Pamela Griffin

Fitness instructor and mentor for seniors

Became a fitness instructor at age 52; provided fitness classes to seniors at the Carleton Canoe Club.

Began the “55-plus” Fitness Club in 1984, teaching fitness to 100 seniors every single week for three decades, encouraging them to build better health through fitness.

Retired in 2012 at age 80.

www.ottawacitizen.com

Gabriella Goliger

Author

Born in Italy, grew up in Montreal and has lived in Ottawa for the past 30 years.

Obtained a B.A. from McGill University and an M.A. in English literature from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Her first book, Song of Ascent, won the 2001 Upper Canada Writer's Craft Award, was co-winner of the 1997 Journey Prize for short fiction, finalist for this prize in 1995 and won the Prism International award in 1993.

Has also been published in a number of journals and anthologies including Best New American Voices 2000 and Contemporary Jewish Writing in Canada.

Her second book, Girl Unwrapped, was published in 2010; it won the City of Ottawa Book Award in the English Non Fiction category in 2011.

http://www.gabriellagoliger.com

http://www.arsenalpulp.com

http://www.ottawa.ca

Nathalie Gamache

Gynecologist specialized in women’s health (menopause)

Studied medicine in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Completed her residency in gynecology and obstetrics, as well as a fellowship in menopause and women’s health in Ottawa.

Practices at the Shirley E. Greenberg Centre for Women’s Health at the Ottawa General Hospital and recently opened the Centre de Santé pour Femmes GAÏA in Gatineau.

Areas of interest are abnormal bleeding and fibromas, menopause and hormone therapy, sexuality, premenstrual syndrome, and early ovarian failure, especially among cancer survivors.

Is an associate professor at the University of Ottawa, where she helped develop and start the new medical program in 2009.

Winner of two awards of excellence in teaching, she was also recently awarded a prize for the best oral presentation at the SOGC in 2010.

Is a frequent presenter at both local and international conferences.

www.divafoundation.org

Sylva M. Gelber

Arts patron

Born in Toronto in 1910; lived in Ottawa; died in 2003.

Distinguished Canadian who served Canada in various capacities, most notably as Director of the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labour and Canadian representative on the UN Commission for the Status of Women from 1970-74.

Held many international appointments during her lifetime, including that of Canadian delegate to the United Nations General Assembly in 1976 and 1978.

Outspoken advocate of women's rights; helped to introduce equal-pay legislation, maternity leave and women's pension benefits into Canadian society.

Spent 15 years as a medical social worker and government administrator in British-mandate Palestine, an experience she chronicled in No Balm in Gilead, an award-winning 1989 memoir.

Known for her wit, humour and a love of music, stylish clothes and fast cars, she led a colourful life that included early stints in theatre and radio; passionate music lover; known in Ottawa as an arts patron.

Created the Sylva M. Gerber Music Foundation to help talented Canadian students with high costs of training.

A Piano Lab at the University of Ottawa was named the Sylva Gerber studio in her honour.

She is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

www.sylvagerber.com

www.ottawacitizen.com

Mamta Gautam

Physician, executive coach, author, speaker and physician health pioneer

Was a psychiatrist in private practice in Ottawa for 20 years, and is a clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa. 

Specialist in physician health and well-being, hailed as “The Doctor’s Doctor"; trained in CoActive Coaching from Coaches Training International and certified physician development coach.

Founding director of the University of Ottawa Faculty Of Medicine Wellness Program. 

Co-Chair of the Canadian Psychiatric Association Section on Physician Health. 

President of the Ottawa chapter of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada and has recently launched the International Alliance for Physician Health.

Has published Irondoc: Practical Stress Management Tools for Physicians in October 2004.

Has received several major awards to recognize and honor her pioneering work in the field of physician wellness, including the 2004 CPSO Council Award and the 2005 University of Ottawa Alumni Award for Community Contributions.

