OPTERUS REBEL WITH A CAUSE AWARDS

Opterus Helen Rose
STEM Scholarship $5,000

The Helen Rose STEM Award is available to women between the ages of 18-26 and plan on pursuing an education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) at an accredited Canadian university or college. The student we are looking to fund is pursuing a field of study that will help them in the future to create or contribute to a new mindset for a better world.

Applications will open april 2026

Winner5 will be annoucned August 2026

Opterus Valerie Ann
Arts Award - $5,000

The Valerie Ann Arts Award, is available to women between the ages of 18-26 and pursuing an education in the Arts (Fine Arts) at an accredited Canadian university or college. The student we are looking to fund is pursuing a field of study that will help them in the future to create or contribute to a new mindset for a better world.

Applications will open april 2026

Winner5 will be annoucned August 2026

Opterus is providing 2 scholarship awards for young women, between the ages of 18-26 and enrolled/will enroll at a Canadian post-secondary institution, who are pursuing a STEM or Arts educational path. The awards are inspired by Founder, Janet Hawkins’ mother, Dr. Helen McKilligin, and sister, Valerie Ann Hawkins.

Dr. McKilligin led a remarkable and groundbreaking life. She graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 1958 with a specialty in pediatrics. She was a published author, writing a book with pioneering insights into the principles of neonatal nursing in 1970. She practiced in Newfoundland at the Grace Hospital and taught as an associate professor at the medical school at Memorial University in Newfoundland. She helped form the first Family Planning Association of Newfoundland that opened a birth control centre in St. John’s, which was the first of its kind in the province. In 1980 she moved the family to Ontario and worked for the ministry of health creating groundbreaking programs in reproductive health. Before retiring she also completed her fine arts degree at the OCAD University. Helen Rose McKilligin was Janet Hawkins' mother. The Helen Rose STEM Award is dedicated to her memory.

Valerie lived with ovarian cancer for 5 years but passed away in February 2019. She was in New York during 9/11 doing what she loved as a member of the cast of Rag Time on Broadway. Janet believes her cancer made her one more victim of that day.

She was an incredible actor and a brilliant director. She was a part of so many productions, Les Miserables - the North American tour, Romeo and Juliet in Stratford, Anne of Green Gables in PEI and one of Janet's favorites, Star Mites, an off-Broadway production in NYC, just to name a few. She graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and received the Lorne Greene Award for outstanding achievement in the practical and performing aspects of theatre while at Queen's.

She also loved to rock and roll and sang in a local band in Stratford Ontario. And man, did she sing. They lived in California when Janet was 4 and she was 6. They shared a bedroom and she sang Janet to sleep, always Blue Spanish Eyes. She did it almost every night because she knew it made Janet happy. When she passed Janet's best friend said of her; “I’ve been thinking of that idea that consciousness is like radio waves and our bodies are just a tuner. I’m thinking the cosmos just had this incredible musical source returned to it and some lucky body will get the chance to tune into sometime in the future.”

We hope this award can go to someone who might be able to tune into her frequency. Valerie Ann Hawkins was Janet Hawkins' sister. The Valerie Ann Arts Award is dedicated to her memory.

| 2025 winners |

Opterus Rebel with a Cause Helen Rose STEM Award Scholarship Winner 2025: Novera Shenin

Novera is a first-year student in the Master of Biotechnology program at the University of Toronto,
following her graduation from McMaster University’s Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization
program in Fall 2024. Profoundly passionate about sexual violence advocacy and building equitable
communities, much of Novera’s undergraduate journey was defined by her creation and facilitation of
SURVIVE, a trauma-informed peer support group for survivors of sexual violence. Beyond campus
organizing, she has worked as a research assistant evaluating harm reduction programs for
underserved populations, and as a student consultant for a femtech start-up developing wearable
fertility tracking devices. She is particularly drawn to projects that challenge biases in healthcare,
and center the lived experiences of marginalized patients. Novera hopes to advance patient-led
solutions in the sexual and reproductive health space.

