editor of Law Times at Thomson Reuters in Toronto, before joining U of T in 2019. 

Anne Kothawala is a public affairs executive with more than 25 years of experience in communications and government relations. Now president & CEO of the Convenience Industry Council of Canada, she previously worked with the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, the Canadian Newspaper Association and the Retail Council of Canada. A recipient of the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteerism, Anne has volunteered with several organizations including the Daily Bread Food Bank, French for the Future, and ParticipACTION. She currently serves on the board for the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada.

Louis M. Maraj, PhD, studies anti/racism, anti/blackness, and expressive form. Maraj’s book Black or Right: Anti/Racist Campus Rhetorics received CCCC’s 2022 and NCA’s Critical and Cultural Studies Division 2022 Outstanding Book Awards. His dozen-plus essays include the (co-authored) CCCC 2023 Braddock-Award-winning “I Am Not Your Teaching Moment.” For social-justice-oriented community, intellectual, and pedagogical work, Maraj received NCA’s Critical and Cultural Studies Division 2022 Scholar-Activist Award. He is an assistant professor in University of British Columbia’s School of Journalism, Writing & Media.

Special Recognition Citation

Ellen Hyslop is a co-founder and head of content at The GIST, a fan-first sports media brand that’s shaking up the male-dominated sports industry. Ellen drives The GIST’s content and client solutions strategy, including developing The GIST’s signature voice, tone and storytelling structure that’s resonated with over 1M GISTers across North America. In doing so, Ellen leads The GIST’s (amazing!) content team of 20+ women and non-binary folks and also co-hosts The GIST’s highly popular twice-weekly podcast, The GIST of It. As a lifelong avid sports fan and elite athlete, Ellen is not only passionate about her fave teams, but also about leveling the playing field in the sports industry. Ellen and her team were named to Forbes 30 Under 30 2020 and have been accelerated through programs with Facebook, MLSE, Comcast NBCUniversal, Techstars and Billie Jean King Enterprises.

Ria Renouf is a seven-time nominated major market news anchor and reporter, winning two Edward R. Murrow awards and a Radio Television Digital National Award for her anchoring and writing at CityNews in Vancouver. She’s also had bylines at CKNW and Global News. Renouf is now the managing editor of New West Anchor, a twice-weekly hyper-local newsletter focusing on municipal politics and community features. She’s always up for experimenting with social media as part of her storytelling, contributing to the creation of TikTok videos while at CityNews — something she still does with The Anchor.

Michelle Richardson is the former editor-in-chief of the Ottawa Citizen. In her current role as chief impact officer of the Royal Canadian Mint, she is focused on developing and supporting the organization’s environmental, social and governance commitments.

Journalist of the Year

Basem Boshra is the director of journalism and programming, CBC Quebec (English Services), and works out of Montreal. He spent more than 20 years at the Montreal Gazette, where he filled various roles, including deputy editor, managing editor, digital editor, city editor and columnist. He also spent time at CTV, the National Post and Dose. 

Amber Bracken is a photo-journalist based in Edmonton whose clients include National Geographic, the New York Times, the Globe and Mail, The Narwhal, the Wall Street Journal, and Maclean’s. Her work has been recognized by a Charles Bury Award for contributions to journalism and by a Pen Canada/Ken Filkow Prize for advancing freedom of expression in Canada. She is a two-time World Press Photo winner, most recently in 2022 for her image of a roadside memorial for Indigenous children who died at a residential school on Tk’emlups te Secwepemc land. She also won a National Newspaper Award for sports photography in 2013.

Marina Jimenez is the director of communications for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. Previously she worked as an issues and media strategist for the University of Toronto. During her 25-year journalism career, she worked at six different newsrooms in three provinces, including stints on the Globe and Mail’s editorial board, as a foreign writer for the National Post and as an on-air reporter for CBC Alberta News. She is the proud recipient of the 2003 National Newspaper Award for Beat Reporting, and was an NNA finalist on three other occasions. She continues to work as a freelance travel writer.