IN THIS ISSUE … FOUR STRONG SISTERS … MINING FOR EQUITY DREAM JOB: PIPE ORGAN TUNER … SCULPTURE BUILT TO LAST THE MAGAZINE FOR THE BRANKSOME HALL COMMUNITY FALL 2021
HAIL TO
POLITICS GIRL That’s her online handle as Leigh ELLIOTT McGowan’94 rises as a U.S. opinion maker Page 8
A DONATION TO THE ANNUAL FUND IS AN INVESTMENT IN OUR FUTURE.
10 Elm Avenue Toronto ON M4W 1N4 Canada
Gifts to the Annual Fund provide our students with endless possibilities that are essential to the holistic education that they receive at Branksome, ensuring each of them graduates with an innovative mindset, ready and able to take on any challenges that come their way. Visit branksome.on.ca/donate or call 416-920-6265 ext. 212 to make your gift.
advancement@branksome.on.ca T 416.920.6265 ext. 212 branksome.on.ca/donate
Vision To be the pre-eminent educational community of globally minded learners and leaders. Mission Each day, we challenge and inspire girls to love learning and to shape a better world. Values Sense of Community, Inclusiveness, Creativity, Making a Difference
FALL 2021
Contents on the cover Leigh ELLIOTT McGowan’94 was photographed in Los Angeles, California. photo Adam Hendershott
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24 FEATURES
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The Life of Politics Girl
18 Built to Last
Leigh ELLIOTT McGowan’94 is immersed in U.S. affairs as a vibrant online opinion maker—even as she fights a debilitating and dangerous disease.
Liliana GENYK-BEREZOWSKY’62 expresses life—and her own dramatic life—through sculpture of often-monumental proportions.
12 Four Strong Women
22 Mining for Equity
The Panjwani sisters are united by their first names, their high achievements in health care— and their dedication to each other.
Mining engineer Carly CHURCH’01 is bringing as many women as she can into the male-dominated field she loves.
16 Falling Back Together
24 Dream Job? Pipe Organ Tuner
Valéry BROSSEAU’05 has transformed her struggles with mental health into a career with purpose.
While still in Junior School, Amy HATHAWAY Sandford’86 heard her life’s calling echoing through the church rafters.
IN EVERY ISSUE
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Principal’s Message
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Editorial
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School Scoop The power of connection A ‘double-edged sword’ Girls at the centre of change A voice for Branksome students
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Alum Life The Branksome mask Winning Women Your BFF at BH
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Class Notes
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Passages
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A Day in the Life On the beat in Bermuda
The READ Committee
Editor Tanya Pimenoff Editorial Advisor Berton Woodward Cris Coraggio Karen L. Jurjevich Karrie Weinstock
Contributors Andrea Aster, Chris Daniels, Martin Dee, Adam Hendershott, Patricia Hluchy, Jeff Kirk, Matthew Lavere, Arwin Manalac, Bruce McDougall, Gillian Minsky, Robin MULLAN’96, Janet Sailian, Jeanne ROSCOE Sheridan’48, Caley Taylor, Alex Tran, Amy VERNER’98, Diane Watson Alums, Employees and Friends of Branksome Hall
Design and Production Michael Cherkas + Associates
Branksome Hall 10 Elm Avenue Toronto, ON M4W 1N4 Tel: 416-920-9741 www.branksome.on.ca Contact: Rebecca Stoneman alum@branksome.on.ca Fall 2021 Volume 61, Number 2 Canadian Publications Mail Agreement No.40010445
View The READ online at branksome.on.ca/our-community/alum/the-read
From the Principal
Playing to Win at Branksome As we enter a new year, flexibility and resilience will be key parts of our unfolding strategy By Karen L. Jurjevich
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CALEY TAYLOR
s we start a new year and look to began six years ago when we engaged in new heights for Branksome Hall, strategy development using the “Playing to we continue to respond to the everWin” approach created by Roger Martin evolving context of the “pancademic,” and during his time as dean at the Rotman reflect on what sets our school apart. These School of Management, defines our winuncertain times demand agile, integrative ning aspiration for Branksome Hall. Yet thinking skills and an abilit gives us the flexibility ity to synthesize informato refresh and revisit our tion through the lens of our choices, thus enabling “These uncertain school values. It is also critius to better meet new times demand cal not to lose sight of our challenges and respond agile, integrative Strategy—choices that difeffectively to disruption in thinking skills ferentiate Branksome Hall the education landscape and an ability to and enable us to respond to and societal shifts. synthesize the evolving environment The opportunity to reinformation through and meet the demands of fresh our strategy is excitthe lens of our 21st-century learning. ing. Working with current school values.” The Branksome and former Board memStrategy, an exercise that bers Deborah Orida, Karen
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CORDES Woods’99, Charles Brindamour and Kilian Berz, as well as two school leaders, Michael Ianni Palarchio and Amanda Kennedy, we have formed a Strategy Steering Committee tasked with refreshing the current Branksome Hall Strategy. Our first step is to examine our current strategy and develop a prototype to test what resonates with various segments of our community. As we gain feedback from members of the Board of Governors, the parent and alumni executive committees, students and employees, we will refine and emphasize choices that are future-focused and highly relevant for today’s students. The final step in the process will be for the Board of Governors to approve the strategy refresh, which we anticipate will be in the spring of 2022.
From the Editor
On the Road to Retirement As I clean out my desk, I can truly say I’ve had an awesome career By Tanya Pimenoff
“When the future is unpredictable, there’s a need to build a strategic plan that can withhold resilience,” writes schools consultant Kelly Freiheit in a recent blog post for Education Elements. “We know resilience is connected to relationships.” As I read through the pages of this issue in preparing to write this message, I was struck by the importance of our strategy and our school values to who we are and to what we will become. As we say farewell to Tanya Pimenoff, Associate Director, Alumnae Relations, on the eve of her retirement after 33 years at the school and a heartfelt thanks for serving as longtime editor and constant gardener of this amazing, award-winning magazine, we also pay tribute to other extraordinary Branksome women, including Joyce WALKER McKeough’56 and Medora Sale Roe, whom we will miss dearly but who have indelibly shaped who we are as a community today. I am grateful for these giants upon whose shoulders we now stand, as well as excited for our future, with emerging voices and leaders such as Leigh ELLIOTT McGowan’94, aka Politics Girl, and the Panjwani sisters, whose incredible contributions to the health-care field are matched only by their dedication to each other. As you will see as you turn these pages, Branksome’s future has never been brighter. We will continue to ensure that our students are at the centre of everything we do. And I know that no matter what lies ahead— whether it be big challenges or big changes —we will be ready for it. R
I
t’s December and snow is falling outside my office window. Mine is not just an office tucked away at the back of 16 Elm; it is also my second home, where colleagues and visitors are invited to sit comfortably on an old family armchair, and where personal and Branksome memorabilia and photos provide a welcoming atmosphere. So, retirement. It’s a common word, but it doesn’t mean a whole lot until the time to prepare for it actually begins. My road to retirement began a number of years ago as I was becoming more involved in volunteerism and other activities that would, eventually, occupy some of my hours within the “work week.” By 2019, my daughters (one in Toronto, one in Amsterdam) were both married and in good careers, and my grandson was waiting to be born. Branksome and the world were ticking along just fine. Then came 2020. I was already easing out of my work responsibilities, Baby Leo was born and new perspectives came into play. COVID-19 hit us all with a shocking force and, at Branksome, ways of working were adapted almost overnight. Yet, with a reduced workload and shorter work week, the sweet taste of “not working” on Mondays and Fridays was very welcome as I adjusted my routine to ease into a quasi-retired lifestyle. I am grateful to the school and my colleagues for being so flexible and accommodating. But we still have this Fall 2021 issue to go! On our cover is the vibrant online personality Leigh ELLIOTT McGowan’94, who I remember from her school days as though it were yesterday. The other features show off some more of the broad diversity and accomplishment of our Branksome alums, from the four incredible Panjwani sisters, all in the health field, to pipe organ tuner Amy HATHAWAY Sandford’86, whose job is as rare as they come. Undoubtedly, The READ, through features and Class Notes, presents a wonderful look into the lives of our strong, talented and persevering alums. Integral to me in getting this and past issues into your hands has been the work of designer Mike Cherkas, editorial guru Berton Woodward and many talented photographers and writers. All delightful to work with, and I am immensely grateful for their hard work and commitment to this magazine. As I wrap up my career and sort through an abundance of files, photos and memorabilia, I shall decide what stays, what goes, and what will find a permanent home in archives. For anyone who has had to divest, you know it can be both a dreaded and an enjoyable experience. I know mine will be the latter. I shall miss this place and everything about this great school, but especially all the fascinating alumni I’ve come to know these past 33 years. R
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SchoolScoop NEWS FROM THE BRANKSOME HALL COMMUNITY FALL 2021
The Power of Connection With treats and music and parades, everybody’s back—and loving it
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ever have the words “welcome back” sounded sweeter. The Junior School greeted its newest and returning little ones in early September, and our Prefects were out front at 10 Elm with treats and music, hosting an exhilarating day designed for “ReConnection.” Students were thrilled to be back in actual class, in the pool and dance studio, enjoying impromptu lip-sync battles during Community Time and gathering outside for an actual Halloween parade and next-level staff costume contest. Athletes were back on the lake for dawn rowing practice, and on the fields and golf course for inter-school athletics. Likewise, our Parents’ Association had unprecedented engagement with a host of super well-attended socials and neighbourhood walks.
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Let’s just say it’s great to be back. In addition to much rich-learning and relationshipbuilding, fall highlights included a memorable 93rd Installation with wise caution about social media from CTV correspondent Heather WRIGHT’03, and an eye-opening, expert talk on parenting anxious youth from Dr. Lisa Damour. We also played co-host for the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools—in Canada for the first time. It was reassuring to see students step into old routines— and new discoveries and new experiences—with ease and a familiarity with how it’s supposed to be. Never has our value, a Sense of Community, felt stronger.
Installation
A ‘Double-Edged Sword’ Our 93rd annual celebration of student leadership, held on September 21, was memorable and spirited. Guest speaker Heather WRIGHT’03, CTV national news correspondent, shared an urgent and timely message about the “double-edged sword” of social media. She urged students to ensure they’re not isolated in like-minded online communities where misinformation has the potential to flourish. “These wild theories wouldn’t have gained traction 20 years ago,” she said. “We should all agree the [COVID-19] virus is real and makes people sick.” She told her audience to read from unfamiliar sources and talk to people with views different than their own. “And before you share something online, pause and think,” she said. “Is this real and could this be hurtful?”
Thought Leadership
ILLUSTRATIONS ISTOCK
Putting Girls at the Centre of Change Could there be a more inspired and timely way to illustrate one woman’s journey toward, as she put it, “stepping up and standing out?” The day before Marci Ien was to speak at a keynote session of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools’ Virtual Educating Girls Symposium, she learned she’d serve as Canada’s new minister for women and gender equality and youth. “Be who you are and stand up regardless of age,” said Ien, MP for Toronto Centre since last October. Session moderators, Grade 12 students Amonda and Vita, raised wide-ranging questions on meaning-
ful inclusion and how to lead with empathy. Indeed, an overall conference theme was that, particularly following the pandemic and global reckoning around racial injustice, educators were passionate about discussing their commitment to much more than content delivery. They’re entrusted with teaching girls that they’ve never been better positioned as future instigators of societal change. “Our thinking needs to shift to teaching girls how to position themselves in the world,” said Lisa Starr, associate professor and chair, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, at McGill University.
Remarkable Growth
A New Leader for Branksome Hall Asia Our sister school based in South Korea, Branksome Hall Asia (BHA), will have a new Principal come August. Dr. Blair Lee, currently the Head of Dalian American International School in China, will arrive with more than 25 years of experience in school administration, 18 of which were spent working internationally and 14 in IB schools. He holds an EdD in educational leadership from Lehigh University, an MEd in educational leadership from the University of Regina and a BEd from the University of Saskatchewan. He also served as a member of the international accreditation team for BHA in 2018. Current Principal Dr. Cinde Lock has decided to return home to Canada after eight years as a central figure in the development and growth of BHA, including four years as Principal. She has been appointed the new head of Pickering College, effective in August. Meanwhile, BHA shared the news that it will introduce a new school within a school, the Highland Boys Middle School, in September 2023 on the BHA campus. It will provide a single-sex learning environment for boys to the same calibre of academic excellence as is currently offered to its Middle School girls.
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SchoolScoop
Values
Our New Centre for Strategic Leadership
Conversations
Navigating Youth Anxiety It was a timely return to Branksome for a trusted friend, clinical psychologist and New York Times columnist Dr. Lisa Damour. At a virtual Conversations with Parents event on October 13, Damour said youth can best manage strong feelings with helpful expression and containment strategies. She dispelled the myth that mental health means feeling calm and relaxed all the time, and outlined strategies to promote and encourage young people (and older ones) to express their emotions, as well as ways to positively contain those feelings. She even likened the rise of the idea of the commercial wellness industry, and its promise of bliss, to a conspiracy theory. “First you convince everyone they’re supposed to feel good, then wait for their [stressful] day to start and show up with a product, an app or an oil.”
Graduates
Number of Graduates
Ontario Scholars
Scholarships Total Value
115
99%
$1.5m
Top Three Canadian University Destinations
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16 McGill University 12 Western University
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2021 by the Numbers “The pandemic subtracted much from our lives, yet it also gave us the opportunity to add to and transform our thinking,” said Principal Karen Jurjevich at last June’s graduation ceremony. As the grads embark upon their post-secondary lives, here are some quick stats about this very special class of 115: • The 2021 graduates were offered scholarships totaling more than $1.5 million. • 99 per cent were Ontario Scholars. • Top Canadian university destinations were Queen’s University (24), McGill University (16) and Western University (12). • International university destinations included MetFilm School in London. U.S. destinations included Princeton University and the Parsons School of Design. We welcome last year’s class to our alum community of more than 5,500 worldwide.
ILLUSTRATIONS ISTOCK
A VERY SPECIAL CLASS
Queen’s University
At Branksome Hall, values-driven leadership is a priority and links explicitly to our core values: Sense of Community, Inclusiveness, Creativity and Making a Difference. As we continue to strengthen leadership in our employees, the school, in September, established the Centre for Strategic Leadership (CSL). Karrie Weinstock, Head of the CSL, sums up its mandate and approach: “In the service of fulfi lling the school’s mission and strategy, the goal of the Centre is to contribute to the personal growth, resilience and well-being of all employees and build capacity in experienced and aspiring Branksome leaders. The Centre will promote leadership through individual coaching and mentoring, professional development workshops for school teams and by providing a wide range of leadership resources for the Branksome community.”
