The Urban Animal Virtual Adjudication Event will be held on June 25th. Five nominees will be attending the event; read about the merit discussions they are bringing forward here.
- Cedar Santanna with The NASH Project
- Camille Block with The Animal Abuse Defense Registry
- Keryn Duncan with SALI’s Farm
- Darlene Grady Lunn with Marley’s Hope
- Tyler Flockhart with Feline Overpopulation
- Janet Cutler with Socialization in Puppies
Scholarship recipients are awarded a full delegate package to attend and present at the 2015 Summit for Urban Animal Strategies in Alberta on October 14-17. Scholarships are valued at up to $2,700 and include Summit registration fees, meals, gratuities, accommodations, and up to $550 in travel subsidies.
The Virtual Adjudication Event will be presided over by four leading professionals. Each has a broad understanding of the history and experience of people and pets in our communities. The 2015 Adjudicators for the Virtual Adjudication Event are:
Line Champagne, CMA, FCMA, Urban Animal Adjudicator, Mentor
Ms. Champagne is an Urban Animal mentor, and professional accountant with a 35 year career spanning private and public sectors. She recently retired from a distinguished career with the Executive Cadre of the Federal Public Service. Ms. Champagne was the President of the Society of Management of Nova Scotia, a former member of the CKC Finance and Audit committee and a well known world class breeder of Standard Schnauzers.
Dr. Carlton Gyles, DVM, PhD, University of Guelph, Urban Animal Adjudicator
Dr. Gyles came to Canada in the late 1950s and spent his career as a professor, researcher, and mentor at the Ontario Veterinary College. Dr. Gyles also held administrative positions including Department Chair, Associate Director of the Canadian Institute for Food Safety, Dean of Graduate Studies, and Interim Dean of the Ontario Veterinary College. Dr. Gyles studied E. coli for most of his career and he was one of the first people to identify how a toxin produced by E. coli could cause illness in swine.
In 2006, Dr. Gyles was named the OVC Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumnus. Dr. Gyles is also the recipient of the Roche Diagnostics/CSM Award which is considered to be the highest honor of the Canadian Society of Microbiologists. He has been a strong contributor to scholarly literature, is the Editor-in-Chief of of the Canadian Veterinary Journal, and is the co-editor of a textbook on bacterial pathogenesis.
Mary Lou Leiher, Urban Animal Adjudicator, Mentor
Ms. Leiher works with Toronto Animal Services and is the Board Secretary for the Association of Animal Shelter Administrators of Ontario. She was an Urban Animal Nominee in 2014 for launching the Blue Paw Pet Licensing Rewards program. This program provides exclusive offers and discounts on pet-related products and services to owners who license their cats and dogs. This program encourages communication throughout the pet community creating a more positive environment and experience for all pets and their owners.
Angela Poirier, Urban Animal Adjudicator, Mentor
Ms. Poirer is an Urban Animal mentor from her career as a senior policy analyst with the government of Nova Scotia. She received an Urban Animal Summit Award (Product/Service Innovation) in 2013 for kick starting the WOOF program (Working On Our Future), a partnership between the Department of Justice and the Nova Scotia SPCA where offenders help socialize dogs to increase their adoptability. Ms. Poirer has an extensive background in policy development and communications with a Masters in Public Administration from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University.
