2026 recipients
As we look back on 67 years of the Distinguished Alumni Awards, we’re thrilled to celebrate five Bisons at the centre—UM alumni whose leadership, innovation and service are making a difference across Manitoba and around the world.
Lifetime Achievement
Dr. Ernest Cholakis [DMD/82]
Dentist, educator, entrepreneur and community leader, Dr. Ernest Cholakis [DMD/82] has built a career defined by professional excellence, institutional leadership and sustained service to Manitoba. In 1984, he founded the Cholakis Dental Group, which has grown into one of Canada’s largest interdisciplinary dental and oral-systemic care groups, serving more than 40,000 patients across multiple Winnipeg clinics. Having served over 15 years as an Adjunct Assistant Professor and Co-Director of Dental Practice Management Studies at the University of Manitoba, Dr. Cholakis also served as Founding Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Board and received the University Award for Teaching Excellence. In partnership with UM, he helped relaunch the Kids Dental Outreach Program, providing free dental care to inner-city students while strengthening hands-on clinical training opportunities for dental trainees. His volunteer leadership has extended to the arts and health sectors, including serving as Chair of the Winnipeg Art Gallery during the $75 million Qaumajuq campaign and as Chair of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. His lifelong contributions reflect a deep commitment to community, mentorship and public service.
Academic Innovation
Dr. Lorena Sekwan Fontaine [LLB/00, PhD/18]
Dr. Lorena Sekwan Fontaine [LLB/00, PhD/18] is Cree and Anishinaabe and a member of Sagkeeng First Nation whose scholarship has transformed the field of Indigenous language rights in Canada. A Professor and Department Head of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba, she is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking research on constitutional protections for Indigenous languages and the legal redress of “linguicide” arising from the residential school system. Her 2025 book, Living Language Rights: Constitutional Pathways to Indigenous Language Education, has been widely acclaimed as a landmark contribution to legal scholarship and policy, influencing national dialogue and legislative reform, including expert testimony before the Standing Senate Committee on the Indigenous Languages Act. A Canada Fulbright Research Chair and recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, Dr. Fontaine has also demonstrated exceptional academic leadership and mentorship, building interdisciplinary Indigenous language programming and guiding graduate scholars whose work advances reconciliation and justice. Her scholarship has redefined the constitutional landscape of Indigenous language rights in Canada and set a new direction for legal and educational reform.
Community Service
Mitch Bourbonniere [BSW/87, MSW/95]
Mitch Bourbonniere [BSW/87, MSW/95] is a social worker, educator and community leader whose paid work and volunteer service for decades have strengthened Winnipeg’s inner city. In his role as Community Outreach Liaison with the Downtown Community Safety Partnership and founding member of the original Bear Clan Patrol and Mama Bear Clan, he supports those affected by addiction, gang involvement, incarceration, mental health challenges and poverty. As a volunteer with Okichidah Pimahtisiwin Kiskinawmatowin (OPK) he leads the “Mitch Walk” twice weekly, where 40 to 50 volunteers—including UM social work practicum students—prepare and distribute food and clothing along Main Street. He also volunteers with Drag the Red, Red Road Lodge and serves on the boards of N’Dinawemak Inc—Our Relatives Place, the Gonzaga Middle School Foundation and the Scott Garland Foundation. Mitch has received the Order of Manitoba, two Governor General honours, the Winnipeg 150 Medal, the St. Paul's High School Ignatian Challenge Award and the Canadian Humane Association’s Bronze Medal for Bravery for rescuing a young woman from a Winnipeg river. His decades of on-the-ground leadership have built trust and renewed hope for those too often overlooked.
Professional Achievement
Ron Paley [BMus/71]
Ron Paley [BMus/71] is a pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader whose five-decade career has helped shape the sound and structure of jazz in Manitoba. After studying at the University of Manitoba and Berklee College of Music, he toured internationally with the big bands of Buddy Rich and Woody Herman, performing alongside Frank Sinatra on the 1974 album The Main Event – Live. Returning home in 1976, he founded the Ron Paley Big Band, leading it for more than 40 years as a cornerstone of Winnipeg’s music community. Under his direction, the ensemble collaborated with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Royal Winnipeg Ballet, toured across North America and provided apprenticeship and employment for hundreds of musicians. A prolific composer with six recordings as a leader and major commissions from national arts institutions, Ron has combined artistic excellence with extraordinary professional leadership. His contributions have been recognized with the BreakOut West Heritage Award and the Order of Manitoba, affirming his lasting impact on Canada’s jazz landscape.