Student Profile
A Voice for Branksome Students Read all about it in The Elm Editor, co-edited by Grade 12s Vita Jackman Kuwabara and Sophie Shepherd By Gillian Minsky
CALEY TAYLOR
“I
t all sparked from one conversation and it turned into an idea: there needs to be a space for students to voice opinions without limitations,” says Grade 12 student Vita Jackman Kuwabara. “The student body has a lot to say and there needs to be a place for that.” So Vita, along with Sophie Shepherd, also in Grade 12, launched The Elm Editor, Branksome’s newest student-run newspaper, in November. The school’s previous newspaper, The Kilt Press, has been defunct for a number of years, and Sophie and Vita realized that the school’s student writers needed an outlet. As co-editors-in-chief, Sophie and Vita are excited about their plans. Conceived as a rolling electronic news source, the paper will also have a monthly print edition that includes articles taken from the website as well as exclusive features. The Elm Editor has five sections: Branksome community, global affairs, opinions, lifestyle and culture, and sports. While Sophie and Vita write articles, they don’t do it alone. “We currently have a writing team of about 60 people,” says Sophie. “We took anyone who wanted to write for us.” Alongside the team of 60, which includes section editors and copy editors, The Elm Editor also has a smaller group in place as a design team. “We don’t want to limit anyone from using their skills and voice,” adds Vita. “And with an opinion piece you have to be clear you’re not representing everybody. If people are passionate and want to put in the work to express what they’re writing about, I don’t want to bar them.” English faculty members Jill Strimas and
Sophie, left, and Vita at the Canon printer, which churns out monthly editions of The Elm Editor.
Jordan Small oversee The Elm Editor, and Sophie and Vita turn to them for their expertise in writing, managing teams, organizing content and developing mission and vision statements. “Vita and Sophie balance passion and creativity with a commitment to organization,” says Small. “They are motivated by an ardent commitment to highlight news that matters to Branksome’s diverse community.” Strimas sees great potential in The Elm Editor. “It is a space for young people to hone their leadership skills, exercise their voice, consider multiple perspectives and develop communication skills,” she says. “Taking a back seat and watching young people experiment, be brave, and challenge themselves is the dream for any educator.” Strimas has also connected the students with alum Meredith WILSON-SMITH’16, who is former editor-in-chief of the Queen’s Journal and a former back desk editor at The Globe and Mail. “She gave us advice about structuring a team and how to organize everything,” says Sophie. Meredith adds: “Above all else, I told Sophie and Vita to have confidence in their decision-making skills and leadership. It’s also important that they lean on one another in times of academic or paper-related stress, and not to be afraid to ask for help when needed.” Aside from The Elm Editor, Sophie and
Vita are also involved in many other activities in and outside of Branksome. Sophie is one of the two chairs of the World Affairs Conference, which will take place in February. Vita loves to dance and has been in Branksome’s dance company for years. Looking ahead to next year, Sophie is interested in studying political science and international relations. “I really like international mindedness and discussing different views with people,” she says. Last summer, she interned at Mercy Corps, an international humanitarian aid organization. Vita has two different interests she’s considering: international relations, and archeology and anthropology. “Two realms of humanities and social sciences, but both equally interesting to me,” she says. With The Elm Editor, both students hope the newspaper resonates with others. “I always find some of your best experiences at Branksome are when you are part of a team, and we’re already seeing this develop,” says Vita. “Our hope is to make a student-run newspaper that people are excited to engage with and excited to share their voice,” adds Sophie. “And also one that carries on after we graduate.” R Gillian Minsky is a communications officer at Branksome Hall.
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Features
ADAM HENDERSHOTT
THE LIFE OF POLITICS GIRL
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E E F S L
Leigh ELLIOTT McGowan’94 is immersed in U.S. affairs as a vibrant online opinion maker—even as she fights a debilitating health condition
BY BERTON WOODWARD
ou can’t keep Leigh McGowan down. Quite literally. She keeps popping up everywhere—on YouTube, on ssocial media, on the web, on her podcast. And when sh she pops, she’s very up. B Based in Los Angeles, Leigh has been known as Politics Girl sinc since 2014. She’s on Twitter as @IAmPoliticsGirl with 240,000+ followers, and on TikTok and Instagram, with a total of over 400,000 followers, under the aptly named @BreakfastRant. Because, yes, she does get pretty intense as she delivers her short videos about current U.S. issues. She gestures a lot. She squints at the camera. She modulates her voice like the trained actress she is. And she gives you very forthright opinions, ticking every progressive Democrat box. On TikTok recently, Leigh explained herself, from her kitchen as always, looking straight at the camera, aware her audience there trends young. “Those bigger issues like systemic racism or climate change or voting rights, they affect you, whether you think about them or not,” she told her followers. “So my pointing out what’s going on in the bigger picture might feel annoying or exhausting, but I’m doing it because it affects you and all of those people you claim to care about.” It was that kind of explanatory approach that got Leigh online in the first place, after the Democrats were given a drubbing in the 2014 Congressional midterms. Like a well-bred Branksome girl, she tried to get people involved (continued on page 10)
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Leigh, Sean and Lochlan at the second Women’s March held on January 20, 2018—a global protest following up on the massive 2017 Women’s March.
(continued from page 9) by calmly outlining how the system works, why there are primaries, what a caucus is, and much else. But as the 2016 presidential election campaign got going with Donald Trump, she became more and more partisan. Seeing the rise of such a “contemptible man,” she told her audience, “I’m furious, and I am heartbroken at the same time.” She was back for 2020 again, amping up support for the Democrats. She’s continued her influential commentaries all through 2021, about mask mandates, the January 6 insurrection, the Supreme Court, Texas abortions and much more. In November, after some state elections went badly for the Democrats, MSNBC late-evening host Brian Williams picked up her latest rant and remarked: “She makes a better case for the Democrats than the Democrats themselves.” Her Twitter following doubled overnight. Leigh’s evident energy and dedication— she’d like to run for Congress one day—are especially impressive when you learn the other part of her story: the potentially terminal illness she constantly lives with.
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hat side of her life is online too. She has a blog called “In Case I’m Gone,” which started as letters to her son Lochlan after the terrible diagnosis she received in 2008 when he was just six months old. She had become weak and short of breath, no longer able even to dance as she loved to do. That led to the surreal moment when a trio of doctors gravely informed her she had pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare lung/heart disease. “They were all dead silent and I said, ‘Well, I’m not going to die from it, right?’ And there was silence in the room. And I said again, ‘I’m not going to die from it, right?’ And then one of the doctors said, ‘Well, everybody dies.’ I went, ‘What?’” In fact, they told her, the disease had a common life expectancy of two to three years. Well over a decade later, she is still alive. But she still has the incurable disease. New drugs came along that extended her lifespan, but she knows her health could go south at any time. Even so, she can be an engaging storyteller about her debilitating condition, in her everintense style.
“It really does crystallize what’s important and what is not,” she says. “It changed the course of my life and in many ways it changed who I am. Sometimes I get very angry because I don’t think people understand how much of me is missing. I look completely healthy, but I need help carrying groceries.” It’s a tough daily regimen. “I sleep with oxygen, and when we go anywhere we take an entire suitcase filled with medical supplies. I take 10 zillion pills. Every three hours, I have an alarm go off to take meds, so I can’t do anything that isn’t interrupted, at some point, by a reminder that I’m sick.” Sick perhaps, but very vibrant. Growing up in north Toronto as an only child, Leigh may have acquired her passion for politics, if not her views, from her lawyer father George Elliott, a Conservative Party stalwart. Her outgoing personality undoubtedly mirrors her beloved mother, Penny LOWNDES Elliott ’63, a former alumni coordinator at Branksome who died in 2018. “She really loved her time at Branksome, as did I,” says Leigh. Arriving in Grade 6, Leigh threw herself into
BUT AS THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN GOT GOING WITH DONALD TRUMP, SHE BECAME MORE AND MORE PARTISAN. SEEING THE RISE OF SUCH A “CONTEMPTIBLE MAN,” SHE TOLD HER AUDIENCE, “I’M FURIOUS, AND I AM HEARTBROKEN AT THE SAME TIME.”
school activities, especially acting. “My parents used to call me Sarah Bernhardt,” she recalls. She did drama with legendary arts teacher Judith FRIEND’75, who only retired in mid-2021, she captained the swim team, sang in the choir, was a Clan Chieftain in the Junior School (Bruce) and the Senior School (Douglas), and was Communications Prefect in her last year. “I was a real joiner,” she laughs. She went on to McGill, where she did more stage work, and graduated with honours in English. Back in Toronto, she studied broadcasting at Ryerson, worked for a while in film distribution, and then decided, “I’m going back to my original dream—I’m going to New York.” So in 2000, slipping into the Big Apple without telling anyone back home, she auditioned at the renowned Circle in the Square Theatre School, got accepted and then told her surprised parents: “Please let me take this shot.” The school is set immediately below its associated Broadway theatre,“so when we did our shows, we did them on that Broadway stage. I got some amazing experience.”
n September 11, 2001, she happened to be back visiting Toronto. For Leigh, it was a huge turning point. “Living in New York felt like the first time I was living the life that I had chosen for myself,” she says. “And when 9/11 happened, I just wanted to be in that city so badly and to be around the people that I’d made friends with, the life I created for myself.” She has always been a proud Canadian, and still is. “But my love for America was solidified that day. I knew I wanted to be a part of everything that America stood for on 9/11. And what happened post 9/11—when we went to war, lying about weapons of mass destruction, the way Americans treated the Muslim people—
that sort of rooted me in Democratic politics. When George Bush was re-elected in 2004, I thought, I cannot live in this country for one more second and not vote.” Four years later, she became a citizen. There was another turning point in that period, when the theatre company took their
all-female comic stage show Pieces (of Ass) from New York to Los Angeles. It was kind of like The Vagina Monologues, with actresses delivering pieces about their characters’ lives and interacting with the audience at the end. Leigh found herself interacting with a good-looking fellow named Sean McGowan, who came back a second time and asked her out. He turned out to be an actor as well. They were married in 2005 in Toronto at the former Eglinton Theatre. Then came Lochlan in 2008—and that awful two-to-threeyear prognosis. It was at the three-year mark
that Leigh started writing her letters to Lochlan at incaseimgone.com. The blog took off, with strong response from around the world. “I was writing it as a way to come to terms with my feelings about dying and leaving my son behind. I wanted him to know I was a real person and not just some perfect memory he had to live up to. And I think because it was so personal, it felt universal.” At a major literary agent’s request, she spent two years turning the blog into a book manuscript, but the agent was unable to get it published. “They basically said that it would have been a lot easier to sell it if I’d died—because if I’m not dead, then who cares, right?” With Leigh’s health still difficult, Sean left acting to start a more flexible career, first in production and now with his own tech and entertainment business, which includes editing her Politics Girl posts. Leigh is also working on another book, outlining her solutions to society’s challenges. She’s pretty clear on many of today’s hot issues. She’d like to see the U.S. Supreme Court expanded, she embraces racial justice, and she backs the president, despite starting out as an Elizabeth Warren supporter. “I think Joe Biden was the right choice. He was what America needed in the moment to get past Trump.” She hasn’t forgotten her native country. “Canada has a far greater sense of the common good than America. Canada is definitely on a better track than America.” But Politics Girl is immersed in U.S. affairs, and thinks that if her health holds, she could run for Congress in 2024 or 2026 because Lochlan would be fully grown then. “If I’ve learned anything from being sick, it’s that I want to be present in his life when he’s around.” So get ready for a new face in Washington. You can’t keep Leigh McGowan down. R Berton Woodward is a Toronto-based writer, editor and communications consultant.
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Features
Dilnoor’01 is a senior emergency management consultant with the Ontario government.
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Dilshaan’10 is a family physician currently working on a palliative care fellowship.
Dilzayn’05 is a manager at a health technology company in Silicon Valley.
JEFF KIRK
FOUR STRONG
WOMEN
The Panjwani sisters are united by their first names, their high achievements in health care—and their dedication to each other BY PATRICIA HLUCHY
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MATTHEW LAVERE
o one, except perhaps the authors of Freakonomics, would argue that the names given to children might affect how they get along with their siblings. But the way the four Panjwani sisters got their names does seem to dovetail with their deep love for each other and their shared commitment to helping others. Their parents, Indian-born psychiatrist Dr. Dilkhush Panjwani and his wife, Shahnaz, a native of Pakistan who manages his practice, took an unusual route in deciding what to call each of their girls: they combined letters from their own first and last names, as well as Shahnaz’s maiden name, Noor. “It was purely the creativity of my parents,” says daughter Dilnoor, who adds with a laugh, “and it can be a bit confusing.” But lovely and resonant, too. After all, explains sibling Dilzayn, “‘Dil’ means ‘heart’ across many South Asian and Middle Eastern languages, and that is the unifying word in all our names.” The sisters are Dilnaz’99, Dilnoor’01, Dilzayn’05 and Dilshaan’10. All four say Branksome had a huge impact on their lives and careers. And all four currently work in health care or a health-care related field. “The common thread is the notion of helping people,” notes Dilnoor. (continued on page 14)
Dilnaz’99 is an emergency physician at a level-one trauma centre in Detroit.
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Features
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nd while they have been mostly farflung in studies or work during their adult years, their constant contact by phone, video or text is indispensable and keeps them grounded.“I feel lucky to be the youngest,” says Dilshaan. “I have such strong role models in my sisters. They each have a great group of successful female friends, and being surrounded by so many strong women growing up had a profound impact on me.” Her siblings return the compliment. “Dilshaan and I are 10 years apart,” observes Dilnoor, “so we’re at very different periods of our lives. But when we are together, I learn so much from her in terms of her generation and her unique perspective on issues.” The eldest, Dilnaz, adds, “My sisters were definitely a lot cooler than me. I was always more the straightand-narrow, studious type.” Dilzayn in the middle observes, “The fact that Branksome is a shared experience among all of us has added to our bond as sisters.” Have they ever been competitive with each other? All four, describing themselves as wideranging foodies and travellers, say they only squabble about trivial things such as where to get the best thin-crust pizza in New York City or what their itinerary should be when they’re travelling abroad together. “We all love celebrating each other’s successes,” says Dilnaz. “When Dilshaan and Dilzayn became prefects, it was as if we were all prefects.” The sisters say their parents’ work in health care and efforts to obliterate the stigma around mental illness have affected their career choices. So, too, has their ethnic community—in Timmins, Ont., where the family immigrated from the U.K. in 1985, and in Toronto, where they moved in 1994. “In the South Asian community,” says Dilshaan,“there’s a strong emphasis on helping and supporting each other and on living and working in a collective, collaborative space.” This past Labour Day weekend, the
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Panjwanis were all united in Toronto after an 18-month, pandemic-related separation. Dilzayn recalls that it was a fun and heartwarming time, especially since being an aunt to Dilnaz’s three children and Dilnoor’s two is “one of the greatest joys of my life.” And it’s always a pleasure, she continues, for the sisters to communicate in person over homemade South Asian food.
