Nominees

Shanjay is a Software Engineering student and young Entrepreneur whose goal is to make this world a better place through technology. Living in such a technologically advanced day and age, Shanjay made it a mission to fix world issues that persist through innovative...

It's hard to believe that Austin has been racing in some form or another for 15 years now. When he started karting, he was the only one in the world at that time that was openly "racing with autism". Despite his karting accomplishments (3 championships by the age of...

This summer Durham Region's Mike Shoreman became the third athlete in history and the first person with disabilities to cross each of the 5 Great Lakes. At times taking up to 29 consecutive hours with mobility, hearing, and vision challenges showing all of us that...

Mr. Elliot Smith is an advocate like no other. This past year, I had the privilege of working with Elliot to help tell his story of finding meaningful employment. Mr. Smith's story is one of determination and persistence. After volunteering his time and energy to...

The Oshawa Vikings were the first team from Canada to go to the IMART competition in Cork, Ireland. They only started training contact rugby from Jan 2022 until they left in June 2022 for approx. 6 months. Given the short time to train, this team surpassed...

Timofey and Alessa were the first mixed-ability duet to compete at the National Championships in the history of Canada Artistic Swimming. They were trailblazers for this event at the national level and paved the way for accessibility standards at competitions hosted...

Andrea Mcauley, Superintendent of Education, Inclusive Student Services, Mental Health and Well-Being and ECPP (Education and Community Partnership Program) Andrea in her role at DDSB has been one of Abilities Centre’s strongest advocates and allies for the past 5...

Chantal Deketele is a community champion. As a teacher, coach, volunteer, and director, she dedicated years of her personal and professional life to breaking barriers for people with special needs. While her list of accomplishments is long, she has truly made the...

Christine has led this initiative from the ground up starting with the initial proposal to the Ministry of Education to take on this Developmental Disabilities Pilot Project. Project Search is a unique school-to-work training program for students with disabilities....

The Abilities Centre contacted Farm Boy Whitby in early August and since then the Whitby store has interviewed 3 and hired 2 applicants for the Whitby store. The HR/Administration, cashier, store associates, managers, assistant manager, receiver, and team leads have...