Two women of distinction

University of Ottawa student Victoria Lennox and alumna Myrtha Lapierre each received a 2006 Women of Distinction Award from the National Capital Region YMCA-YWCA.

Lennox is a political science student who founded Ottawa Dance Works. With revenue from this business, she provides free dance classes to people with special needs. In addition to several other volunteer activities, she also mentors women entrepreneurs in Ghana.

Myrtha Lapierre moved to Canada in 1956 from Haiti, to study nursing.  Since then she has become a health care advocate, a nursing professor and a mentor. As a teacher she helped foreign nurses upgrade their skills and prepare them for licensing examinations. She is also a tireless promoter of ethnocultural relations, as well as Haitian arts and culture.

The YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction Awards program is in its 13th year. This year’s theme was “Impacting lives, influencing others and inspiring the next generation".