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ldest sibling Dilnaz is an emergency physician at a level-one trauma centre in Detroit. She is also on the faculty of the local Wayne State University Medical School and an associate director of simulation for TeamHealth, a corporate medical group that staffs emergency departments throughout the U.S. She and her husband, intellectual property attorney Jason Tejani, have two sons and a daughter. She concedes that she ended up in emergency medicine partly because of the popular television series ER. “When I was an undergraduate, I remember watching the show and
“I WAS GIVEN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT I CAN DO ANYTHING THAT I WANT TO DO, DESPITE MY GENDER. THE TEACHERS CERTAINLY CULTIVATED A LOVE OF LEARNING. SO, DEFINITELY, THE SKY WAS THE LIMIT.” – DILNAZ
DILNOOR HAS BEEN DEEPLY INVOLVED WITH ONTARIO’S RESPONSE TO COVID-19. “IT’S BEEN NON-STOP. BUT IT’S ALSO BEEN A TIME WHEN WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO QUICKLY IMPLEMENT QUALITY PROGRAMS AND POLICIES TO FIGHT THIS PANDEMIC.”
joking that I was going to be an ER doctor at an inner-city hospital.” Dilnaz got a taste of a real ER when doing a rotation in New York City during a pediatric month, realizing, “This is it, this is where I belong.” For Dilnaz, Branksome instilled in her the resilience and grit that females sometimes need in male-dominated careers. “I was given the knowledge that I can do anything that I want to do, despite my gender. The teachers certainly cultivated a love of learning. So, definitely, the sky was the limit.” Second eldest Dilnoor came to Branksome in Grade 7 and says the school was “a stepping stone in shaping who we wanted to become, really igniting the drive towards success. The sense of community and the encouragement from faculty also really resonated with us.” Dilnoor, who has two daughters with husband Akber Samji, a forensic accountant, has been a senior consultant for the Health System Emergency Management Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Health since 2017.
Which means she’s been deeply involved with the province’s response to COVID-19. “It’s been non-stop. But it’s also been a time when we’ve been able to quickly implement quality programs and policies to fight this pandemic.”
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ilnoor has an MSc in development management from the London School of Economics and a PhD in planning from the Universit y of British Columbia, where most of her research was on disaster recovery in the aftermath of the tsunami in Indonesia. Prior to joining the Ministry of Health, she was a research consultant for the United Nations Development Programme for more than four years, specializing in disasters and resilience, and evaluating the UNDP’s support across more than 50 countries. “We were trying to understand what worked and what didn’t work, and how things could be done better the next time,” she says. “I’ve been able to bring my experience from other disasters and with other communities to
“DURING COVID, WE ENSURED THAT VULNERABLE MENTAL HEALTH PATIENTS ACROSS LONDON HOSPITALS WERE STILL GETTING TREATMENT AND THAT THEIR NEEDS WEREN’T FORGOTTEN.” – DILZAYN
“I HAVE SUCH STRONG ROLE MODELS IN MY SISTERS. THEY EACH HAVE A GREAT GROUP OF SUCCESSFUL FEMALE FRIENDS, AND BEING SURROUNDED BY SO MANY STRONG WOMEN GROWING UP HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT ON ME.” – DILSHAAN
the COVID response and recovery, and that has been exciting.” For her sense of community and good work, the Branksome Hall Alumnae Association gave Dilnoor the Young Alum Achievement Award in 2013. Third eldest Dilzayn had been employed in London, where, for two years, she worked for the U.K.’s National Health Service. There, one of her tasks was to help reduce the number of forensic mental health patients living in hospitals and safely resettle them in communities. “During COVID,” she says, “we ensured that vulnerable mental health patients across London hospitals were still getting treatment and that their needs weren’t forgotten.” She recognizes that growing up in a household where your father is a psychiatrist,“you quickly pick up on why mental health is so important. I wanted to play a role and contribute within this space.” Recently, Dilzayn became a product manager at a health technology company in California’s Silicon Valley. She has a master’s
degree in health policy from the London School of Economics. At Branksome, Dilzayn was elected community service prefect. “The school helped build a strong foundation for my life as I explored many opportunities, from sports to music to sharing my passion for my culture with friends through Indian dance at Branksome’s Infusion Night.”
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ilshaan, the youngest sister, is currently working on a palliative care fellowship at the University of Calgary, having completed her family medicine residency at Queen’s University in Kingston earlier this year. She intends to practise both.“Palliative care is a field of medicine that’s patient-centred,” says Dilshaan, who is engaged to rheumatologist Dr. Adam Amlani.“You find out what’s important to a person and help them achieve their wishes with a goal of improving their quality of life. You get to know them well and you see first-hand how families and communities show strength by coming together at the end of someone’s life. That is incredible.” At Branksome, Dilshaan was elected head prefect in 2009. “Mrs. Weinstock called me to give me the the news,” she recalls. “And during that conversation, I learned I was the first South Asian head prefect in the history of the school. That gave me confidence through university, and empowered me to take on leadership roles and represent people of colour.” It’s an inspiring story of achievement. Beyond doubt, the values of their parents and their community, along with their experience at Branksome—and maybe, even, how they got their names—all combined to lead the Panjwani sisters to help make the world a better place. R Patricia Hluchy is a Toronto freelance writer and editor who has worked for Maclean’s, the Toronto Star and other publications.
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Valéry BROSSEAU’05 has transformed her struggles with mental health into a career with purpose BY AMY VERNER
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ike the stories of so many high-profile Branksome alumni, Valéry Brosseau’s trajectory has been inspirational. It is a testament to resilience and determination; it reveals her dedication to helping people; and it celebrates her burgeoning professional and personal success. What differentiates her from many, though, is how she has found her sense of purpose by overcoming periods of extreme darkness associated with mental illness and its life-altering effects. And it could be very dark. “Everybody thought I was just this great, interesting go-getter of a girl who could hold a conversation with anyone,” she says. “Meanwhile, I was falling apart inside, and I had no idea what this was called or what was going on.”
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“It’s something to be proud of overcoming. And then being able to connect through that experience with someone else is helpful as well—to know that you’re not alone. You’re not a freak for having these battle wounds from what you’ve fought in the past.”
Now, as a public speaker, coach and writer, Valéry advocates for mental health while dismantling stigma. She carries out private sessions and company workshops and addresses issues such as suicide prevention with unvarnished directness. Drawing on her lived experience—including three suicide attempts, treatment and ongoing recovery—she has developed the tools and necessary language to communicate that progress is always possible. “Because we can’t see mental illness, we refuse to acknowledge it,” she told an audience at a 2019 TEDx McGill talk. At once poised and vulnerable on stage,Valéry spoke about the scars marking her arms from repeated instances of self-harm; elaborated on the ways that society makes light of mental health (as in, referring to the weather as “bipolar”); and concluded with the importance of improving mental health education. “Mental health is health. Talk about it. You could easily save a life.” The proof is irrefutable, as Valéry has endured the highs and lows of saving her own life for the better part of a decade. She can trace warning signs as far back as age 10, but identifies how certain behaviours turned more chronic and concerning while she was at McGill and following graduation. “I didn’t know that what I was experiencing was a medical condition, as opposed to a flaw in character, and I saw this as a shortcoming,” she recalls. For a while, she maintained a semblance of normalcy, even misleading a therapist into thinking that she had life under control. Finally diagnosed in her mid-20s with borderline personality disorder as well as bipolar disorder, Valéry felt a certain clarity after years of grappling with a chasm between her inward- and outward-facing actions. “It finally validated that this is something real that happens to other people and there’s something going on in my brain that’s different. It’s not for lack of fortitude,” she says. But if this marked the beginning of her journey in some respects, she stresses that
“recovery is rarely linear,” citing her darkest moments in 2014 with two suicide attempts just weeks apart. Emerging from five days in a coma, she eventually began in-patient treatment at a private facility in Boston. There, the clinician apparently marvelled over how Valéry had persevered as long as she had given the severity of her illness. “For me, achievement and accomplishment—these were my drugs,” she says, aware now that the situation had turned dire. At a certain point in her recovery, Valéry approached the Distress Centre Durham in Whitby, Ont.—near where her mother lived— to volunteer. Gradually, she progressed to mentor and trainer, coordinating their online support and communication. This experience contributed to envisioning her own potential as a coach and advocate.
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hat has now started to feel like a bona-fide small business. Valéry positions her services as “educated peer support,” making clear that she is not a clinician. Conversely, the relatability and empathy she possesses transcends any formal program, and between her training with the helpline, supplemental psychology courses from the University of Toronto and a diploma in social service work, she is highly qualified to provide well-informed and positive pathways.“There is a background in what I’m offering but I am not a therapist. I know my limitations.” Whether through workshops, talks or oneon-one sessions, Valéry is now cultivating self-worth in the most literal sense, noting how rewarding it feels when people agree to her fees. “There is a lot of self-worth that comes from a career, a profession.” And thankfully, amid the pandemic Valéry could continue her career working from her Toronto apartment, which she shares with her fiancé, Shane, and their rescue dog Wellington. She oversees all facets of her business, from scheduling to social media. “If you
see me talking to myself, I’m having a staff meeting,” she jokes. Asked how she processes the openness— frequently revisiting her suffering, displaying her scars, answering people’s questions— Valéry acknowledges that it was difficult initially. Without detaching from it, she is increasingly able to re-contextualize an authentic experience. “It’s not something to be proud of, but it’s something to be proud of overcoming. And then being able to connect through that experience with someone else is helpful as well—to know that you’re not alone. You’re not a freak for having these battle wounds from what you’ve fought in the past.” If many of the wounds are now covered by tattoos, she says the intention has never been to hide them. Similarly, steps forward and steps back can often blur, as when she took herself to the emergency room not long ago because this was the best way to de-escalate the situation and monitor her safety. Notably, she will need to live with her diagnoses without letting them define her.“I do have moments of despair where I think ‘will it never end’,” she admits. “But it’s a fine line. I do not want my identity to be my illness.” Perhaps this explains her longstanding attraction to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Having attained a high-ranking purple belt, Valéry says this reaffirms her notions of strength and confidence. “One huge thing about being strong in that sport is that it taught me as a woman to value my body for what it can do rather than what it looks like. And that was a huge lesson for me,” she says. From lessons to visions for the future, Valéry hopes to complete and publish her memoir and would like to do an official TED talk. One senses she will arrive at both. After all, turning dreams into reality is simply a more poetic way to describe personal progress. R Amy VERNER’98 is a freelance writer covering lifestyle and culture from Paris and Toronto.
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Jenyk IV, 1990 Wood, steel, manila cord, concrete, rubber, pulleys 437cm x 667cm x 19.64m
BUILTto LAST hen the National Gallery of Canada acquired one of her sculptures in 1989, Liliana Berezowsky joined the ranks of Canada’s most distinguished artists. She was 45 and had received her master’s degree in fine arts only within the past year. But over the previous decade, she had attracted acclaim for her industrial-scale pieces in solo and group exhibitions in Canada and Europe, and her work had captured an audience among cutting-edge critics and art connoisseurs. Liliana had dreamed for 40 years of becoming an artist, and the events and associated emotions of her life have contributed to the fulfilment of that dream. As Espace sculpture magazine observed in 1994, “Her work [integrates] the lived, composted experiences of her life, although she has never adopted them into her sculpture directly or by a
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forced process. Often the emergent allusions provide her with an unexpected surprise.” By the time the National Gallery acquired her monumental steel structure Boaz, Liliana’s life had provided her with a rich source of surprises. She had progressed through Branksome Hall, the University of Toronto and Concordia University in Montreal, survived a plane crash in Brazil, raised two children and experienced a three-year period of grinding poverty. References to her life emerged in 1990, for example, in her sculpture Jenyk IV, in which four gigantic spindles are bound in braided marine rope and suspended from a horizontal steel beam. The piece alludes to the shipping port of Montreal and the city’s garment industry, but also to the dissolution of her marriage. (continued on page 20)
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ALEX TRAN
Liliana GENYK-BEREZOWSKY’62 expresses life—and her own dramatic life—through sculpture of often-monumental proportions
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(continued from page 18) fter graduating from the University of Toronto with a degree in sociological and philosophical studies, Liliana married an engineer in the oil industry who incurred extensive debts when he tried to start his own business. For three years, they lived with their two young children in a 46-square-meter, uninsulated shack on cinder blocks in Pierrefonds, on the northwestern shore of the Island of Montreal, overlooking the Rivière des Prairies. Liliana had already taken up ceramics, then turned to sculpture, eventually creating Jenyk IV. “I looked at the piece,” she says, “and I thought: ‘Th is is my family hanging there’.” The work’s title comes from her original surname, GenykBerezowsky, which she used at Branksome from the time her parents enrolled her in the first grade. They had moved to Toronto from Europe when Liliana was almost four to live at Dundas Street and Euclid Avenue, in the heart of the city’s immigrant community, while her father taught Slavic studies at the University of Toronto. “He was very supportive of the arts,” she recalls. Not only did he read to her at bedtime about mythological characters like Icarus, Pandora and the Minotaur, he also enrolled her in Saturday-morning classes at the Art Gallery of Ontario, a short streetcar ride east along Dundas. Liliana’s father died when she was eight, but with support arranged by the principal, Edith Read, she continued at Branksome until she graduated. When she began exhibiting her sculptures in the late 1970s, she abbreviated her surname “because it was too long.” In Jenyk IV, she changed the G to a J, which “resembles a hook that things hang from.” On a more personal level, she says, the title pokes gentle fun at
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Dr. Jennie MacNeill, Branksome’s principal during her final four years, “who used to deliberately mispronounce my name” with a hard G. In 1991, more dramatic moments were captured in her life, when she created Antigon VII. The steel-clad wing rises four metres into the air, expressing the numinous profundity of myth and technology while referring, on a personal level, to the Greek myths that her father read to her at bedtime and to Liliana’s survival of a plane crash in Brazil.
