Every year some of the most impressive and successful college graduates have their big red carpet evening at the Premier’s Awards Gala that’s held as part of the College’s Ontario Higher Education Summit.
Seven Humber College graduates have been nominated for a 2023 Premier’s Award.
The annual awards are given out to college graduates from across the province in recognition of outstanding accomplishments. Both the winners and the nominees have attained professional success after graduation while being actively involved in the community.
This year’s Humber alumni nominees are:
Kenneth Fowler - Boilermakers Apprenticeship (2001): Fowler has managed and overseen multimillion-dollar major projects across the province and is a longstanding boilermaker and engineering specialist with the TDSB. The Innisfil resident was elected as Ward 5 Councillor in 2018 and then deputy mayor of the town in 2022.
Carrie Baker - Public Relations (2000): Baker is president of Canada Goose and oversees the company’s commercial business and brand, driving its global growth. Baker was instrumental in establishing Canada Goose’s communications strategy, helping to lead its IPO in 2017 and creating its industry-leading Sustainable Impact Strategy. In 2019, she was named WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada and one of Canada’s 50 Best Executives by The Globe and Mail in 2020.
Deepa Mattoo - Fundraising and Volunteer Management (2007): Mattoo is an award-winning feminist lawyer whose work is rooted in equity and anti-oppression. She joined Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic as Legal Services Director, later becoming Executive Director. A YWCA Women of Distinction Award winner, Mattoo has appeared before parliamentary committees and United Nations civil society meetings, while her expertise and law reform work have brought her to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Matthew Burnett - Bachelor of Music (2014): Burnett is a sought-after global producer in the music industry who has been nominated for GRAMMY Awards and won a JUNO Award. One of his earliest achievements was his production of "Not Afraid," the lead single on rapper Eminem's seventh studio album, Recovery, and the 16th song in Billboard Top 100 history to debut at number one. Burnett is the co-founder of independent record label Golden Child Recordings and has produced for world-renowned artists such as Drake and Lil’ Wayne.
Michael Sanderson - Ambulance and Emergency Care (1977): Sanderson, who is in his 50th year in Emergency Medical Services, has been Chief of Hamilton Paramedic Service since 2013, where he oversees 440 staff. While Executive Director at BC Ambulance, he led all EMS activities for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Sanderson has served on provincial and national boards and is the president of the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs.
Lisa Post - Bachelor of Community Development (2023): A lifelong resident of Orangeville, Post was elected in 2022 as the town’s second female mayor since its incorporation in 1863 after serving a four-year term as a councillor. Post is an active volunteer serving on several non-profit boards and working alongside local organizations focused on culture, youth, empowerment and safety.
Anna Simone - Interior Design (1977): Simone is a founding partner and principal with interior design practice Cecconi Simone. Simone has led projects in retail, corporate, hospitality and residential sectors worldwide, including Anguilla, Italy, United Arab Emirates, India, and China – from large-scale condominiums to spa-resorts and boutique hotels to private residences for distinguished luminaries. In the GTA, Cecconi Simone has completed over 100 towers, with an average of 600 homes in each.
Other Humber alumni to receive Premier’s Awards in recent years include Primary Care Paramedic program graduate Mark Cameron (2022), Social Service Worker program graduate Baldev Mutta (2021), Ambulance and Emergency Care graduate Peter F. Dundas (2019), Funeral Service Education graduate Allan Cole (2018), Industrial Design graduate Andrew Bowerbank (2017), Marketing graduate Ron Suter (2016), Culinary Management graduate Candice Ekonomakos (2014), Landscape Technician graduate Peter Van Stralen (2014), Industrial Design gradate Lee Renshaw (2013) and Paramedic graduate Rahul Singh (2011).