(Photo: Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Air Canada)

The Northern Lights Aero Foundation announced the 2022 recipients of its annual Elsie MacGill Awards, which honour Canadian women who have made outstanding contributions in aviation and aerospace.

“We’re thrilled to be honouring these eight women in aviation and aerospace this year,” said Kathleen Lang, President of the Northern Lights Aero Foundation. Named after aviation pioneer and human rights advocate Elsie Gregory MacGill, the award recognizes outstanding women across seven categories, including: business, education, engineering, flight operations, government, trailblazer, and rising star.

The 2022 Northern Lights Aero Foundation’s 2022 Elsie Award recipients, who will be honoured at a gala dinner on October 22, 2022, in Richmond Hill, Ontario, include:

Business Award – Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Air Canada’s Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Public Affairs

Education Award – Stéphanie Angrand, instructor at Canadian Forces leadership and recruit school in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec

Engineering Award – Damineh Akhavan, Founder and CEO of Global Women in STEM Inc.

Flight Operations Award – Kim Winsor, Training Captain, Air Canada

Government Award – Gisele Garceau, engineer, commercial pilot and flight instructor

Trailblazer Award – Marlene Shillingford, Chief Warrant Officer, Canadian Armed Forces

Rising Star Award – Donya Naz Divsalar, Master of Sciences Candidate with the Aerospace Physiology Laboratory, Simon Fraser University

Rising Star Award – Zainab Azim, UNOOSA Space4Women Mentor