iliana moved to São Paulo after she graduated in 1962 from Branksome, where she had been a sub-prefect and art director of the SLOGAN. She was 18. Her father had died 10 years earlier, her mother’s second marriage had ended, and her mother thought that Liliana should spend time with her aunt and uncle and their son “in a normal family.” As Liliana recounts in a compelling memoir that she started writing three years ago, she and a family friend travelled one day to Rio de Janeiro and boarded the return flight on a twin-engine Convair with 45 passengers and crew members. As she sat in a window seat reading Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Vol de Nuit (Night Flight), she noticed through the opposite window that the plane’s engine was failing. “By means beyond my understanding,” she writes, “I transcend panic to a place of total composure and serenity … I take off my glasses so they do not break and cut my eyes. I fasten the seat belt so tightly I can scarcely breathe. I hypnotize myself to sleep. Only fully relaxed in sleep will muscles not tense on impact and bones not break.” The falling plane plowed through four houses before disintegrating in a field. When Liliana awoke, she was pinned under her seat, sur-
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Antigon VII, 1991; steel, wood, rubber, cable; 308 x 250 x 400cm; Collection of ÉTS, Montreal
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Roselle, 2007 Wood, suede, lead, upholstery nails 122 x 132 x 162cm
Marilyn’s Skirt, 2010 Steel, hydrocal 179.5 x 187.5 x 194cm
Tyger-Tyger, 2006 Wood, felt, rubber, steel, glass eyes 183 x 125 x 90cm
rounded by smouldering carnage. By chance, “The [artist] does not know what he is going to a group of soldiers were practising first aid say until he says it.” When Liliana awoke, nearby and came to her rescue. She was one Today you can buy Jenyk IV or one of her she was pinned under of 11 people to survive and the only one who other pieces, if you have a place for it. The smallher seat, surrounded by suffered no broken bones or severe burns. er ones, like Marilyn’s Skirt, a gracefully suggessmouldering carnage. Everyone else, including her family friend, tive piece that resembles windblown fabric made By chance, a group of died in the crash. of formed steel rods and a strong gypsum cement “I never picked up Vol de Nuit again, and called hydrocal, or Roselle, a vortex of pink suede soldiers were practising never will,” she says. But her survival contribembraced by an armour of upholstery nails, first aid nearby and uted directly to at least two of her sculptures: might fit into your living room, although they came to her rescue. She Vol de Nuit, a five-metre steel mural mounted weigh more than 500 kg and occupy as much was one of 11 people to in the entrance hall to the École des métiers space as a couple of kitchen stoves. To accomsurvive and the only one de l’aérospatiale de Montréal, the city’s aeromodate her larger pieces, such as Antigon VII, who suffered no broken space school, and Antigon VII, a 1,500-kiloyou’d need a room as long as a bowling alley, with bones or severe burns. gram structure of surprising delicacy that ceilings beyond the reach of a professional basresembles the wing of an airplane. ketball player. Antigon VII was displayed in public in “Her work has a kind of heroic quality,” says Montreal, then in Toronto at the Leo Kamen Gallery. “We brought it Kamen, “dark and operatic, somewhat how she views life. There aren’t through the third-floor window, using a crane,” says Kamen.“We shipped too many artists around with her kind of verve and integrity.” it to Toronto on a flatbed truck, for $3,000.” In the fall of 2021, Liliana disassembled her sculptures and packed the pieces into boxes that she moved from her studio in Montreal to a house in Lavaltrie, about 65 kilometres east, on the St. Lawrence River. iliana produced Jenyk IV, Antigon VII and other “I’m going there because I need peace,” she says. monumental sculptures during her first decade on the Before she moved out of the city, she gave away some pieces, includCanadian art scene, using basic materials like steel, con- ing Antigon VII, which she donated to the École de technologie supéricrete, wood and rope. But when the labour took its toll eure, a block from her former studio. “At least now it has a life,” she says. on her back, she began creating smaller pieces, using But she will not be idle. In addition to writing her memoirs, she has more exotic materials like suede, felt, rubber and even glass eyes. filled a notebook with ideas for future works. “I’m not really good at Regardless of their dimensions, each of her pieces is a unique expression drawn-out protracted serenity,” she says. R of emotion and calculated reflection, created through a process that Bruce McDougall has written for some of Canada’s leading publicaLiliana first described in her final year at Branksome. “At times, creators experience extreme joy or sorrow of severe emo- tions. He is the author of two collections of short stories, a novel and tional stress,” she wrote in her Prize Essay, published in the 1962 SLOGAN. more than 20 non-fiction books.
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MINING FOR EQUITY Mining engineer Carly CHURCH’01 is bringing as many women as she can into the male-dominated field she loves
BY CHRIS DANIELS
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ne-billion-dollar construction developments don’t just happen. In the mining sector, Carly Church has managed a project of that value in Ontario and has consulted as an engineer at gold and silver mines in the interior of British Columbia and as far away as a diamond mine in Botswana, Africa. From feasibility plans through to inception, she has worked on designs for everything from mine shafts, mineral processing plants and workers’ camps to on-site road and energy infrastructures for crews to be able to safely live and work. The field is exciting and dynamic, yet most mining engineers are male. At a mining com-
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pany Carly worked at a few years ago, the office didn’t have a large split between genders, as women were well-represented in environmental, social and corporate governance, accounting and human resources, but not in engineering and operations. Carly has been passionate about widening inclusion and promoting women’s career opportunities in the field. She mentors student engineers at UBC, where she earned her mechanical engineering degree in 2006, and is involved with Women in Mining, an organization dedicated to creating an industry that empowers women. Now, at JDS Energy & Mining in Vancouver, where she has been a senior engineer and project manager since 2017, “we have been hiring
just as many female junior mining engineers as men, if not more, which is a big change over the last little while,” she says. The issues that have held women back from a career in mining are multi-faceted. For starters, says Carly, not enough girls are exposed to the opportunity and what it might look like. “The work is broader than what people might expect,” she says, noting she can go from highlevel desktop design work to a site visit where she is the liaison with First Nations groups on community engagement. Some women who do enter this profession end up leaving because of repressive experiences in their internships or first jobs. “It is not that they couldn’t cut it, but basically because they were pushed out,” says Carly. “And so it is all well and good to encourage women to get into mining, but we also have to ensure that when they get there they have a good experience, and want to continue in the field.” So how did Carly end up in a profession perceived to be monopolized by men? Funnily enough, her uncle was a mining engineer, but being born and raised in downtown Toronto, “it had never really been on my radar growing up.” She credits in large part her education at Branksome, which she says never made her feel limited to certain career paths. “I was a good student, but being academically inclined wasn’t a unique feature for a Branksome student,” she says. “I also liked sports, was on the field hockey, ice hockey and rugby teams, and liked to be social. I was never pigeonholed as a bookworm or an athlete, or felt anything I was doing was unusual.” As Grade 10 approached, Carly decided to switch to a local public school because she missed some friends. But she was one of only two girls in her advanced math class at the school and didn’t feel comfortable. “And I love math. If I hadn’t already had my experience at Branksome, I might have thought, ‘Oh, I don’t like math,’ and excluded myself, not realizing it was actually the environment I didn’t like.” She returned to Branksome and was much happier. In addition to her supportive school, her friends and family, including her father, who ran his own construction business, and her mother, a high school teacher, never ques-
tioned why she would go into mechanical engineering. Neither did she. “I was interested in math and science, and engineering aligned with my interests,” she says. “It was only when I showed up on my first day of class at UBC, and saw mostly guys, that I realized how unique I was. But I didn’t go in with a chip on my shoulder about being one of the few girls, because I had come from a school where it was encouraged to have those interests.” Carly’s first job out of university wasn’t in mining, but product design for a digital imaging company from 2004 to 2008. “When I looked at the career trajectory of people at the company, I didn’t see it as being a long-term possibility for me,” she says. What she did next ultimately prepared her for a flourishing career in mining.“I decided to go to Australia for my master’s in technology management, which honestly was a glorified reason to go travel,” Carly says with a laugh. In the seven months before starting her studies at the Australian School of Business at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Carly criss-crossed the globe, on her way to visiting all seven continents, including Antarctica. “That was a 12-day trip from the southern tip of Argentina,” she says. “I even went crosscountry skiing on Antarctica.” Her globe-trotting improved her networking skills—“I had to make friends along the way”—and further built her confidence, as she had to problem-solve through foreign, sometimes challenging situations as a single woman travelling alone. “It later translated into my work, because in male-dominated industries women can be second-guessed and undermined,” she says. “But I had the confidence in myself, of knowing who I am and what I can do.” In 2013, she landed her fi rst mining job, doing construction and project coordination, before joining JDS, and knew she had found her calling. “No day is the same,” she says. “It is the diversity of the work that I really love about this field.” R MARTIN DEE
“It is all well and good to encourage women to get into mining, but we also have to ensure that when they get there they have a good experience, and want to continue in the field.”
Chris Daniels is a Toronto freelance writer and editor.
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DREAM JOB? PIPE ORGAN TUNER While still in Junior School, Amy HATHAWAY Sandford’86 heard her life’s calling echoing through the church rafters
BY ANDREA ASTER
o, what do you do?” It’s the commonest, if perhaps the most contested of conversation starters. Those who inquire about Amy Sandford are in for a treat. “When I tell people I’m a pipe organ tuner and technician, they look at me like I have two heads,” she says. “They’ve never heard that before.” Once your curiosity is piqued, Amy will explain a bit more about this most magisterial of instruments, which she likens more to a car, “a big piece of machinery that needs servicing,” rather than a French horn, which she also plays. She’s been a musician with the Canadian Forces Reserves for 31 years, eight of those with the 7th Toronto Regiment Royal Canadian Artillery Band. She also rides a Kawasaki Z650.
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That is to say, Amy is not conventional, and a conversation with her is rather like an unintentional life-coaching lesson. Why didn’t we all follow through on the voice in our little heads that said, “That’s what I want to be when I grow up?” In terms of formative life experiences that established Amy’s destiny, her mechanical inclinations were nurtured by her father, a classic car collector whose fleet included a 1911 Ford Model T and a 1929 Packard. He also played saxophone, and her mother piano. But it was the pipe organ at St. Paul’s Bloor Street which Amy heard—first as a congregant attending Christmas services and as a choir singer, and also as a Branksome student in the pews for the annual Carol Service—that really settled it. “Way up in the rafters, I was distinctly fascinated with the sound, and wondered what was behind those pipes,” she
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With a tuner in hand, Amy crouches in one of the organ lofts situated high above the chancel at the Metropolitan United Church in Toronto.
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Built by Casavant Frères of Quebec in 1930, the pipe organ in the Metropolitan United Church is the largest in Canada.
says. “I was only eight or nine but I knew I had a calling.” Both like and unlike a piano, the pipe organ can have up to five manuals or keyboards, and one mighty pedal board for the lowest notes that make the body shake, as air is squeezed through the pipes. Then there are the innumerable buttons and knobs to operate and modulate the sound. “Getting ready for the walk to the Carol Service at St. Paul’s, down Mount Pleasant Road, was a huge and exciting ordeal for us all,” says her sister Cynthia HATHAWAY’84, who now lives in The Hague. “Although it was an important highlight in the annual calendar, Amy was going for the organ. If she could, she would have stayed behind, alone, sitting in a pew consumed by the organist’s postlude. But instead, she had to follow us all back to school and the books!”
hus compelled, Amy earned a BMus from the University of Victoria in 1993 and settled into a “little cedar house on the back of a mountain beside a West Coast fjord, with eagles and salmon at the back door,” as she dispatched to Class Notes in 2006. Although trained as a French horn player, her passion for pipe organs led to a six-year apprenticeship in Victoria with kindred spirit Grant Smalley. (“Pipes are human,” he said in a Globe and Mail article a decade ago.) After nearly 20 years in the west, she returned to Toronto and a position with Alan T. Jackson & Company, founded in 1960 by its namesake, after the closure of the Eaton organ factory where Jackson was a technician. With the firm still in his family, and Robert Hiller now president, they are a small team of just three, tuning, maintaining, restoring and repairing organs. “A lot of organs are over 100 years old and, like old ladies, they need lots of TLC and to be treated with respect,” says Amy. She discovered she had a knack for the painstaking art of tuning, sharpening or flattening the pipes owing to her musical training, she explains. The art of rebuilding and rewiring, she learned on the job. In this rarified profession, monthly tweaks
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“I’m proud and humbled by having the ability to make this instrument sound incredible. When I go to recitals and listen, I have shivers.”
are the prescribed protocol to keep an organ in shape, as only a fraction of the pipes can be tuned properly in a single visit. Her firm is on call for churches—Toronto’s Metropolitan United Church has Canada’s biggest pipe organ—and concert halls including Roy Thomson Hall. The company services many organs, big and small, all over Ontario and in the Maritimes as well. “When I hear an organist play on an organ I’ve tuned, that’s my thrill,” says Amy. “I’m proud and humbled by having the ability to make this instrument sound incredible. When I go to recitals and listen, I have shivers.” Speaking to the instrument’s history, Amy says social media has opened up a conversation among the members of her esoteric profession, which is a unique and essential community of craftspeople. Even until the mid-20th century, trade secrets and tips were guarded, but that’s changed. “We all share voicing techniques,
ideas and woes at workshops or on social media,” she says. “It’s also such a thrill to meet world-class organists.” Cynthia observes that “organ building and restoration is a career that needs a lot of one-onone time with you as the craftsperson with the instrument. I think the routine and discipline Branksome instilled in all its students helped Amy approach organ building and restoration with the discipline and focus it requires.” As one of few women in a traditionally male-dominated profession, Amy credits her formative training at Branksome for her go-forit attitude, strength and all-round competence. “Too bad there was no organ at Branksome in the gym,” says Cynthia. “Amy would have been up there on the keys adding an extra layer of drama and importance to the rituals!” R Andrea Aster is a staff writer at Branksome Hall.
AlumLife
ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION MISSION STATEMENT To unite, engage and grow Branksome Hall’s alumnae community of globally minded learners and leaders.
Alumnae Executive 2021–22 Allison ROACH’51 Honorary President
OUR EVOLVING BOARD Coming and going at the Alum Association Two new members at large...
Isabel RUBY-HILL’15 is a management consultant at Carly Rian Group, a boutique firm in Toronto.
Kendra FITZRANDOLPH’03 is the development manager at Freed Developments where she oversees projects including planning studies, rezoning applications and market studies.