Has recently been awarded the Canadian Medical Association’s first ever Physician Misericordia award which recognizes contributions to the field of physician wellness in August 2011.

www.ottawacitizen.com

www.peakmd.ca

www.drgautam.ca

Jerry Grey

Visual artist, teacher

Born in Vancouver, lives in Ottawa.

Has been exhibiting nationally since 1963; her work appears in numerous public and private collections.

Has received commissions for several important public art installations, including The Great Canadian Equalizer at Statistics Canada; The Tiles of Time at the Ottawa Police Station; and The Sisters of Charity Building Hope, for the Sisters of Charity (Grey Nuns).

Elected to membership of The Royal Canadian Academy of Art in 1984.

Lectures on a variety of topics at the National Gallery of Canada, the Banff School of Fine Arts, the Emily Carr School of Art, the University of Ottawa, the Ottawa School of Art and the Avenue Road Art School in Toronto.

Works in oils, watercolour, pastels and glass media; explores themes of nature, politics, history and issues of public concern. Some examples are:

• Dualities, a series of paintings reflecting the artist's reaction to the Gulf War, exhibited at the Carleton University Art Gallery, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and the new Abdullah Salem Exhibition Hall in Kuwait.
• Rare Spirits: A Personal Tribute to Vintage Elders, a series of portraits of accomplished older Canadians, opened in Ottawa and then traveled to Vancouver, Toronto and Kelowna before being purchased by the new Portrait Gallery of Canada.
• Icons of Beauty was given a solo exhibition in September 2005 at the Galerie d’art Jean-Claude Bergeron in Ottawa.

Received the Victor Tolgesy Arts Awards in 2011 for enhancing Ottawa with a high caliber of artistic achievement and for her profound and sustained commitment to the arts community, including the performing arts of music and dance, and extensive and valued participation in numerous committees and fundraising activities. 

http://www.jerrygrey.ca
http://www.artengine.ca/jerrygrey/artist.htm

Kristina Groves

Olympic long-track speedskater
Ottawa's most decorated Olympic athlete

Born in Ottawa; lives in Calgary.

Single Distances World Champion on the 3000-m in 2008; won a medal in every event that she skated at these championships; also won an additional 2 silver medals and 2 bronze medals.

Placed 8th in the women's 3000-m speed skating at the 2006 Olympics and was part of the silver medal winning Canadian pursuit team. She also won a silver medal in the 1500-m.

Ottawa's female athlete of the year seven of the past eight years (a record).

One of 11 Canadian Olympic athletes, winter or summer, to win four or more Career medals at the Games.

University of Calgary's Distinguished Alumni of the Decade.

http://www.speedskating.ca
www.theottawacitizen.com

Ginette Gratton

Consultant, television host, community advocate

Born in Ottawa.

Expert in strategic communication, leadership and integration of francophone immigrants.

Current host of Ginette Gratton reçoit on Rogers TV (Channel 23, French); past host of Pour tout l'amour du monde, a daily talk show on Rogers TV (Channel 23, French).

Led and coordinated multiple projects in Canada, France, Africa and in the United States.

Teacher, past coordinator of learning resources at the Centre franco-ontarien de ressources pédagogiques.

Professor, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Education; professor in Communications and Marketing at the Cité collégiale.

Advocate for francophone culture and rights in Ontario.

http://www.resaff.ca

Janis Grantham

President, Chief Operating Officer

Studied and works in Ottawa.

Co-Founder, President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Eagle Professional Resources, an information technology (IT) staffing company with offices across Canada.

Studied Computer Science at Carleton University and has an MBA from the Queen’s Executive Program.

Has more than twenty years of industry experience starting as a computer programmer and working in various consulting and management roles.

Listed as number 4 on Canada’s Top 100 Women Business Owners list.

Has been on Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 list.

Consumers Choice Business Woman of the Year for Ottawa-Gatineau in 2005.

Finalist in the 2002 Ontario Entrepreneur of the Year award.

www.eagleonline.com

Charlotte Gray

Author, professor, historian

Lives and works in Ottawa.

