LaDorna Penteluk

Longest serving foster parent with the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa, parenting mentor

"I do it because these kids need to be taught what unconditional love is. If they grow up without love than they will never know what real love is when they get married and become parents."  —LaDorna Penteluk.

Opened her doors to foster children in the Capital in 1960 and has since cared for over 500 children; through her foster work, she has impacted hundreds of children's lives as well as their families. has adopted three foster children and fostered both regular placements and developmentally challenged children.

At age 80, she is in her 52nd year of fostering children in Ottawa and continues to enjoys providing a safe and nurturing environment that permits children to learn, grow and prosper.

She also volunteers with Foster Parent activities including the Christmas party, clothing depot and “Foster a Snow Angel”. She is well known at the Children’s Aid Society as the "Purple Lady" as every piece of clothing and accessory is purple!

She continues to expand her knowledge of fostering through attending workshops and conferences all over the world so she can contribute to the success and happiness of future foster children.

Honours:

2005 Lifetime Achievement Award, Ottawa-Carleton Foster Parent Association

2010 Co-recipient of the Citizen of the Year Civic Appreciation Award, City of Ottawa

http://fosterparentssociety.org

www.orleansonline.ca

www.ottawa.ca

Ottawa Parenting Magazine, Summer 2012

Ruth Phillips

Professor, author, curator

Earned a doctorate in African Art History from the School of African and Oriental Studies at the University of London.

Began her career at Carleton University in Ottawa in 1979, pioneering the teaching of indigenous North American art history in Canada.

Has curated exhibitions for and consulted to major museums in Canada and the United States.

Served as director of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, where she was also Professor of Anthropology and Art History, 1997-2003.

Returned to Carleton in 2003 as the Canada Research Chair in Modern Culture.

Served as president of CIHA, the international association of art historians, 2004-2008.

Founder of the Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Cultures (GRASAC), in 2005.

Is Canada Research Chair in Modern Culture at Carleton University and the author of Seeing Through Translation: Visuality and Cultural Exchange in the Great Lakes, and Museum Pieces: Exhibiting Native Art in Canadian Museums, for which she was recently dominated for the Donner Prize.

Has won many awards and honours including Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2007 and a National Gallery of Canada fellowship in 1997.

http://www2.carleton.ca

Janet Podleski

Author, wellness motivator

Originally from St. Thomas, Ontario; lives in Ottawa.

With her sister Greta Podleski, co-wrote the bestselling cookbooks, Looneyspoons, Crazy Plates (a finalist for the James Beard Foundation Cookbook Awards) and their latest, Eat, Shrink & Be Merry!

Janet and her sister, Greta, are also monthly columnists for Canada's number-one magazine, Reader's Digest, and were voted into Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2000.

Their inspirational, self-publishing success story has been featured on dozens of national TV programs such as The Today Show, CNN, Canada A.M. and QVC, as well as on hundreds of radio shows, and in magazines and newspapers across North America.

Janet was inducted into Carleton University’s Sports Hall of Fame in Ottawa (for soccer and basketball) in 2000.

In addition to a B.A. in Psychology, has also earned a degree as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist.

http://www.chef-opedia.com/Janet_Podleski/bio

http://janetandgreta.com/

Dorothea Palmer

Disseminator of birth control information

Born in 1908 in England.

Was employed as a nurse by the Parents' Information Bureau of Kitchener, Ontario to visit homes of those known to be poor or relatively poor, and to offer to needy mothers the opportunity of applying for certain contraceptive materials.

Was arrested at Eastview, an Ottawa suburb, as she was leaving the home of a French Roman Catholic family which was on relief and had a large number of children; her charge was distributing birth control information and contraceptive devices; her arrest and subsequent trial changed the course of Canadian society.

The trial occupied nineteen days of testimony and four of argument, and during which forty witnesses were examined. The case was a remarkable one in that the decision overruled religious and medical objections to the dissemination of birth control information.

Was acquitted on March 17, 1937 after a trial that extended over a period of six months; the case proved to be a landmark case in how birth control information was distributed in Canada. As a result of the trial, no one was ever again charged for distributing birth control information, even though the law was not changed until 1969.

http://wendy-elliott.suite101.com/dorothea-palmer-a46609

http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/discipline/SpecColl/archives/palmer.html

Theodora A. Philpot

Entrepreneur, first headmistress of Rockliffe Prep School (later known as Elmwood)

Theodora Philpot was born to Scottish parents in 19th-century Burma.