Two new student reps... Mare Tell joined Branksome as a boarding student in Grade 11. Last year, she participated in the Global Ideas Institute program and the theatre ensemble, and was a member of the Boarding Council. With an affinity for the social sciences, Mare is co-head of both the Model UN and the Debate clubs. Mare plans to study history at the post-secondary level in the U.K. Ashley Fang arrived at Branksome in Grade 1. She is on the rowing team and has been a student ambassador since Grade 6. With a strong passion for fashion and design, Ashley serves as the head of Synthesis, an event to showcase student culture and talent. She plans to study social psychology or politics and law in the U.K.
With thanks to two retiring members… Karen CORDES Woods’99 Past President, 2020-21 President, 2017-20 Vice-President, 2014-17 Other volunteerism Family Fun Day Co-convenor, 2016 Career Day Speaker, 2008 Alanna TEDESCO McLaughlin’03 Member at Large, 2015-21 Committees Communications, 2015-19 Awards, 2019-21 Other volunteerism “Deja Vu” Furniture Sale, 2017 Reunion Rep, 2018
Officers Melanie ARGIROS Breder’08 President Alex MORTON’09 Vice-President, Engagement Lisa RICHARDS’02 Vice-President, Communications Sarita SAMAROO’99 Nominating Nicole THORNBURROW’10 Secretary Hubie YU’08 Treasurer Members at Large Jacqueline CARL’10 Kendra FITZRANDOLPH’03 Mackenzie KNOWLES’11 Tori LECHNER-SUNG’12 Hannah LO’05 Co-chair, Young Alums Isabel RUBY-HILL’15 Catlin SEIBEL-KAMEL’10 Chair, Awards Lindsay STRANSMAN’08 Patricia SU’13 Co-chair, Young Alums Ex-Officio Cris Coraggio Katie Gillespie Rachel Loo Karen Jurjevich Andrea McAnally Mare Tell Advancement Student Rep, Senior/Middle School Ashley Fang Advancement Student Rep, Junior School
ARE YOU WEARING YOURS? An ageless story, submitted by Mary Lue FARMER Hines’51 At 87 years of age and using a walker, I try to walk along the street by my condo every day. On one occasion, a young woman stopped me to ask if I went to Branksome Hall. Puzzled, I responded in the affirmative and she replied, “I noticed the Branksome mask you are wearing. I went there, too, and all of my best friends today are the ones I made at Branksome.” She graduated in 2001, I graduated in 1951, and there we were chatting on a Toronto street courtesy of the Branksome mask! Alum relations officer Rachel Loo models the popular mask, which was mailed to all alums last July.
Stay Connected, Get Involved It’s all about Community, Networking, Volunteerism, Friendship, Traditions and Giving Back Please contact: alum@branksome.on.ca
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CALEY TAYLOR
WinningWomen
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The Alumnae Association has bestowed its prestigious annual awards on two high achievers
AlumLife
With about 10,000 people arriving every week, Ninette says, “we were registering in Lebanon, over a two-year period, more asylum-seekers every single week than Canada received at its borders in a year.” Moving back to North America in 2015, Ninette became the director of the UNHCR’s New York office, where she wrote an article about the UN’s refugee response in Lebanon called “Responding to a Refugee Influx: Lessons from Lebanon.” when she started a refugee-sponsor“Wealthy nations need to have a ship agency for the Anglican Church sense of perspective when it comes to and United Church of Canada. She refugee arrivals,” says Ninette, who was spent another seven years with the a Grade 13 prefect at Branksome and Immigration Board, assessing refugee president of the debating society. “Twoclaims of individuals from around the thirds of refugees are hosted in lowworld, and adjudicating immigration and middle-income countries with appeals. significant development challenges of In her mid-forties, Ninette moved their own.” with her husband and their family to Uganda’s 45 million people, for exGeneva, where she ample, host 1.5 milstarted to work for lion refugees, prithe UNHCR in 2002. marily from Sudan “Wealthy nations “People overcome and the Democratic need to have a insurmountable Republic of sense of perspective challenges to gain Congo—more than when it comes asylum,” she says. any country in to refugee arrivals. “One day they have Africa and all but Two-thirds of a business, a home, four other countries refugees are hosted children in school, in the world. Yet in low- and middleand the next day Uganda’s per capita income countries they have absolutely GDP is just $1,010; with significant nothing but a leaky Canada’s, by comdevelopment tent over their head. parison, is $63,750. challenges of But many never give Ninette recently their own.” up hope.” completed her Her first book, second book, People on the history of Canada’s immigraForced to Flee: History, Change and tion policy, co-written with U of T law Challenge. Scheduled for publicaprofessor Michael Trebilcock, appeared tion in February 2022 by Oxford in 1998, and a second edition in 2008. University Press, the book explores Two years later she moved to the improving responses for forcibly Middle East as the UNHCR’s repredisplaced persons. sentative in Lebanon. With refugees “Change is moving in a positive streaming out of Syria, Ninette oversaw direction,” Ninette says, “but it doesn’t a complex endeavour that became by happen overnight. The key is to recog2015 the largest UNHCR operation in nize the tragedy [of forcible displacethe world, assisting over one million ment] and use it as a motivating force Syrian refugees. to make lives better.” R
Speaking Out for Refugees 2021 Allison Roach Alum Award Ninette KELLEY’75 By Bruce McDougall
A
t Branksome in 1974, Ninette Kelley was already considering a career in law when an alumna returned to the school to speak about her own experiences as a lawyer. That settled it. Ninette felt even more determined to join the legal profession. “The speaker said, ‘Let your ambition be your guide,’” Ninette recalls. Driven by her commitment to human rights, Ninette’s ambition, education and skills have guided her through law school at the University of Western Ontario and seven years with Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), where she was a senior officer and for a time was at the centre of the world’s most urgent refugee crisis. Along the way, she has written or co-written two books and numerous scholarly papers on human rights law, citizenship, refugee protection, genderrelated persecution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A focus at Branksome on writing skills contributed to her achievements, she says. “But I also gained a level of personal confidence that stood me in good stead.” This year’s recipient of the Allison Roach Alum Award continues to demonstrate outstanding distinction, character and vision in her professional endeavours as she addresses concerns related to the forced displacement of refugees. Her work with refugees began
The Alumnae Association was delighted to honour Ninette KELLEY’75 through a donation to the Red Door Family Shelter, which supports women and families affected by homelessness and abuse.
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WinningWomen
The Quest for Equity 2021 Young Alum Achievement Award Jennifer LANGILL’10 By Janet Sailian
B
uilding a more equitable world graduate students and co-leads antihas sparked Jennifer Langill’s racism initiatives in the Geography passion since her Branksome Department at McGill. days. This same drive for change fuels One of four sisters who are all her current doctoral research into Branksome grads, she has kept in how gendered livelihoods have shifted touch “through the years and across across generations among ethnic the world” with friends from her minorities living in the highlands of cohort. “I feel so fortunate to have northern Thailand. had that great start, as someone who Her specialization in feminist deeply values education.” development geographies is more Jennifer supports education initiathan an academic interest. Jennifer has tives for ethnic minority girls and maintained many of the relationships young women, and mentors youth she she forged with has met while living women, men and among marginalyouth in Laos since ized communities “Environmental first travelling there during her research change is leading in 2010. and outreach work. to disaster impacts,” Ten years ago she “At Branksome, you especially for founded Gollucoh, a are raised knowing marginalized people, non-profit microthe importance of she points out. “We development organigender and living as must understand zation that provides a feminist,” she says. people’s life-ways individualized Fluent in to understand support to residents English, Spanish, its impact.” of impoverished Lao and Thai, with a villages in Laos, working knowledge including financial of French, Jennifer literacy training, alternative income aims next to learn Hmong, the langeneration and women’s educational guage of the ethnic group with which development. she works. Her PhD research is based She is also deeply involved in in a Hmong village in Chiang Mai academic service work. Jennifer main- province, in the Thai highlands. tains several research collaborations, “Most research has been done by serves on three geography specialtymen and about men,” she says. “This is group boards, works with underone of the first feminist dissertations
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The Alumnae Association was delighted to honour Jennifer LANGILL’10 through a donation to Across Boundaries, which provides a dynamic range of dignified, inclusive and compassionate mental health and addiction services for racialized communities.
on this group. It has broad relevance to minorities in Southeast Asia. The Hmong have been systematically marginalized, so a lot of my work comes back to the histories, stories and resilience of Hmong people. ” Currently based in Toronto with her husband—whom she met in 2010 in Laos—and their infant son, Jennifer is on a grant-funded maternity leave that will end in spring 2022. “I have not lived in the same residence for more than 12 months since I was in high school,” she notes. “I’m very happy to be in Toronto, where my family lives, with a new baby after so much time abroad and moving around.” After receiving a BA in global development studies from Queen’s University, Jennifer earned her master’s in geography from the University of Toronto. Her thesis examined human-environment relationships in the Peruvian Amazon, and how climate hazards are affecting livelihoods, local ecological knowledge and gender roles for populations that live along rivers. “Environmental change is leading to disaster impacts,” especially for marginalized people, she points out. “We must understand people’s lifeways to understand its impact.” This scholarly multitasker is the author of several articles in academic journals. She has organized and presented at numerous conferences, and has received over a dozen academic awards, including the Gilbert F. White Best Thesis in Hazards Geography Award. “I hope for a day when someone doesn’t have to bring gender, race or socio-economic status to the conversation; that they’re already there,” she says. “There is a generational shift among scholars that is definitely more community fostering.” Wherever her research and collaborations take her, Jennifer is sure to lead with the passion for equity that defines her. R
CALEY TAYLOR
AlumLife
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AlumLife
Farewells
Your BFF at Branksome
Tanya Pimenoff, champion of alumni, leaves a legacy of achievement and countless friends as she retires
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By Janet Sailian
H
ow many slices can you carve out of a single pie? If that pastry represents alumnae relations at Branksome Hall, over a dozen pieces make up the reunions, educational programs, awards, regional branches, publications and gestures of personalized care expertly served up by one woman: the incomparable Tanya Pimenoff. “My role at Branksome is what I was designed to do,” reflects Tanya, Associate Director of Alumnae Relations, as she steps into retirement after 33 years at the school. “I’ve been fortunate to have opportunities to explore and nurture so many strengths and skills.” She has also nurtured a devoted alumni base that spans multiple generations since the school’s founding in 1903. Tanya channelled the friendships that Second World War veterans
CALEY TAYLOR
Not-the-editor’s note: Tanya Pimenoff, Associate Director of Alumnae Relations, is retiring after 33 years at Branksome. Since Tanya is also Editor of The READ and not given to any fuss about herself, the school turned to Janet Sailian, a writer, editor and consultant who served as director of marketing and communications at Branksome from 2003 to 2008, to profile Tanya and her legacy.
and today’s tech-savvy twenty-somethings share with their cohorts into a variety of gatherings and onto the pages of The READ. Because she knows that above all, Branksome alums of every age love to keep up with what’s going on in each others’ lives. “Tanya’s warm and inviting personality, quick laugh, and get-it-done attitude have been instrumental in keeping our alumni community interested in staying engaged,” notes longtime volunteer Kathryn BULEYCHUK Champion’82. “She is the glue that holds us together as a community.” Volunteer Barb DUNLOP Mohammad’70 calls Tanya “the gateway to the Branksome alumni,” while Shelley VARLEY Tidy’64 says: “Branksome is losing a treasure. She always recognized the legacies of Branksome women of former years who trail-blazed their own way.”
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A WELL-KEPT ROAD During Tanya’s time, the alum portfolio has been paved with awards The alum relations program at Branksome Hall has earned numerous honours from the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE), a professional association representing universities, colleges and independent schools across Canada. The READ 2012, Best Writing, “Smythe Style” by Amy VERNER’98 (Bronze); 2014, Best Magazine, “Game On” (Silver); 2016, Best Writing, “Being Andy” by Berton Woodward (Gold); 2016, Best Magazine, “On Being Transgender” (Silver); 2018, Best Photo (by Jeff Kirk), “Ruth of the Amazon” (Gold); 2020, Best Photo (by Elizaveta KOZLOVA’15), “On the Frontlines” (Silver) Alum Program 2004, The Centennial Alumnae Weekend (Gold); 2006, The Newly Enhanced Young Alum Program (Gold); 2011, Take pART “An Evening of Culture & Surprises” (Bronze); 2015, Alumnae Walkway (Bronze)
anya tips her hat to those earlier generations. “I’m amazed to look back at all the events and fundraising initiatives our alums spearheaded, especially School for Girls, majored in French at in the 1980s and ’90s.” Often in conjunction with school staff, alums organized Golf Days, Dawson College in Montreal, travelled to France and Scandinavia on her own dime Career Days, bridge luncheons, the Take and did an au pair stint in Paris. pART arts shows, nostalgic furniture sales She worked in advertising at Young & and much more. Holiday extravaganza and Rubicam, then moved to fundraiser Plaid Tidings— Toronto, earning a Certified organized jointly with the Advertising Agency Parents’ Association—sup“She has kept Practitioner diploma. ported school initiatives front and centre As the mother of two for 20 years. a belief in the young girls, Tanya secured While some struggle to individual, and an interview at Branksome locate a career niche, how became a in 1988, when the school did Tanya Pimenoff find the familiar name to sought a campaign secretary glove that so perfectly fits? alums around on a nine-month contract Serendipity backed by the the world, many for the Building on Success right stuff. of whom she Capital Campaign. “Tanya sparkles and came to know Tanya got the position radiates joy at every alumni personally.” on the spot, and those nine reunion,” says Principal months extended to several Karen Jurjevich. “Her innate years. The campaign raised $6.8 million to ability to remember the names and stories build Sue Bett House (Junior School) and of alums from each decade is founded in a the Senior School double gym. In 1992 she genuine appreciation and love for our amazbecame development coordinator, and in ing Branksome community.” 1996 took on her current role. It was indeed Born to an Estonian mother and Russian the job she was born to do. father, Tanya grew up in Montreal West with “She has kept front and centre a belief two older brothers. She attended Trafalgar
in the individual, and became a familiar name to alums around the world, many of whom she came to know personally,” notes Shelley Tidy. Knowing how alumni cherish their school and being together, Tanya brought annual alum lunches onto campus while showcasing new school facilities at cocktails, dinners and award ceremonies. The revamped spring reunion became a don’t-miss, multi-event occasion for those celebrating milestone anniversaries. In her associate director role, Tanya travelled across Canada and to several U.S. and European cities for regional events. She arranged a private organ recital at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, given by Rachel Mahon—the first female organ scholar in that cathedral since the days of Henry VIII. She booked Canada House in London and other unique venues for dazzling gatherings. Kathryn Champion recalls that on one occasion, “we accepted an unsolicited sixfigure donation cheque at a cocktail party.” The unflappable traveller found herself in New York City for a reception at the (continued on page 34)
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AlumLife
In 2015, Tanya and Tenley GIBSON’94, then President of the Alum Association, visited with acclaimed author Budge ARCHIBALD Wilson’45 at her home in Nova Scotia.