Most recent book is Nellie McClung, a biography of the leader of the first wave of Canadian feminism (2008).

Some of her previous books include:

• Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell, which was a 2006 bestseller, and won the Donald Creighton Award for Ontario History;
• A Museum Called Canada (2004);
• Sisters in the Wilderness, The Lives of Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill (1999).

Adjunct research professor in the Department of History at Carleton University.

Sits on the boards of the Dominion Institute and Canada’s National History Society, and is a member of the Historica Council.

Recipient of the Pierre Berton Award in 2003 for distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian history.

Member of the Order of Canada.

www.canadascapital.gc.ca
www.charlottegray.ca

Margaret Graham

Pioneer journalist

Lived and worked in Ottawa.

One of the founding members of the Canadian Women's Press Club in 1904 (now called Media Club of Canada).

Married Albert Horton in 1905, a well-known editor of Hansard; lived in Ottawa until her death in 1924.

The Margaret Graham Award was formally established in 1977 to be given to top journalism students at Carleton University and Algonquin College.

In 1992, the award was expanded to include a top student from the University of Ottawa’s Communications Department.

www.mediaclubottawa.ca

Rose Goldstein

Rheumatologist

Worked in Ottawa.

Received the first May Cohen Award for Women Mentors in 2002 from the Canadian Medical Association for being a formidable activist on behalf of women in medicine.

N.B. The CMA May Cohen Award is awarded annually to a woman physician who has demonstrated outstanding mentoring abilities.

Associate Dean of Professional Affairs at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, 2003-2007.

Actively prepares women for promotion and promotes personal wellness and family life in balance with professional life.

Fosters a faculty-wide mentoring program and formal leadership training for faculty and staff at the University of Ottawa.

Helped define an equitable promotion policy that closed the gender gap in promotions, and inspired similar initiatives in other Ontario universities.

Leads workshops on leadership development, balancing professional and family life and the academic promotion process, and has provided conflict resolution training in collaboration with the Faculty of Law.

Founding Director of the Ottawa Academic Health Sciences Leadership Program in 2001.

www.cma.ca
www.ihe.ca

Shirley Greenberg

Lawyer, women's advocate, philanthropist

Alumna of the University of Ottawa’s law school.

Helped found the Ottawa Women's Centre, from which subsequently developed the Rape Crisis Centre, the Women's Career Counselling Centre and Interval House, a refuge for battered women.

In the 1970's, created the first all-female law practice in Ottawa with Catherine Aitken, Superior Court Justice of Ontario since 1997.

Fought systemic discrimination against women in laws and legal documents throughout her career.

The Shirley E. Greenberg Centre for Women's Health was established at the Riverside campus of the Ottawa Hospital, with the help of her generous donation. This centre, specializing in gynecology and cancer detection, puts particular emphasis on the well-being of older women.

www.uottawa.ca
www.section15.ca

Eva Gauthier

Mezzo-soprano

1885-1958; born in Ottawa.

Soloist at St Patrick Church in Ottawa.

Made her professional debut as a contralto at the Ottawa Basilica (1902) when she participated in a service commemorating the death of Queen Victoria.

May have been the first person to sing jazz during a concert, and the first woman to introduce jazz and oriental music to America. (www.association-gauthier.org)

In 1914, she went to New York where her innovative concerts brought her to the heights of a modern arts lyricist.

Known for her love of modern composers and defending the cause of modern music.

Each Gauthier recital contained premieres, and it is estimated that she gave no fewer than 184 during her career,

www.association-gauthier.org
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com

Nancy Greene

Olympic champion alpine skier

Born in Ottawa in 1943.

Won Canada's first gold medal in the giant slalom at the 1968 Olympic and a silver medal in the slalom in Grenoble, France. She also defended her World Cup title, winning ten races in a row.

Became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1968.

Declared Canada’s female athlete of the 20th century in 1999.

Nancy and her husband Al were instrumental in the early development of Whistler Resort and are well known for the assistance which they give to young skiers.

www.collectionscanada.ca