Was married to a teacher at Ashbury College in Ottawa.

In 1915, established the Rockcliffe Preparatory School with four students, male and female, aged four to seven in the ohe old house at Elmwood Farm in Rockliffe.

The school set out originally to “prepare” young boys to attend a nearby boys' school at age 11. However, Elmwood also attracted the daughters of Ottawa's elite. Mrs. Philpot was the only teacher at first but soon hired a second to teach French.

The Rockcliffe Preparatory School changed its name to Elmwood and shifted its vocation from the “preparation” of young boys to the education of young women in 1923.

Retired to England in 1920, leaving Elmwood in the hands of Edith Buck for the next 31 years.

Donated a Bible Box, inscribed with the words “Pactum Serva” meaning “Keep the Faith” to the school, and it came with a plea to carry on the work she had started.

http://www.elmwood.ca/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmwood_School_%28Ottawa%29
www.citywomanmagazine.ca (Janet Uren)

Gilberte Paquette (Soeur)

Pionneer in health care

Born in 1923 in La Reine (Québec).

Joined the Sœurs de la Charité d’Ottawa in 1942.

Studied at the University of Ottawa where she obtained a BA in 1956. Also studied hospital management.

Was a teacher for 15 years.

Involved in health care in the Ottawa region from the 1950's to the 1980's.

Past CEO of the Ottawa General Hospital. Under her management, the Ottawa General Hospital became the Élisabeth Bruyère Health Centre - a center for chronic care.

Pionneered the first regional unit of palliative care in the province of Ontario.

Involved in numerous professional and community associations and recipient of many awards including the Order of Canada in 1985.

Published a book in 1993 which is part autobiography and local history - Dans le sillage d’Élisabeth Bruyère, for which she won the City of Ottawa Book prize.

In 1995, the University of Ottawa awarded her an honorary doctorate.

www.aefo.on.ca

Diane Pacom

Professor, sociologist, University of Ottawa

“[…teaching is the core of [the] academic mission". – Diane Pacom

Arrived at the University of Ottawa in 1978.

Expert in cultural sociology and contemporary sociology theories, with a focus on youth.

Recipient of the first annual Rector's Award in 2003 for Service to the University of Ottawa through Media and Community Relations.

Recipient of a Capital Educators Award in 2002.

Recipient of the OCUFA Teaching and Academic LibrarianshipTeaching Award in 2003.

Her teaching style is often described as "unique" in its ability to stimulate her students’ interest in the subject matter and to create a pedagogical space where students are encouraged to "think, question, develop their critical senses and outdo themselves."

www.mcmaster.ca
www.ocufa.on.ca
www.media.uottawa.ca

Helen Paget

Golfer

Represented the Royal Ottawa Golf Club at the inaugural match of the Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto on August 23, 1926 against Ada Mackenzie, founder of the Ladies’ Golf Club.

In the early 20th century, it wasn’t easy for female golfers to get access to tee times and practice facilities. Ada Mackenzie was a talented young golfer from Toronto who found a solution: she created a women’s golf club!

The Ladies’s Golf Club of Toronto is North America’s only remaining private golf club established by women for women.

As for the Royal Ottawa Golf Club, it is one of the oldest golf clubs outside of Britain; it was founded in the spring of 1891.

www.cpga.com
www.royalottawagolfclub.com
www.ladiesgolfclub.com

Landon Pearson

Senator, Children’s Activist
Landon Pearson Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights, Carleton University

Studied in Ottawa; donated a collection to Carleton University in Ottawa.

Co-founded Children Learning for Living, a prevention program in children's mental health in 1974.

Earned her M.Ed. in Psychopedagogy from the University of Ottawa.

Vice Chair of the Canadian Commission for the International Year of the Child in 1979.

President and Chair of the Canadian Council on Children and Youth from 1984 to 1990.

Appointed to the Canadian Senate in 1994; was instrumental in shaping Canada's foreign policy on child labor, sexual exploitation of children, and war-affected children.

Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 as part of the 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize project.

Donated her collection of books, papers and reports on childhood and children’s rights to Carleton University in Ottawa.

The Landon Pearson Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights at Carleton University was launched on International Children’s Day, June 2, 2006.