Tanya and Joyce WALKER McKeough’56 (see p. 46) tidy up following Principal Allison Roach’s retirement event “The Incredible Journey,” which was held on campus in spring 1993.
Canada House, 2016 Tanya, at the London, U.K. reception with Nicky FALCONER’78, Vanessa IRWIN Watson’89, Sarah WALKER Mander’89 and Melanie BRIGHT’89.
(continued from page 33) Lumberyard—a performing arts centre headed by Adrienne WILLIS’97. “Several blocks away from our hotel, we were running short on time and not a cab was available,” recalls Cris Coraggio, Branksome’s Executive Director, Advancement and Community Engagement. “We were carrying gift bags and alum swag for the event. Undaunted, Tanya flagged down a tourist pedicab. We squeezed ourselves into this tiny rickshaw, with a mountain of bags and tissue paper, while our young pedicab driver navigated perilously between cars. I don’t think we stopped giggling the whole time.” Tanya has been an invited guest speaker at several Canadian and U.S.-based conferences. In 2008, her presentation on reunion weekends at a conference in Dublin, Ireland, earned her recognition among the top 10 per cent of speakers.
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She juggles all these portfolios with panache, attention to detail and a ferocious work ethic. As a past colleague, I saw her in the school cafeteria many times, but only as she carried a tray back to her desk for her customary working lunch.
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anya sends out countless condolence cards and notes of congratulation, taps alumni as speakers at Branksome events and ensures recognition of achievements through annual awards given by the Alumnae Association and profiles in The READ. Whenever I popped into her office, she looked up with a kind word and an amusing anecdote, blending crisp professionalism with sparkling wit. When travelling, she layers meetings with alums and colleagues at other schools into her schedule. An alum and her family whom Tanya invited to dinner after the conference
in Dublin was delighted to hear details of the latest school happenings. Their daughter has since graduated from Branksome. And she keeps innovating. Tanya, in conjunction with past colleagues, has earned accolades for the Centennial Alumnae Weekend in 2003, enhancements to programs for young alums, cultural events and the beautiful Alum Walkway. And especially for the magazine that she rebuilt into a multi-award winner. In 2012, Tanya pulled in consultant Berton Woodward—whose York University magazine had won Canada-wide awards—to fully revamp The READ. “I was so impressed by her initiative to reach out,” says Woodward. “And she’s been a jewel of a person to work with ever since.” Under Tanya’s editorship, The READ has won multiple national awards, as have Branksome’s alum programs, in direct competition with top universities and colleges as well as other schools (see sidebar on p. 33). “Many institutional magazines include a lot of school information, and I’ve always wanted the focus to be on our alums,” says Tanya. Readership surveys confirm that’s just what her constituents want. “The READ connects me with the many graduates that I taught in my 23 years at Branksome, and the many more before my time,” notes math teacher Edith Louie. “Tanya is like the wi-fi connection and search engine to all our Branksome alums.” After three-plus decades of stellar service to the school, Tanya looks forward to spending time with daughters Melanie Clarance and Katie REIFFENSTEIN Rimoldi’04, and Mel’s toddler son. “It has been a most wonderful and rewarding 33 years, but it is time to pass the torch,” Tanya reflects. “I shall miss all the wonderful alums; their strong bonds, friendships and life stories, and their love of Branksome.” Branksome Hall shall miss you too, Tanya. You leave a powerful legacy. A meticulously crafted pie, baked with care and served with style. R Janet Sailian is a freelance communications consultant, writer and editor.
THE RETURN Celebrate Reunion 2022! May 27-28 Special recognition for the classes ending in 2 and 7
TIME FOR NETWORKING Get started now Whether you’re looking for career connections, networking, mentorship or other professional opportunities, we are here for you. Now with over 800 members representing a wide range of class years, global networking has never been easier or more fun. Start clicking and register today at branksomeconnects.ca. For further information, please contact rloo@branksome.on.ca or call 416-920-6265, ext. 424. With the school continuing to keep a watchful eye on pandemic trends, early plans are formulating for a return to an in-person, on-campus reunion weekend this spring. Many reunion class reps are involved and will play a key role in communicating with their respective classes in the coming months. Please watch for news and updates through social media channels, the website and email. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
SHARING KNOWLEDGE BHAA Career Connections Zooms in After the initial Zoom event, which was held on June 23, the Alum Association Executive hosted its second “Ask & Give” networking event on October 13. Moderated by Alum Exec vice-president of communications Lisa RICHARDS’02, attendees shared their knowledge in industries ranging from legal to physiotherapy, human resources to public relations. Watch your email, and postings in Branksome Connects, for further opportunities.
REUNION REPS Judith GODFREY Simmonds’47 Wendy WILSON Lawson’52 Joan SANDERSON Bannerman’57, Joyce SANDERSON Dow’57 Eleanor TOW Walker’57 Pixie BIGELOW Currie’62, Jane OMAND Barber’62 Sandi SHAW McCabe’67 Tony FALCONER Bowland’72, Carol McLEAN Gray’72 Kimberlee CAMPBELL McKinnon’77 Kathryn BULEYCHUK Champion’82 Joyce KITE’87 Nicole COZIER’92, Jennifer GRANT’92, Lisa TWEEDY Clark’92 Lisa HALLISEY Orr’97, Vicki MENDOZA Baclao’97 Marika FIS Fisher’02 Jessie MA’07 Tori LECHNER-SUNG’12 Pauline SU’17
For information, or to volunteer, please contact: alum@branksome.on.ca
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ClassNotes
FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS AND READ THE LATEST NEWS OF INTEREST TO ALUMS Some updates have been edited from emails, letters and social media posts.
Oh Canada! Agnes FAIRBAIRN Hopkins’45 and Elspeth FAIRBAIRN Colebrook’43 were respectively
Agnes, left and Elspeth at “Pioneer Camp.”
1947 Early in 2020, Sheila CRAIG Waengler had two solo art shows at the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto and the Toronto Heliconian Club for Women in the Arts. She is a member of both clubs and a thespian at the Arts & Letters Club. Sheila is also working on her memoir.
10 and 12 years old when they said goodbye to their parents on July 22, 1940, and sailed from Liverpool to Montreal—running the gauntlet of U-boats on the way—and into the welcoming arms of Canada. Now in their 90s and residing in Dorset, U.K., they have been memorialized in a new book sent to Branksome. “From snippets of conversation over the years, it was obvious the sisters loved their four years at Branksome,” wrote Agnes’ son-in-law Brian McLeish to Principal Karen Jurjevich last summer. “I decided to record their memories in more detail—we pored over photo albums, scrapbooks, letters, cablegrams and press reports—which I have tried to capture in ‘Oh Canada.’” Principal Jurjevich and her team were delighted that Brian and the Fairbairn sisters shared these stories, and the book will become a useful student reference about the life and times of our English guests during the Second World War.
of October—hence their middle names Eve and Dawn. The sisters boarded at Branksome as youngsters, as their mother had passed away when they were nine years old. Their father was with the British Royal Air Force, living in Canada and teaching
Canadian pilots to fly. At 91, Caroline suffers from vascular dementia and now lives with two of her four children in Salisbury, Wiltshire. All four rally around to care for her as they are keen to prevent her going into a care home for as long
as they can. Felicity continues to enjoy good health and a sound mind.
1955
with Scott Fleming, Branksome’s director of athletics and head rowing coach, during lunch in St. Catharines on November 26.
1959 Friends from their days at Whitney School, Lynn WILLIAMS Ross’59, left, and
Caroline JEAN Mather and Felicity JEAN Field were born
10 minutes apart across midnight—Caroline on the 10th and Felicity on the 11th
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Enjoying afternoon tea at Caroline’s home in Lee-on-theSolent on October 10, 2020, Felicity, left, and Caroline celebrate their 90th birthdays.
Last spring, Judith HOARE Sweny (Lincolnshire, U.K.) wrote: I was the Sherborne exchange student to Branksome during the 1960-61 school year and what a happy and exciting time it was. Thank you to Branksome for such a wonderful year—Nancy Williams, Marilyn Michener, Ebie Miller and so many others who were kind to me. Should anyone be coming this way and want a bed, just let me know. Sending best wishes to all of you.
Last June, Mary Pat JONES Armstrong was featured in
Long-time rower Louise COFFEY Hastings caught up
1948
1961
1963
Judy GODFREY Simmonds’
family have had a farm in the Creemore area since 1980. Over the past seven years she has been involved with “The Treblemakers,” a choral group of over 60 men and women from Creemore, Collingwood, Wasaga Beach and Barrie. They have performed annual Christmas and Spring concerts in each of these locations to full and enthusiastic audiences. Judy keeps busy with watercolour painting and in late 2021 was anticipating the birth of her 16th great grandchild.
Wendy Porritt (BSS’58) met at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston, Ont., last August.
the Ronald McDonald House Charities Toronto newsletter. The article reflected on the 40 years since it opened in 1981, and Mary Pat’s influence and role in channelling adversity into positive change as the charity’s inaugural chair and foundation trustee.
1965 Talifer-Jo (T.J.) WHITBY
mailed an update: I boarded for six years during the 1960s. For the past several years, I have lived in an apartment near Hillcrest Mall in Thornhill. I worked as a librarian for over 30 years and have done volunteer work at the Mariann Home, Epilepsy York, and Sunrise Retirement Home. I am a hospitality volunteer at Canadian Blood Services and also a blood donor. I had
In May 2021, The Unconventional Nancy Ruth was published by Second Story Press. Written by Ramona Lumpkin, it is rich in surprises and contradictions about former Senator Nancy RUTH’60, who used her privilege to support social change in Canada.
many great experiences at Branksome, and often think about the girls I met during my student days.
of Lunenburg—a UNESCO heritage site, which boasts an artistic community and stunning, colourful old houses.
1966 Following the Remembrance Day service held at Toronto’s Rosedale United Church on November 7, Bob and Sally ADAMS Medland
connected with a number of Branksome alums and parents also in attendance. At the outdoor coffee time they talked with Jack Rhind, a former Branksome Hall board member, parent and grandparent and veteran of the Second World War. Jack’s incredible story, recounting his days in the artillery at Monte Cassino and in battles on the Italian front, appeared in The Globe and Mail on Remembrance Day. “At 101, Jack Rhind is a Canadian hero we are very proud of,” said Sally.
1971 Pre-COVID, Susan SEGSWORTH Jones spent
much of her time at home in Guelph or house sitting in Bermuda. In January 2020, while house sitting a 60-year-old tortoise, two falls downstairs caused by a weak hip and no handrail put her flat on her back for four
1957 Gail RIDOUT Henry (Landmark, Man.) enjoyed a visit last summer with Joyce SANDERSON Dow (Ballantrae, Ont.) and Joan SANDERSON Bannerman (Niagara Falls, Ont.). Friends since Grade 7, the ladies enjoyed a good catch-up at Joyce’s home.
1980
1977 Artist Laurie STEIN captures a Canadian Thanksgiving with humour and fun.
months. Luckily, her hobby making miniatures, along with online lifelong-learning classes, have kept her busy during lockdown.
1981 Victoria GRAHAM Mitchell,
1975 An award-winning journalist and frequent contributor to The New York Times, Caitlin KELLY often has her stories earn a spot on that newspaper’s “most emailed”
On July 1, Branksome welcomed CK PURKS Hoffler, CEO of The CK Hoffler Firm in Atlanta, Georgia, to its Board of Governors. CK has represented and is also counsel to civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson. She has managed billion-dollar commercial cases, including record-setting medical negligence verdicts.
list. Most recently, she received 700 comments online, many emails of thanks and an unprecedented front-section reprint for a story that many could relate to: “When an Estranged Relative Dies, Some Face Grief, Regret and Relief.”
1979 Wendy AIRD moved to Nova Scotia 14 years ago to be near the ocean. For the past four years, she has lived in the beautiful small coastal town
her husband Brian, daughter Zoë and son Alastair live in Chelsea, Que. Victoria is the manager, interior design (Major Crown Projects Program) at the House of Commons, where her designers work on large Parliamentary Precinct rehabilitation projects. She has been with the House for over five years, and before that was at Public Services and Procurement Canada, and at a local private interior design firm. Zoë is in third year aerospace engineering at Concordia University, and Alastair is in first year at McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management. He also plays baseball for McGill.
1977
Nancy ABERNETHY welcomed her first grandchild, Madeleine June Diane, on August 14. Proud parents are Nancy’s daughter, Cynthia, and her husband Justin Piercy.
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ClassNotes
1999
1984
In January 2020, Jane CONNOR was on a safari at Mashatu Game Reserve in Botswana. After four hours of moving respectfully and patiently with a cheetah mum and her cubs, Jane was rewarded with the joy of capturing this tender moment.
Trish MAGWOOD’s newest
lifestyle cookbook—My New Table—is a collection of seasonally-inspired recipes (Penguin Random House Canada, 2021).
1993 Danielle PATERSON is the
executive director of the David Cornfield Melanoma Fund—a Canadian charity, leader and a global voice that raises melanoma awareness, promotes prevention and supports research. Last summer, the #BeSunSafe program provided critical sun protection through 75 sunscreen dispensers in waterfront parks and 125 shade tents for City of Toronto youth recreation programs.
1994 1989 Branksome parents Kimberley IONSON Taylor,
left, and Anne-Marie Kypreos were featured in the summer 2021 issue of the LCBO magazine Food & Drink. Founders of the Little Buddha Cocktail Company, the successful entrepreneurs created a low-alcohol drink that’s organic, sources local ingredients and has no sugar or artificial additives.
and Brian, a firearms officer. They have worked together on certain police operations and both have an understanding of the pressures of their jobs. “Brian is my biggest cheerleader,” says Robin. See p. 48.
Congratulations to photographer and sculptor Lorna BAUER, who made the 2021 shortlist for the renowned Sobey Art Award/ Prix Sobey pour les arts. Endowed by the Sobey Art Foundation and the National Gallery of Canada, it is globally recognized as one of the world’s most generous privately funded prizes for contemporary visual artists. The shortlisted artists each received $25,000 and are featured in an exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada until February 20, 2022.