                                                                      “I am deeply humbled by Opterus’s recognition of my vision to bridge science and justice—a
                                                                      commitment that has shaped both my personal and professional path. This award affirms that
                                                                      centering empathy in innovation is not a detour from scientific rigor, but a vital part of transforming it
                                                                      directly - from the lab bench to bedside.”
                                                                       -Novera Shenin

SCHOLARSHIP SELECTION BOARD

SARA G. PARCHELLO

PARTNER, BENNETT JONES LLP

Sara has an employment and labour focused legal practice, with considerable understanding of the retail, hospitality, and mining industries. She is a specialized resource for HR professionals and in-house counsel generalists to consult on employment-related issues. Sara is regularly engaged by clients to provide respect in the workplace training with a focus on employer obligations under the Occupational Health & Safety Act and the Human Rights Code.

Prior to joining Bennett Jones, Sara was Vice President & Associate General Counsel at Hudson's Bay Company and was previously was an associate at another leading Canadian law firm. She is also an advisory board member of Practical Law Canada and a member of the ACO Human Resources Committee.

At the University of Ottawa, Sara earned the Beament Green Prize in Advocacy, the Maritime Law Book Ltd. Scholarship, and the Nelligan O'Brien Payne LLP Prize. Sara also completed the Business Leadership for Women Lawyers through the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.

Lisa Britton-poppler

Account Manager, Assistant Director at EY (Government of Ontario)

Prior to joining Ernst & Young (EY), Lisa was the the Director of Account Management at Opterus and has more than 9 years’ experience in global account management and enterprise sales in the SaaS space. Through her career she has been collaboratively working with some of the world’s top global brands – such as Under Armour, Nike, Fossil and Ralph Lauren – to optimize their usage of technology and deliver real, and positive, retail operational changes within their organizations. This passion for positive change also drives her curiosity for green alternatives for all products in her and her family’s lives. Outside of work she loves spending time outdoors (with her family or on a good golf course) or enjoying a glass of wine with a book or new muffin recipe.

Kelly Bourque

Capital markets ExecutivE

Kelly is a seasoned capital markets executive with deep expertise gained from working with both independent and bank-owned investment dealers. A respected leader in the industry, Kelly has a solid track record of leading teams, enhancing efficiency, and driving change. She is a dedicated mentor and sponsor, investing her time and expertise into guiding young professionals towards success in the industry.

Kelly is also deeply committed to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has played a pivotal role in building and leading DE&I initiatives, including a bespoke program for women entrepreneurs.

Kelly holds a BA from The University of King’s College..

KrIstina Garrels, MD

Fellow, Clinical Informatics

Kristina grew up in the small town of Coboconk, Ontario. She has been a practicing urologist on both sides of the Canada/US border since 2001. She is an advocate for women’s health and developed a clinic specializing in women’s pelvic floor health. An enthusiastic lifelong learner, she always has a book or 2 on the go. Recognizing the future of healthcare will increasingly involve technology, she embarked on a 2 year training program in Clinical Informatics in June 2018. Despite her best efforts, she remains easily distracted by good food, good wine, good company and ice cream.

Montana Blum

Student

Montana is a third-year medical student at the University of British Columbia. Before returning home to the west coast to pursue medicine, she completed her B.A. & Sc. at McGill. Montana is interested in the intersection between climate change and population health as well as gender equity. Apart from academics, Montana loves to swim, hike, play piano and bake. Montana is grateful to have been awarded the Opterus Helen Rose STEM Award in 2019 and is thrilled to be sitting on the selection board and learning about this years’ inspiring applicants!

Nicole Durrant

Manager, Access to Information & Privacy/Festival Co-Ordinator

Nicole works in Public Affairs at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Her time is split between handling Access to Information and Privacy requests for English Services and managing CBC Television's participation in film and video festivals. She has also served on the national board of the Employee Assistance Program and has volunteered many years on internal and external charity campaigns.

Janet Hawkins

President & CEO Opterus Inc.

Janet is president, CEO and co-founder of Opterus Inc., whose cloud-based software solutions simplify retail communications. Janet has more than 20 years of experience working in the Retail industry. Before launching Opterus in 2006, she held management roles with NCR and SAP where she focused on creating alliances, building partner programs and business development. When she isn’t solving problems for retailers and forging strategic alliances, Janet enjoys hiking near her Toronto-area home, painting and creating mosaic glass art, and traveling to awesome restaurants to fulfill her inner foodie. Janet graduated from York University with an English degree. You can follow Janet on Twitter at @janhawk1969 and follow Opterus Inc. at @opterus

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