Outstanding Young Alumni
Kelsey Wog [BSc(Agr)/22, MSc/26]
Olympian swimmer, national record-holder and student-athlete, Kelsey Wog [BSc(Agr)/22, MSc/26] has achieved world-class success in the pool while excelling academically and giving back to her community. A two-time Olympian, she represented Canada at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games and holds the Canadian record in the 100-metre breaststroke. As a Bison, Kelsey became one of the most decorated student-athletes in U SPORTS history, earning 16 individual national gold medals and being named U SPORTS Female Athlete of the Year, while maintaining Academic All-Canadian standing in Plant Biotechnology. She recently completed a Master of Science in Microbiology at UM, where her research on antifungal resistance has direct relevance to prairie agriculture. Kelsey continues to inspire young athletes through community outreach and coaching, serving as a Director with Swim Manitoba and Chair of its Sport Committee. Still early in her career, Kelsey has already left a lasting mark on Canadian sport and the next generation she now mentors.
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Distinguished Alumni Awards eligibility and award categories
Celebrate UM graduates who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in their professional and personal lives, are inspiring fellow alumni, current students and the broader community, and have made significant, transformative contributions to society.
Eligibility restrictions
Alumni who have received an honorary degree bestowed by the University of Manitoba have received the institution’s highest honour and therefore are not eligible for nomination.
In addition, the following alumni cannot be nominated:
- Those who currently hold political office at a local, provincial/state, national, or Indigenous government level
- Members of the Distinguished Alumni Awards Selection Panel or Award Category Pre-Selection Subcommittees
- Members of the Alumni Association Board of Directors
- Members of the University of Manitoba Board of Governors
- Members of the University of Manitoba's senior leadership team, specifically for the Academic Innovation Award, including Deans, Associate Deans, Vice-Presidents and Vice-Provosts
Award categories
Distinguished Alumni Awards nominations open annually and mark an excellent opportunity to recognize UM alumni who are an inspiration to fellow alumni, current students and the community, both close to home and around the globe.
Lifetime Achievement
This award recognizes graduates who have shown personal and professional achievements and leadership throughout their lifetime and continue to make significant and transformative contributions to their profession, their community and the University of Manitoba.
Nominees must demonstrate a lifetime of:
- Outstanding contributions that made a transformative impact within their community
- Exemplary achievement throughout their lifetime
- Service to the University of Manitoba
Professional Achievement
This award recognizes graduates who have made exemplary contributions to their profession and have previously received recognition from within their discipline. The focus of this award is professional achievement that is non-academic in nature.
Nominees must demonstrate:
- A standard of professional excellence throughout their career that has inspired their colleagues and peers with an emphasis on their professional achievements in the last three to five years
- Exceptional leadership in their profession
- Outstanding and transformative achievements recognized by the nominee’s professional community
Academic Innovation
This award recognizes graduates who have made exemplary contributions to their academic career and have previously received recognition for their innovation, research excellence and mentoring in academia.
Nominees must demonstrate:
- Outstanding innovation and research achievements and excellence in academia that have had a major, transformative impact on the community and society to help make for a better world, with an emphasis on their academic innovation and research achievements in the last three to five years
- Excellence in academic mentoring and publishing
- Exceptional leadership in their area of academic innovation and research
- At least 51% of their current or past employment (if retired / emeritus) in academia at a recognized post-secondary institution(s)
Community Service
This award recognizes graduates who have had a transformative impact on those in their community, either at the local, national or international level.
Nominees must demonstrate:
- Extraordinary efforts that have made a positive impact on their community
- Community service or volunteer work that has engaged and inspired others
- Community service that is clearly outside of or above and beyond their professional discipline in a voluntary, charitable and non-paid capacity
Outstanding Young Alumni
This award recognizes graduates who are under the age of 35 before the close of nominations who have demonstrated significant contributions and leadership to their field of endeavour, their community and the University of Manitoba.
Nominees must demonstrate:
- Inspiring achievements in their field
- Contributions that have had a transformative impact in their community
- Service to the University of Manitoba, both while as a student and ongoing as an alum
Past recipients
Contact us
Tracy Bowman
Executive Director, Alumni Relations
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V6 Canada