1997 In early November, Veronica LIU, the founder of Word Up Community Bookshop in Washington Heights, a neighbourhood in New York City, was featured in The New York Times. Her shop stocks multilingual works relating to the issues faced in her community, which is primarily Black and Latino.
Proud parent Camille CLYNE with daughter, Rachel, who started Grade 7 last September.
On November 2, Jodi SHARP Kimmel was elected as the first woman Town Justice in Bedford, New York, by a margin of 16 per cent. She was to be sworn in on January 1, 2022 for a fouryear term.
1996 Robin MULLAN and her husband Brian MacNab met while Robin was in police training school. Both are with the Bermuda Police Service—Robin, a firearms officer and police K9 handler,
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Anastasia Phillips (Stacey FILIPCZUK’01), left, and Emma HUNTER’03 are both starring in a new CBC one-hour dramedy, Moonshine, that tells the story of the Finley-Cullens, a dysfunctional clan of adult half-siblings battling for control of the ancestral business.
1992
A Poet for the Times
N
icole COZIER recently had a poem published in the anthology, Collecting Courage, published in Canada by Civil Sector Press and Rootstock Publishing in the U.S. “It’s very exciting that something I wrote as part of my own process has resonated with others,” says Nicole of her included poem “Fragments.” When she’s not writing poetry, Nicole is the senior vice-president for diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in Washington, D.C. The HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and realize a world that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. Nicole is responsible for designing and implementing strategy and initiatives that translate DEI into core organizational practice. Gaining from her experiences living in Barbados, Toronto, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Washington, Nicole has experienced many facets of her identity as a Black, queer woman, through both the trials of marginalization and the triumphs and fire of a deep and rich history and ancestry. She holds an MBA and MS from Temple University in Philadelphia, as well as an honours BA from the University of Toronto.
Nicole is a dedicated social justice champion— a leader, trainer/facilitator and advocate in the direct service, advocacy and philanthropic sectors. Whether the focus of her work has been on reproductive health and rights, women’s economic empowerment or LGBTQ+ equality, poetry has helped Nicole explore her identity as a queer Black woman.
Fragments by Nicole E. Cozier (Published in Collecting Courage)
Collecting Courage, is available from Civil Sector Press.
I move through the world in fragments, Tripping over parts of myself along the way. As each fragment jockeys for recognition, validation, and acceptance, I learn to quiet their clamoring voices like a nervous parent quiets an exuberant child calling too much attention to itself. I contort my pieces to fit into spaces that were clearly not meant for me. The discomfort means I can not stay long. At the end of the day, I do a roll call to ensure all my fragments are accounted for and none have been left behind. A comrade asks: “Who would you be in a world without oppression?” I answer: Whole.
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ClassNotes
Judging the Noodlers Every entrepreneur needs mentors and this year’s #BHNoodle cohort pitched their ideas to two dynamic alums serving as judges. The students had been through a rigorous 38-week process to detail their value proposition, customer segments, distribution channels and more. The coveted grand prize of $10,000 in seed money is generously donated by Mary LESSLIE Hallward’74. More Granola maven Sarah DAVIES’09, left, and PR strategist Lisa RICHARDS’02 at the Noodle judging event, held in the Allison Roach Performing Arts Centre on November 6.
Ashley CALDWELL’01 is vice-president, leveraged finance at Goldman Sachs in New York City. Over the summer, Ashley and son Harrison visited with Principal Karen Jurjevich.
2004 Scouted, a New York City recruitment company, was started in 2014 by co-founder and CEO Jacqueline LOEB. In February 2021, it was acquired by Recruiter. com, a leading global AI HR tech company, where Jacqueline is the senior vice-president, management team.
2005 Last September, Nicole STAVRO-LEANOFF took on the role of a Junior School learning strategist teacher at Branksome.
Mordecai. A mocktail and cocktail pioneer and innovator, she’s taught plenty of people the art of mixology.
2008 Marion ADAMS, below left,
is CEO of Focus Mental Wellness. Last fall she linked up with Zoe SHARE’07, CEO of Daddy’s Digest, in an effort to understand where
the mental wellness of a company’s teams now ranks post-pandemic. Reports Marion: “We talked about flawed business models, the inherent irony and misconception around the position of ‘CEO’ (do you picture an org chart with a house-like formation and the CEO at the top? Fun fact, we’re actually at the bottom, like in the basement, and that’s where we should be) and the age-old imposter syndrome—experienced by many female entrepreneurs.”
2009 Sarah DAVIES is the founder
Christina VEIRA is one of
Canada’s top bartenders and co-owner of Toronto’s Bar
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of More Granola (see above photo). “Jumping into More Granola full time last
January is one of the most exhilarating decisions of my life,” says Sarah. “The last six months have been a rollercoaster, with some of the highest highs I’ve experienced. Some days are really hard, but that’s what happens when you pour your whole heart into something, and I wouldn’t trade this journey for the world.” On July 8, Sarah and More Granola were featured in the Toronto Star as part of a piece on RBC and Futurpreneur Canada’s Rock My Business Start-Up Awards. Sarah was selected as one of the six recipients of this award.
2010 classmates at the wedding of Rosalie SPRINGER Fox last October are, from left, Clare KORDYBACK, Olivia PIERRATOS, Victoria KEPES, the bride, Maggie LEVER and Diana BLESKO.
Unable to attend in person due to COVID-19, bridesmaid Sarah REDINGTON (in collusion with the groom) beamed herself into Brittany SMITH Gallant’s August wedding via hologram. Surprising the bride and everyone in attendance, her futuristic appearance was picked up by a number of national and international news sources.
2010
discussion “The Canada Water Agency In a Global Context: The Frontier of Resilient Water Governance” for the UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26. This event was part of the first annual SIWI Water Pavilion, which was organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute to demonstrate the prominent role that water plays in climate change. Emily was
Patricia SU is studying law
at the University of Birmingham, U.K. She is enjoying meeting like-minded individuals from all walks of life. When not studying, she is either exploring new areas of Birmingham or travelling to European cities. Bernise WONG describes herself as a “third culture child.” She was born in Hong Kong but “grew up everywhere,” where she learned the importance of culture. Bernise is a New York City-based art director/designer and head of brand at Saysh. She uses design and art as a medium and visual language to navigate the world.
2017
responsible for pitching the panel discussion, organizing speakers, developing topic questions and hosting the panel as the coordinator for the Forum for Leadership on Water (FLOW). In addition to this, she holds a new position as the marketing manager for the Smart Water Networks Forum (SWAN). Jade ZYLBERBERG is the
On November 5, Emily HINES moderated the panel
2013
director of outbound sales for Valeria Inc. She is responsible for strategically finding brands to work with Valeria Lipovetsky, social media influencer/content creator with a 4.5 millionplus global audience. Most notable brands include H&M, Mango, Veronica Beard, Alice+Olivia, Roger Vivier and Ferragamo.
2011 Bec PECAUT is a screen-
writer and filmmaker splitting their time between Los Angeles and Toronto. Bec received the Jack Okie
From left, Lexi SHAH, Anna Lisa LOWENSTEIN and Leila ASHTARYEH at their graduation from the University of Pennsylvania last spring.
Endowed Scholarship for Comedy in Film for their script “The Terrible Child.” The script is a labour of love and was revised through 60 drafts over a seven-year process. Supported by OPC Productions, it was shot in Toronto over two days last September.
2011 Lawyer Neela THAMBIRAJAH is currently busy doing the The Dalla Lana Fellowship in Global Journalism at the University of Toronto. Her reporting will be on stories about tax and society.
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Passages Retirements
Edited excerpts are taken from live and pre-recorded speeches relayed via Zoom at the employee year-end celebration last June.
Marriages 1997
Laura Bincik (1988–2021) Over the years: School Nurse, Science Teacher, Acting Head of Middle School, Guidance Counsellor
Cathy Russell (2003–21) Over the years: Junior School Teacher, Division Leader, Instructional Leader, Junior School Technology Experience Designer and Coordinator
Laura’s 33-year career began in 1988 when she was hired to be the school nurse. Since then, she has led Grade 9 Week Without Halls adventures, Grade 8 trips to Canada’s Wonderland, inaugural trips to South Korea and many field trips. She has nursed, counselled and taught her way through every risky situation you can imagine, and was instrumental in moving forward many of our current risk management processes. Laura has a deep appreciation for the students and her colleagues who have taught her so much. She feels celebrated and particularly cherishes the individual words and messages she received from her students and colleagues.
We are so grateful for who Cathy is: a faithful friend, a supportive wife, a caring mother, a phenomenal teacher. If you need a caring friend, then give Cathy a call, any time of the day or the night. But not too early in the morning. If a teacher isn’t able to be in class at some point in the day, Cathy is willing to cover and be there. If you need an editor, whether it’s a paper or report cards, then share your editor rights in Google Docs with Cathy. If someone needs a password or technical support, then Cathy comes to the rescue.
Joanne Colwell, Director, School and University Counselling
Thank you, Joanne, for your leadership of the Guidance Department. It has been a privilege to support student growth and well-being with such a fine group of colleagues. I am thankful for my experiences and for my wise mentors in the Health Centre, Science Department and Guidance Department. I am so proud that my daughters have been educated at Branksome Hall and I am grateful to all of the teachers who challenged and nurtured them. For 33 years, I also have been educated at Branksome and have grown as an informed adult, shaped by the professional development provided and by osmosis through the curiosity and accomplishments of our students. I have had a beautiful career. Thank you and Keep Well the Road. Laura Bincik
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Fatma Faraj, Junior School Librarian Mary Fiore, Grade 3 Math/Design and Technology Integration
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful words, and a big thank you to everyone but especially to my Junior School colleagues. Every one of you has been a part of my incredible journey over the last 18 years. I am grateful for the conversations, the learning, the laughs and, most importantly, for the friendships. I will miss greeting the students every morning at the front circle and listening to the stories of the JK and SK students as I walked with them to their playgrounds. I will also miss the joy and excitement of the students when they solve a coding puzzle or when their Scratch or Python coding finally works. I am looking forward to keeping in touch. I am not going to say goodbye, but rather, I’ll see you around. Cathy Russell
Anne-Karine DABO to Scott Michael Webster, on April 2, 2020, in New York City. 2002
Lisa Simone RICHARDS to Steve Morales, on September 18, 2021, in Niagara-on-the-Lake. 2004
Sarah LEVY to Graham Outerbridge, on October 16, 2021, in West Hollywood, California.
Births 2005
Kelly RADKE to Jamie Hunter, on May 29, 2021, in Toronto. 2009
1997
FOR THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE FAMILY Please be sure to let the alum office know when your little one arrives, and we’ll send you our remarkable baby bib in the mail.
2003
2008
2005
Anne-Karine DABO, a daughter, Chloe Margaret, on September 12, 2019, in New York City.
Katherine SWITZER, a daughter, Vanessa, on June 1, 2021, in Toronto. 2010
2001 Rowena LEUNG, a son, Dylan, on October 7, 2021, in Toronto.
Hana JAMES McConville, a son, Nolan Rui, on June 29, 2021, in Toronto. A nephew for Shu-wei JAMES’02.
2004 Brittany SMITH to Jeffrey Gallant, on August 14, 2021, in Niagara-on-the-Lake. 2010
Jennifer McLEOD Yungblut, a daughter, Grace May, on January 1, 2021, in Toronto. A niece for Lauren McLEOD’03.
Nicole BRYCK, a daughter, Valerie Sophia, on April 12, 2021, in Toronto. A niece for Marielle BRYCK’07 and Carolyn BRYCK’13. Lindsay FARBER Mereshensky, a son, Dean, on September 5, 2021, in Toronto. A nephew for Stacey FARBER’05.
Diana BLESKO to Stephen McGroarty, on August 29, 2021, in Toronto.
Rosalie SPRINGER to Daniel Fox, on October 10, 2021, in Oro-Medonte, Ont.
Jaclyn SOPIK, a son, Quinton Lee Raymond,on March 10, 2021, in Markham. A nephew for Victoria SOPIK’08. 2006
Jill SOUTHWORTH Swift, a daughter, Autumn Rose White, on May 8, 2021, in Oxford, U.K. A niece for Ruth SOUTHWORTH Tarrant’99.
Tiffany RAMSUBICK, a daughter, Isola Joy, on November 13, 2021, in Toronto. A niece for Chanelle RAMSUBICK’06 and Brittney RAMSUBICK’12.
Jennifer LANGILL, a son, Sengsavanh James, on March 15, 2021, in Toronto. A nephew for Melanie LANGILL Joyce’03, Kate LANGILL’05 and Stacey LANGILL’08. Gabriella SICILIANO, a daughter, Sophie Madeline, on May 9, 2021, in Toronto. A niece for Isabelle SICILIANO’09.
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Passages
Deaths Notices and In Memoriams have been edited from emails and published obituaries. 1946
Joyce RANDALL Lepage, on August 22, 2021, in Toronto. Joyce had a passion and appreciation for music, fine art, the opera, ballet and theatre. She volunteered at the Gardiner Museum and made annual trips to the Shaw and Stratford Festivals. A woman of tremendous strength and resilience, Joyce was a breast cancer survivor who lived independently for the last 15 years. With great charm and grace she brought laughter, wit and perspective to conversations, paired with a smile that could light up any room. Joyce loved family gatherings in Muskoka and was the proud matriarch of the LePage family. 1947
Anne THOBURN Fisher, on August 22, 2021, in London, Ont. Great great aunt of Anna THOBURN’19. Anne was kind and generous, and lived her life with style and independence. She was an avid skier and
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tennis player, and enjoyed tending to her garden. Her grandchildren remember her enthusiastic support at the finish line of alpine ski races and community hockey games. Family and friends will remember Anne’s bountiful summer banter at Hope Island sunset gatherings, preceding savoury dining room galas. 1948 Françoise CHAUBERT Couvreu, on May 9, 2021, in Geneva, Switzerland. See In Memoriam.
Evelyn HOWDEN Tomlinson, on July 11, 2021, in Penetanguishene, Ont. Evelyn and Jack had a passion for travel and had visited all continents except Antarctica. In their later years, cruising was a favoured way to see the world. As well as seeing foreign places through travel, Jack’s work took them to live in both Hinsdale, a suburb of Chicago, and Natchez, Mississippi. Evelyn maintained the friendships she formed in school, in her daily life and in her travels. She was a prodigious letter writer who cherished her friends, but when writing became a chore due to a fractured humerus, she continued to keep in touch by phone.
