Leah Lawrence BASc’94 was inspired to work on climate change and sustainable development while studying engineering at the University of Regina. Her professional journey first took her to Calgary, where she worked on climate strategy and energy technology investment, before becoming an entrepreneur and starting her own company.
Leah’s focus on climate, technology and entrepreneurship eventually took her to Ottawa, where she is the president and CEO of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). In her time at SDTC, Leah has transformed the organization, making it a champion for young companies and their potential to change the world.
In her eight years at the helm, SDTC has made more than $1 billion available to aspiring entrepreneurs to test, scale up, and commercialize their ideas. Leah is known for her commitment to organizational excellence and governance for startups and organizations in transition.
She was instrumental in the formation of the Innovation Asset Collective, Canada’s first patent collective, and currently serves as its vice chair. She is also a past director and chair of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, and a past president of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) who honoured her with the Centennial Leadership Award, APEGA’s highest distinction for a member.
Leah is also a fellow of Engineers Canada and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
Presented by URAA (University of Regina Alumni Association)
Throughout her long and distinguished career, Verda Petry MEd'89 has served as an educator, volunteer, and community advocate. She has been an embodiment of her strongly held values through her active volunteerism, along with service on a variety of boards and committees.
Verda served as an educator for many years with Regina Public Schools and was recognized for her excellence in teaching with several awards including an Honorary Lifetime Membership from the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation and a Master Teacher Award for outstanding service to mathematics education from the Saskatchewan Mathematics Teachers Society.
Verda served as an educator for many years with Regina Public Schools and was recognized for her excellence in teaching with several awards including an Honorary Lifetime Membership from the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation and a Master Teacher Award for outstanding service to mathematics education from the Saskatchewan Mathematics Teachers Society.
Verda served as an educator for many years with Regina Public Schools and was recognized for her excellence in teaching with several awards including an Honorary Lifetime Membership from the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation and a Master Teacher Award for outstanding service to mathematics education from the Saskatchewan Mathematics Teachers Society.
She served two terms as Chancellor of the University of Regina and is a member of Senate; she participated in several U of R committees including the Research Ethics Board and the Seniors University Group.
As a committed volunteer, Verda has dedicated time to many organizations including the Regina Public Schools Teacher Association, the Regina Public School Board, Sherwood Credit Union (now Conexus), the Health Council of Canada, the Eden Care Society, and the Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism. Verda is also a recipient of the 125th Confederation of Canada Medal for volunteer service in the community.
Presented by URAA (University of Regina Alumni Association)
Gary J. Drummond was totally surprised when he was told he would receive an honorary degree from the University of Regina, though he notes that he "seemed to be on the radar", having received an Alumni Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, in recognition of his career as a business leader.
As an eight or nine-year-old, Drummond recalls, when people asked him what he wanted to be he told them - a lawyer. He was a good student, he says, and especially good at math, which served him well when he went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the U of R in 1971. He followed that academic accomplishment with a law degree from the University of Saskatchewan. Although his intentions didn't include a law career, he did practice commercial law for 18 years.
I thought I might be good in business, and my post-secondary education did indeed give me an entree into a lot of different things," Drummond says. Those different things included being the lead shareholder in a variety of ventures, including real estate, farming, an ethanol plant, brew pubs and tap houses, a string of oil and gas companies, an electricity and natural gas marketing company, a smart meter supplier, a security firm, and an upscale hotel in Kelowna.
Drummond was a sports fanatic from a young age, and still is. He played hockey with the Regina Pat Blues of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. He practised with the WHL's Regina Pats, but fell short of his dream to play in the NHL. Later, he was a founding partner of an investment group that purchased and operated the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League, serving as the team's president of hockey operations for four years, a job that he thoroughly enjoyed. He was also a founding partner of a group working to establish the Atlantic Schooners franchise in the Canadian Football League.
Drummond credits the success that he's had to what he learned in university, particularly about focusing, prioritizing, and building long-term relationships. A post-secondary education does not guarantee health or happiness, he says, but it is a foundational building block to a creative and successful career, and, generally, a better life.
It is much more difficult without a post-secondary education to achieve that level of success, and so I feel that the grads receiving their degrees from the U of R are very fortunate, and will have opportunities open up to them, as they did for me. Having a university in a community certainly opens up paths for individuals, and contributes to the overall well-being of the community."
Drummond received his Honorary Degree in Laws on October 20.
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