George Brown College President Anne Sado named one of Canada's Most Powerful Women by Women's Executive Network for second time in three years

TORONTO, Dec. 4, 2012 /CNW/ - George Brown College president Anne Sado has been named one of Canada's most powerful women for the second time in three years by one of the country's most respected women's groups.

The Women's Executive Network (WXN) has selected President Sado to receive its Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award in the Public Sector Leaders category for her visionary leadership at George Brown College and in the broader community.

"It is such an honour to receive this prestigious award," said President Sado. "Impacting the lives of Canadians through education provides tremendous reward in itself, but to be recognized by WXN provides tremendous validation for me personally and for the work of our entire college."

This announcement follows two other awards recently presented to President Sado, having being named a Women of Influence Diversity Champion and receiving the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in recent months.

The Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards is Canada's most recognizable award for the country's highest achieving female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. President Sado is part of a community of 653 women across the country that has received this recognition since its inception. Winners are selected based on their strategic vision and leadership, their organization's financial performance, and their commitment to their communities.

Since becoming George Brown College's first female president in 2004, Anne Sado has balanced strong team and people management with focused strategic thinking, resulting in extraordinary growth and renewal. Under her leadership, George Brown has become one of Canada's largest, most diversified and respected colleges. It has more than doubled in size since 2003, broadened its international partnerships and has continued to play a key role strengthening the cultural, social and economic fabric of the city of Toronto.

President Sado has built partnerships with industry and government, who have joined forces with the College to create new opportunities for students in the GTA. Most recently the college opened its third main campus at Toronto's Waterfront, where it provides education in Health Sciences to more than 3,000 students each year.

She will join her fellow recipients in a celebration December 5 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto, where the Top 100 Award Winners will lead WXN's afternoon leadership Summit. Appropriately themed "An Afternoon of Inspired Leadership," the event offers insight to the more than 400 women in attendance.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: ANNE SADO

A native of Toronto, Anne Sado has been President of George Brown College since 2004. Her impact on the vision, direction and culture of the college has resulted in significant growth and has activated a critical public discussion on the value of college education in Ontario's economic development.

Beyond her leadership of George Brown College, Anne has been recognized as one of YWCA's 2012 Women of Distinction in Education and twice by The Women's Executive Network^TM as one of Canada's Most Powerful Women of 2010 and 2012.  She is Chair of the Board of Orion and past chair of Trillium Health Centre. Anne also sits on the boards of organizations such as the Toronto Board of Trade, Legacy Private Trust, Mount Pleasant Memorial Services and the Toronto Financial Service Alliance. In the past, Anne has also served as Chair of Colleges Ontario's Committee of Presidents and sat on the boards of the YWCA of Greater Toronto, Junior Achievement and the Canadian Hearing Society Foundation. These volunteer efforts have given her a 360-degree perspective on the social and economic challenges facing the GTA.

She was inducted into the University Of Toronto's prestigious Engineering Hall of Distinction in 2010 and awarded the Ontario Professional Engineers Gold Medal in 2007.  In 2012 she received The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for her role impacting the socioeconomic vitality of the city through her work at George Brown College. She was also named as one of the 2012 Women of Influence Canadian Diversity Champions. In the past, she has received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for her work with the YWCA of Greater Toronto, the Professional Engineers Ontario Citizenship Award for contributions to her community, and an Arbor Award from the University of Toronto.

Anne holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Toronto as well as a Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering. Anne was also awarded a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from the University of Toronto in June 2011.

ABOUT GEORGE BROWN COLLEGE

Toronto's George Brown College has established a reputation for equipping students with the skills, industry experience and credentials to pursue the careers of their choice. The college offers programs from its three main campuses located across the downtown core, including its newest location at the Toronto waterfront, which opened in September 2012. George Brown offers 148 full-time and 1,600 continuing education programs across a wide variety of professions to a student body of approximately 64,000 (including those enrolled in full-time, part-time and continuing education programs). Students can earn diplomas, post-graduate certificates, industry accreditations, apprenticeships and four-year bachelor degrees. 

SOURCE: George Brown College

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