1949
1953
Sally McGOUIRK Webb, on December 4, 2021, in Toronto. Mother of Kelly WEBB’73; grandmother of Meghan BAUER’96, Lorna BAUER’99 and Hilary BAUER’03. Sally had a strong sense of service and enjoyed giving back to her community by playing an active role in many charities. Sally had a long and happy life of love, unwavering strength, encouragement and kindness to all.
Sheila TODD, on August 20, 2021, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. A much-loved grandmother, Sheila was a lifelong learner and deeply valued education. She attended numerous colleges including Bryn Mawr and the University of Maryland, where she received a second undergraduate degree and a master’s. She was a certified clinical nurse specialist in both gerontological and psychiatric nursing and worked at the Sheppard Pratt and Levindale private hospitals in Baltimore. In 1991, Sheila received the Outstanding Advanced Clinical Award from the Maryland Nurses Association.
and was an accomplished seamstress. Mary Ann was loved by all who knew her, a gentle, beautiful woman of poise and grace. 1955
Eleanor MILLS Howe, on September 9, 2021, in Burlington, Ont. Eleanor’s passion for books was evident at an early age. She began her employment in the Technical Library at Courtaulds Cornwall, Ont., where she met her future husband, Doug. Following their wedding in 1952 they departed for Mobile, Alabama, where Eleanor became involved in the library bookmobile program, offering wonderful literacy opportunities to thousands of residents. After 22 years in the United States they returned to Cornwall and later moved to Burlington.
Priscilla GREIG Tiffany, on August 21, 2021, in Midland, Ont. Priscilla followed a nursing career, where her favourite shifts were spent in Wellesley Hospital Nursery. She was involved with IODE Canada in Toronto and later in local theatre in Lagoon City and Beaverton, Ont. Since 2017, she had lived in a retirement residence in Midland. She leaves two daughters and eight grandchildren.
1954
Mary Ann HEAD Knowland, on April 4, 2021, in Bronte, Ont. Sister of Elizabeth HEAD Taylor’60. In recent years, Mary Ann was a member of the Oakville Art Society and the Sir John Colborne Recreation Centre where she studied yoga and Spanish. All her life she created beautiful oil and watercolour paintings
Margot THOMPSON Powell, on July 14, 2021, in Toronto. Margot and her husband Alan raised their family in Montreal. A lifelong learner, she had talents and interests that reached far and wide—from equestrian show jumping and sailing to piano, classical guitar and entrepreneurial endeavours. A long-term member of the No Frills Investment Club, Margot was a shrewd investor with good instincts. She spent most summers at
In Memoriam the cottage on Canoe Lake and, in her later years, spent winters in Arizona. Margot was a kind and generous soul to family and friends. 1956 Mary Jane BICKLE Hastings, on December 9, 2021, in Toronto. A graduate of the nursing program at Women’s College Hospital, Mary Jane enjoyed over 50 years living in Willowdale, travelling, leading an active lifestyle, and volunteering at the Toronto Zoo. Susan RICHARDSON Merry, on August 27, 2021. Joyce WALKER McKeough, on July 3, 2021, in Cedar Springs, Ont. Sister-in-law of Eleanor TOW Walker’57. See In Memoriam. 1957
Jane BURT Rutledge, on November 24, 2020, in Burlington, Ont. Jane graduated from the Wellesley School of Nursing in 1960. Over her lifetime, she raised a family and started and ran her own business. Her greatest pride and deepest value was family, for whom she created and nurtured many traditions that her children hold dear.
Elizabeth RICHARDSON Peachell, on April 7, 2019, in Bradenton, Florida. 1961
Elizabeth BARNES Kiddle’61, on July 27, 2021, in Milton, Ont. Elizabeth earned her master’s degree in social work from Columbia University. She worked for the Toronto Family Service Agency and later at Halton Family Services, the Vanier Centre for Women, and Maplehurst Correctional Complex. She also served on the provincial parole board and believed intensely in rehabilitation and social justice at home and globally. She was unfailingly generous to her family and friends, clients and the many causes she supported.
Françoise CHAUBERT Couvreu’48 May 9, 2021
“F
rannie” was sent by her parents from Lausanne, Switzerland, to Branksome for the year 1947-48 to perfect her English. There was already a family connection, as her aunt had taught French at Branksome sometime before the Second World War. After graduation, I lost track of Frannie. I had heard that she was married and living in Paris. In 2003, the Branksome alumnae office learned that I was living part-time near Geneva, in France, and contacted me with Frannie’s married name, Couvreu, asking me to try to find her. I was able to locate her and we reconnected happily after more than 50 years. Frannie was living in a beautiful manor house with a spectacular view of Mont Blanc, and a garden fi lled with roses. It was in a village just outside of Geneva, ironically only about three kilometres from where my husband and I had lived for several years. We had probably attended the same concerts and passed each other in the local supermarket without recognition. We visited back and forth during the next years and Skyped each other when I was back in New York. Unfortunately, her health began to deteriorate and I learned of her recent passing from a Genevan friend. Françoise was a talented artist and had several exhibitions at local galleries. She was also a passionate lover of music, attending concerts and opera in Geneva and travelling to festivals in Switzerland and other European cities. She was a brilliant cook and, while she was still in good health, enjoyed entertaining friends; her beautiful table decorations were legendary. Jeanne ROSCOE Sheridan’48, White Plains, New York
1983 Julia WEINSTEIN, on December 12, 2021, in Toronto. Sister of Johanna WEINSTEIN’81. Former Teacher Medora Sale Roe, English teacher from 1974-76 and 1977-90, on November 7, 2021, in Toronto. Mother of Anne ROE’87. See In Memoriam.
Françoise, left, with Jeanne in June 2010.
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Passages
In Memoriam Medora Sale Roe November 7, 2021 English teacher from 1974-76 and 1977-90
The Ultimate ‘Bee Keeper’ Margaret Joyce WALKER McKeough’56 August 28, 1937 – July 3, 2021
M
edora launched a second career in writing in her forties, publishing seven mystery novels under the name Medora Sale and eight mysteries under the name Caroline Roe. She was awarded the Arthur Ellis First Novel Award in 1986 for Murder on the Run and the Barry Award for Best Paperback Original Mystery Novel in 1999 for An Antidote for Avarice. Her passion for writing extended to supporting fellow writers, leading her to serve as president of both Crime Writers of Canada (1989-90) and Sisters in Crime (1998-99). Medora was fiercely committed to following her dreams and supporting other women and girls to do the same. She was also a kind and gentle person who was passionate about animals and music.
A Former Colleague Remembers Medora was a brilliant teacher whose students loved and admired her. Many alums, especially those from her Grade 13 English literature course, which consisted of an exceptional array of texts taught nowhere else, have described Miss Roe as a “fantastic teacher.” Many have been in touch with me and with each other to express their deep sadness at her death. Medora leaves her husband, Harry, and her daughter Anne ROE’87. Diane Watson, English teacher
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“W
hen I first met Joyce McKeough, I was struck with her stately beauty,” wrote her friend, lawyer Tony Little, after she passed. He remembered how her eyes were piercing even as they twinkled, “and they carried a frankness, an openness—no secrets.” Another friend, Linda ALEXANIAN’86, recalls that “she actively and intentionally sought the positive in every person and situation. While the rest of us were preparing for the worst-case scenario, Joyce was asking: what if something good happens?” And everyone at Branksome Hall, where she was such an active supporter—from the board to the “Bee Keepers”—remembers the laughter that would accompany each of her visits. Joyce was the daughter of a federal cabinet minister and the wife of an Ontario one, so she understood public life and how to handle it. She was once presented at court to the Queen and Prince Philip, and vividly remembered “the devastating eyes of the Prince.” As writer and friend Rod McQueen recalls, her father once said of her chatelaine role, “you can make it work for you.” Remarks McQueen: “Entertaining Peter Lougheed, breakfast with Brian Mulroney, and tea with Margaret Thatcher were just a few of the ways she made it work.”
Her lawyer father, David James Walker, was a Progressive Conservative cabinet minister and later a senator. “My mom’s parents had great respect for each other,” says her son Stewart. “Her mother was also a political wife, and it was important to them for boys and girls to be on an equal footing.” Her husband, Darcy, was MPP for the Chatham-Kent area for 15 years, which led many to call him “the Duke of Kent.” If that made Joyce a duchess, she was certainly influential from her base in the family domain at Bally McKeough, on the shores of Lake Erie near Chatham.
A
t Branksome Hall, she served on the board, as a volunteer, and chaired the Centennial Book Committee at the time of the school’s 100th anniversary. She and Darcy are on the donor wall and there is a Joyce WALKER McKeough’56 Bursary, funded in her honour by her brother David. And the Bee Keepers? Technically, they were the Branksome Keepers, a group formed by Joyce to keep former board members and others informed about the school and involved with it. Like all her projects, it was very successful. “Joyce had the ideal characteristics that one would wish for in a Branksome board member: vast external experience along with deep institutional knowledge and loyalty combined with a sharp mind and quick wit,” says Tony Graham, who worked with Joyce on the Branksome Hall board and the Branksome Foundation board, both of which he chaired. “She left her mark on Branksome, which will be remembered for many years to come.” “I owe Branksome a lot,” she told two students, Alexandra Krawczyk and Jaclyn Genovese, who interviewed her for The READ in 2002. “You have to get away from the school—after Grade 13 we were more than happy to!—to realize it is truly a re-
markable place. I don’t think any of us were aware it was shaping us, but as Winston Churchill said, ‘we shape our structures and then our structures shape us.’” To Branksome Principal Karen Jurjevich, “Joyce was my role model. I realized early in my career that she was always in my corner. She was one of the first people I was introduced to when I joined the Branksome community, and it was Joyce who inducted me into all things Branksome and helped me to learn the rules of the road, so to
“For me, her astute nature, witty humour and kindness gave me confidence as a young leader. It was a joy and a privilege to know her.” Principal Karen L. Jurjevich
speak. She was curious about me, and while she never imposed herself, when you were in her company you knew she didn’t miss a thing you said or any nuance present in your conversation.” On their work together on The Road Well Kept centenary book project, Jurjevich recalls, “she would say, ‘we just have to tell the real Branksome story, and the book will sizzle!’ She was worldly, but never took herself too seriously. She was a practical joker, and yet the most thoughtful person: you would see her one day and the very next day receive a note from her just letting you know she was thinking of you. Joyce touched so many peoples’ lives in that way. For me, her
astute nature, witty humour and kindness gave me confidence as a young leader. It was a joy and a privilege to know her.”
J
oyce started at Branksome at 13, and became a prefect and clan chieftain. After graduation she was an exchange student for a year at Branksome-linked Sherborne School for Girls in Dorset, England, before going on to Trinity College, University of Toronto. While working at an advertising agency in Toronto in 1964, she met Darcy, a newly elected MPP. They were married the next year, and Darcy moved into cabinet in 1966. They continued pursuing an energetic public life until 1978, when Darcy left government. At Bally McKeough, Joyce loved shaping the gardens and terraces that led down to the lake. In his homily, Rev. John Maroney recalled: “Several days after my visit to Bally McKeough, Joyce called me to say that she had gone outdoors to see the lake, to hear the birds sweetly singing in the trees, to feel the warmth of the sun and to marvel at the brilliant colours of God’s creation. And in her voice was a sense of joy and wonder.” To Tony Little, Joyce was “a true Lady— with all that term positively conveys. Independent but not unaware of the needs of others. Truly amused by the human condition while forgiving that condition for its idiosyncracies. Loyal with friends. Politically savvy. Proud mother.” And without doubt, a beloved Branksome alumna. R The Joyce WALKER McKeough’56 Bursary Fund was established in 2004 by Joyce’s brother, David Walker. Since Joyce’s death in July, Branksome Hall has received over $30,000 in memorial gifts directed to this fund. The school gratefully acknowledges and thanks everyone who has remembered Joyce in this very meaningful way.
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A Day in the Life
Robin and Roni, outside the Bermuda Police Headquarters.
was also used as a narcotics street team, and I was involved in numerous drug warrants that were both exciting and helped to make our island safer. In 2017, I took on the difficult role of Family Liaison Officer. If there is a fatal traffic collision, or a suspicious incident such as murder, an FLO is assigned to meet with the next of kin right away. We usually develop a strong bond with the families, and this helps us get the needed information that can be so difficult for families to give when they are grieving. This is my most difficult job in the police service, as you go through a painful journey alongside the family. You try to do all you can to make the process easier for them. The next year, I completed an authorized firearms course and became part of the team that carries firearms and deals with gun incidents. Working with the Gang Targeting Unit, we focussed on drug and firearms incidents involving gangs. It was during this time that I experienced working alongside K9 handlers. I have always loved dogs and I was fascinated at the work these K9s did. So I applied to become a K9 handler myself. Last September, I travelled with a colleague to Vohne Liche Kennels in Indiana, where I met my new partner. Roni is a German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix, and an 18-month-old bundle of energy and drive. The two of us began a rigorous six-week program in which we trained together every day in all areas of police K9 work, including detection, I took on gangs and guns before finding my real passion tracking and apprehension. Roni and I made as a cop—working with dogs. incredible progress and, in November, we began working together in Bermuda. By Robin MULLAN’96 When I look back at the adventures I have undertaken over the last eight years, I almost can’t believe it. I have always been a quiet ne day in 2013, I came across an advertisement from the person, but I believe that boarding at Branksome brought out a Bermuda Police Service, looking for new recruits. I was confidence in me that could not have happened living and growing 35 at the time, a Bermudian, and fell within the required up on a sheltered island like Bermuda. Branksome took me out age bracket. I always had an interest in policing, but my career path of my comfort zone while still nurturing and encouraging me to as a graphic designer started in university and I had not looked do my best. R back. Yet I realized that I was ready for a change in my life. I decided Robin Mullen graduated from York University with a BA in English to take the plunge. literature and was a graphic designer in Hamilton, Bermuda, for I did get into the police and after two years as a patrol officer 12 years before joining the police. She has two daughters and is my career really took off. I joined the Police Support Unit, the demarried to Brian MacNab, a fellow firearms police officer. See p.38. partment that trains for large-scale public safety events. Our team
On the Beat in Bermuda
NIGEL RICHARDSON
O
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The READ Fall 2021
WE JUST CLICK At Branksome Connects, you’ll click with hundreds of like-minded alum who value the connections you’ve made and the community you share. Register today for your one-stop networking platform.
BranksomeConnects.ca
The world will not be saved by someone wearing a cape.
Canada
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H om e of n oo d le. Toronto’s only all-girls, all-years IB World School. More than $1 million in student financial assistance available.
