Tanya Heath

Inventor of the convertible shoe

“Above all I want the notion of having to suffer to be beautiful to disappear and I hope my shoe will be as liberating as when women left the corset behind.” – Tanya Heath

Born in Ottawa; moved to Paris in 1998 where she worked for a strategy firm.

As an entrepreneur, she designed a shoe with interchangeable heel heights that combine mobility, comfort and glamour in one shoe. The goal was to create shoes that women could wear at the office, for evenings out and for the commute home by simply changing the heel height.

She worked with a team of 14 engineers and shoe technicians to invent a mechanism that requires a simple secure click of a button to change the heel height. The result is one of the best technically executed examples of convertible footwear.

http://www.ecouterre.com

http://www.tanyaheath.com

Louise Hine-Schmidt

Pioneer firefighter

Became one of Ottawa’s first female firefighters in 1999.

Along with two colleagues, she also helps women discover what a career in the fire service is all about by offering an annual week-long summer event that shows women age 15 to 19 what is required to be a firefighter and that it's a job they can do (Camp FFIT).

Historical Note: As of 2011, nearly 4% of Ottawa’s full-time uniformed firefighting staff are women, a total of 41. There are 91 women employed - 63 work as front-line firefighters, 50 of them volunteers.

http://cnews.canoe.ca (Firefighters mark International Women’s Day)

http://www.yourottawaregion.com

Christine Hartig

Honorary Keeper of the Royal Swans

Cared for the city’s Royal Swans in Ottawa for 25 years.

As a project and policy officer with the city of Ottawa’s bylaw and regulatory services branch, Hartig has ensured the health and safety of the swans since 1987. As of May 2012, she is passing on that responsibility to the parks and recreation department. In recognition of her work, she was named Honorary Keeper of the Royal Swans.

For 25 years, she conducted bi-weekly health and facility inspections while the swans were in their wintering quarters, and provided year-round on-call and emergency services.

Historical note :

In 1967, then-governor general Roland Michener joined Ottawa mayor Frank Reid at a ceremony behind City Hall to release six pairs of mute swans into the Rideau River.  

The swans were a gift from the Queen to mark Canada’s centennial. Today, the descendants of those 12 royal white swans continue to swim and forage in the Rideau from May to November. Then they head to their winter home at the city’s Leitrim Nursery, to wait for spring when once again they take to the historic waterway.  

Occasionally you may also  spot a few Australian black swans, descendants of some donated by the Montreal zoo in 1974.  

The swans, which can live for 30 years or more, mate for life but will accept a new mate if one dies. They normally sleep at night, but occasionally take a catnap during the daylight hours.  The swans nest in areas of tall grass or brush, away from predators and curious passersby.  

Ottawa’s royal swans cannot fly because their wings have been pinioned, meaning the primary feathers on one wing has been permanently clipped. This precaution is dictated by the Canadian Wildlife Service so the birds don’t migrate and disturb native North American species.

www.ottawacitizen.com

http://www.mynewwaterfronthome.com/swans.aspx

http://ottawa.ca/en/licence_permit/pet_animal/swan/faq/index.html

Katherine Henderson

Psychologist, expert on eating disorders, researcher

Is a registered Clinical Psychologist, the clinical director of the Regional Eating Disorders Program at CHEO, and lead for Outcomes Management and Research.

Completed her PhD in Clinical-Developmental Psychology at York University in 2000, and has been the Clinical Director at CHEO since 2003.

Is leading groups and conducting individual and family therapy, and is also very involved in research and training new professionals in the field of eating disorders.

Is an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa.

http://www.cheori.org

Florence Hannay

Dedicated volunteer for drop-in and street outreach service

“I could be at home in bed, like a lot of people,but I like to keep moving. I don’t think being a good Christian is about how many times you go to church.” – Florence Hannay

Born in 1921.

Retired from the federal government 28 years ago.

Seven months ago, became one of the 100 volunteers at Ottawa Innercity Ministries, a Christian organization that pools the volunteer labour and resources of some 74 churches into a drop-in and street outreach service.

At 90 years of age, she spends her days making and delivering sandwiches to street people in downtown Ottawa, also handing out socks, juice boxes, cookies and hugs.

www.ottawacitizen.com

Greta Hale

Entrepreneur, community advocate, author

Emeritus Governor on the University of Ottawa Board of Governors.