Received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa in 2002 and an honorary doctorate from Carleton University in 2003.

www.international.gc.ca
www.canadiancrc.com
www.betterworldheroes.com
www.carleton.ca

Marie-P. Poulin

Senator

Studied and worked in Ottawa.

Born in 1945 in Sudbury, Ontario.

Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from University of Ottawa in 2007.

President, Liberal Party of Canada from December 2006 to April 2008.

Called to the Senate of Canada in September 1995; first woman to chair the Senate Liberal Caucus, and the first senator to chair the Northern Ontario Liberal Caucus.

Received the "Prix Marcel Blouin" for the best radio morning program in Canada in 1983, the "Médaille du Conseil de la vie française" in 1988, the "Ordre de la Pléaide" in 1995, an honorary Doctor of Law degree from Laurentian University in 1995, the insignia of "Officier de l'Ordre national de la Légion d'Honneur de la France" in 2003 and the insignia of the Order of St. John in 2004.

Was a member of the Implementation Committee for Bill 8 in Ontario and a founding director of "La Cité collégiale" (the first French-language College of Applied Arts and Technology in Ontario) and the "Regroupement des gens d'affaires francophones" in Ottawa.

Was the first woman to chair the Regroupement des gens d'affaires francophones.

http://parl.gc.ca
www.rga.ca

Barbara Paterson

Sculptor of Women Are Persons! Monument (Famous 5 Monument), permanently installed in Ottawa.

Born and lives in Alberta.

Created the first permanent monument on Parliament Hill in Ottawa which commemorates Canadian women.

The bronze memorial was commissioned to honour the Persons Case and the Alberta women who launched the legal challenge to gain recognition of Canadian women as "persons" elegible to sit in the Senate.

First woman to have her sculptures appear on Parliament Hill.

N.B. Barbara Paterson is part of this Women In Ottawa list because she is the only woman to have a permanent sculpture on Parliament Hill.

www.heroines.ca

Rose-Marie Perry

Lawyer

Studied and works in Ottawa.

The first woman graduate of the Common Law Section of the University of Ottawa and the only woman in her class during her three years at law school.

Called to the Bar in 1962.

Joined Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP two years later where she continues to practice in areas of trademark, copyright, and industrial design litigation and prosecution today.

Became a partner in 1974, and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1985.

www.commonlaw.uottawa.ca
www.gowlings.com

Jean Pigott

Entrepreneur, politician, philanthropist

Born and raised in the Ottawa Valley; 1924-2012.

Affectionately known as the matriarch of Ottawa.

Past president and CEO of her family's business, Morrison-Lamothe Bakery in the Ottawa Valley, one of only three women CEOs in Canada in the early 1970s.

Became a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative in Ottawa—Carleton riding in 1976. One of only two female MPs in the Conservative caucus at the time.

First female member of the Rideau Club in the 1970s.

Appointed as chair of the National Capital Commission, 1985-1992.

The first woman to sit on the board of directors of Ontario Hydro; also sat on the board of Canadian Tire Corporation.

Became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1995.

www.iccs-ciec.ca
www.ottawacitizen.com

Isabella Preston

Horticulturist, hybridist

Born in Lancaster, England in 1881; died in 1965.

Immigrated to Ontario in 1912.

Entered the Ontario Agricultural College in 1913.

First professional woman hybridist in Canada in 1916.

Joined the Central Experimental Farm's in Ottawa, Horticultural Division under W.T. Macoun in 1920.

From then until she retired in 1946, Preston was a specialist in ornamental horitculture and originated nearly 200 hybrids (roses, lilacs, Siberian iris, Rosybloom crabapples and lilies).

Wrote numerous wide-ranging horticultural articles as well as Garden Lilies (1929), the first book on lily cultivation in Canada.

The Isabella Preston Trophy was established by the North American Lily Society in recognition of Preston's work.

www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com
www.science.ca

Suzanne Pinel

Teacher, television personality, ambassador of French-Canadian culture

Born in Ottawa.

Helped promote bilingualism through hosting the television show "Marie-Soleil".

Studied nursing at the University of Ottawa.

Since she launched her first record in 1976, has been on every stage in the area and has entertained children through her character, Marie Soleil.

As a teacher, lecturer and workshop leader, has promoted music as an integral part of a child's development and a therapeutic tool.

Currently a Canadian citizenship judge.

Received the Order of Canada in 1991.

www.gg.ca
www.uottawa.ca
http://www.clownsamuel.com