Chairman Emeritus of Morrison Lamothe Inc., a national family frozen food company now headquartered in Toronto.

Comes from a pioneer Ottawa family (1818) and has lived all her life in Ottawa’s oldest house (1828).

Has served on numerous national corporate and provincial boards and continues to be an active volunteer in dozens of Ottawa organizations, including President of Beechwood Cemetery and on the board of the Community Foundation of Ottawa.

Received the YM-YWCA Life Time Achievement Award in 1997, the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1998, an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Ottawa in 1999 and the Order of Canada in 2006.

Has published her memoirs entitled “Baker’s Daughter: The Story of a Long, Rich and Very Canadian Life“. Her book is filled with Ottawa stories.

http://web5.uottawa.ca/admingov/biography_36.html

Amelia Hall

Actress, stage director

Born in England, came to Ontario in 1921.

Attended McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, then became a teacher in Ottawa.

In 1948, left her teaching position to become a full-time actress and in 1949 was a joint founder of the Junior Theatre in Ottawa.

Served as President of the Stage Society, Ottawa, and joined the Canadian Repertory Theatre (CRT) Ottawa in 1949, and later co-managed the company with actor Sam Payne. She remained with the CRT for 5 seasons, 1949-1954, during which time over 150 productions were mounted at the La Salle Academy. She appeared in or directed the majority of its productions.

Became the first woman to ever perform at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival (she was Lady Anne in Richard III) in 1953.



Her last Stratford performance was in 1984; she died in Toronto in 1984.

Was awarded a centennial medal in 1967 for her work in Canadian theatre and the Order of Canada in 1982.

http://www.welcometostratford.com
http://www.suite101.com
http://collectionscanada.gc.ca

Lotta Hitschmanova

Humanitarian, pioneer of international cooperation

Born in Prague in 1909; died in Ottawa in 1990.

Arrived in Canada in 1942.

Founded USC Canada in 1945 (Unitarian Service Committee) in Ottawa.

Dedicated her life to helping people in far-off lands and became one of Canada’s most recognized public figures. It is often said that 56 Sparks Street in Ottawa (the address of USC), is the second most famous Canadian address after 24 Sussex.

Helped mobilize Canadians from coast to coast, putting Ottawa on the map as a seat of national government and political debate, and also as a center of Canadian concern for the rest of the world.

Mayor Larry O’Brien proclaimed November 28 to be Dr. Lotta Day in Ottawa in 2009.

http://usc-canada.org

Ruby Heap

Professor

"Leadership can and must come in many forms. I strongly believe that diverse points of view and ways of doing things enrich an organization." - Ruby Heap

Born in Montréal, Québec; works in Ottawa.

Full professor, History Department, University of Ottawa; fields of interest are history of women, history of education and history of the professions in Canada, 19th-20th centuries.

Professor of the year in 2007, Faculty of Arts.

Coordinator of the University of Ottawa Women in Engineering Research Group, founding director of the Institute of Women’s Studies and assistant vice-dean at the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies since 2001.

Active researcher, author of three books, a textbook, multiple chapters and articles, and co-editor of three volumes, one of which was awarded the Founders’ Prize of the Canadian History of Education Association.

www.history.uottawa.ca
www.media.uottawa.ca

Abby Hoffman

Olympian athlete, Track & Field

Lives in Ottawa.

Born in Toronto in 1947.

At the age of nine, Hoffman was banned from playing hockey with a boys' team (there were no girls' teams); made a career in athletics instead, and participated in four Olympic Games (1964, 1968, 1972, 1976).

Chosen as Canadian Flag Bearer for the 1976 Games.

Became the first woman to serve as Director General of Sport Canada.

Was the first Canadian female elected to the Executive Committee of the Canadian Olympic Committee in 1981.

From 1980 to 1982, wrote a fitness column for the Canadian magazine, Chatelaine.

Helped to organize the first women's national championship in ice hockey (known as the Esso Women's Nationals). The Abby Hoffman Cup is named in her honour.

Made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1982.

Has been a Council member of the International Association of Athletics Federations since 1995.

Inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall Of Fame in 2004.

Awarded the Americas "Women in Sport" Trophy, selected by the IOC Women and Sport Commission in 2008.

www.caaws.ca
www.nationamaster.com

Jacquelin Holzman

Mayor of Ottawa from 1991 to 1997

Third woman to be mayor of Ottawa (Charlotte Whitton was the first, Marion Dewar, the second).

First elected to Ottawa city council in 1982.

Prominent volunteer in the Ottawa community, especially on causes relating to the disabled; over 25 years of community service.

Past chair of the board of directors for the Royal Ottawa Hospital; played a leadership role in the planning of the new Regional Rehabilitation Centre in 1981.

Involved in fundraising for The Ottawa Hospital Foundation and the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club.

Served as governor of Algonquin College, the Community Foundation of Ottawa and as the Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa.

Member of the Kiwanis Club of Ottawa, honorary chair of Breast Cancer Action, and chair of the Ottawa Health Research Institute.

Co-author of Ottawa Then & Now, a 200-year retrospective of Canada’s capital city.

Received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa and a YM-YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for Lifetime Achievement.

www.canadascapital.gc.ca
en.wikipedia.org

Angela Hewitt

Pianist

Born in Ottawa in 1958.

Her father was the Cathedral organist in Ottawa, Canada.

Learned piano with French pianist, Jean-Paul Sévilla, at the University of Ottawa.

Won First Prize in Italy’s Viotti Competition (1978) and was a top prizewinner in the International Bach competitions of Leipzig and Washington D.C. as well as the Schumann Competition in Zwickau, the Casadesus Competition in Cleveland and the Dino Ciani Competition at La Scala, Milan.

Won the Toronto International Bach Piano Competition in 1985.

Made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2000, and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Awarded the first ever BBC Radio 3 Listener’s Award (Royal Philharmonic Society Awards) in 2003.

Named Gramophone Artist of the Year in 2006.

Awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2006.

www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com
www.angelahewitt.com

Chantal Hébert

Columnist and political commentator


"She’s easily the best political writer in the country right now, in French and English”. - Andrew Potter, Maclean’s

Born in Ottawa (Hull) c. 1955.

Educated at Glendon College of York University.

Senior Fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto.

Began her media career in 1975 at the regional television and radio newsroom of the French language Radio-Canada facility in Toronto.

Appointed by Radio-Canada to cover federal politics on Parliament Hill, and worked as bureau chief for Montreal's Le Devoir and La Presse.

Respected for her straightforward and factual approach to political issues, over the years her columns have also been published by the London Free Press, the Ottawa Citizen and the National Post and currently in Le Devoir and the Toronto Star.

Published French Kiss: Stephen Harper's Blind Date with Quebec in 2007.

www.nsb.com
www.rrj.ca/issue
www.wikipedia.net

Anne Heggtveit

Olympic champion alpine skier

Born in Ottawa in 1939.

Studied at Lisgar Collegiate Institute in Ottawa.

First gained international attention when she became the youngest winner ever of the Holmenkollen Giant Slalom event in Norway in 1954 (at the age of 15).

Won Canada's first-ever Olympic skiing gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley, California, Heggtveit . Her victory in the Olympic slalom event also made her the first non-European to win the International Ski Federation slalom and overall world championship

First North American to win the Arlberg-Kandahar Trophy, the most prestigious and classic event in alpine skiing.

Member of the Order of Canada.

Awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's outstanding athlete of 1960.

Inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1960.

www.famouscanadianwomen.com

Francess G. Halpenny

Editor, Professor Emeritus

Born in Ottawa in 1919.

Received a Master's degree in English language and literature from the University of Toronto in 1941 at a time generally unsupportive towards women academics.

Joined the Editorial Department of the Toronto Press in 1941. By 1965, becoming Managing Editor and then the Associated Director in 1979.

Her contribution to scholarly publishing in Canada is outstanding. Realizing that knowledge of Canadian history, scholarship and publication needed to be increased, much of her work as an editor, writer and professor has focussed on that area.

Awarded the prestigious Molson Prize in 1983 for her formidable editorial work on the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Halpenny has also received eleven honorary degrees from various Canadian universities.

Became a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1984.

www.collectionscanada.gc.ca