Alumni awards reflect contributions from local culture to corporate integrity

Alumni awards reflect contributions from local culture to corporate integrity

Simon Fraser University will recognize four distinguished alumni in September—among them, an Indonesian government minister, the founder of a European ethical investment equity firm, a top-rising global economy thinker, and the co-creator of the iconic Vancouver Folk Festival.

Outstanding Alumni awards are given annually by SFU and the Alumni Association. The awards recognize those whose accomplishments and contributions reflect the University’s mandate of engaging the world. Nominations in several categories are received from alumni, faculty, staff, students and SFU’s many friends in the community.

The four will be honoured during the association’s Outstanding Alumni 2017 event in Vancouver on September 13. Early-bird tickets are $25ea until July 21.

This year’s recipients include:

  • Yohana Yembise, for her role in public service. Yembise is the first Papuan female to hold a seat in the Indonesian government, as Minister of Women Empowerment and Child Protection. She is also the first Papuan woman to achieve the highest academic rank as a distinguished professor by the Minister of Education, and advocates for improved quality of life for women and children and access to education, health care and social services;
  • Gary Cristall, for service in arts and culture. He co-founded the Vancouver Folk Festival —celebrating its 40thyear in July—the same year he graduated from SFU. Cristall is a long-serving advocate for arts and culture and has been instrumental in supporting the rights of artists. Cristall was also the founding president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada and served as acting head of the music section of the Canada Council for the Arts. He continues to mentor and assist artists in building their careers;
  • Frode Strand-Nielsen, for achievements in professional development. He is managing partner of FSN Capital Partners in Oslo, Norway, where the corporate culture radiates integrity, transparency and trust. The company currently manages approximately two billion USD for a global client base, and last April was awarded the Corporate Citizenship Award at the 2017 Private Equity Awards in London;
  • Nathan Nunn, for academic achievement (Rising Star award). Nunn is the Frederic E. Abbe professor of economics at Harvard University. According to the International Monetary Fund, he is one of 25 economists under the age of 45 who are “changing the way we thing about the global economy.” Nunn’s work is shaping academic and policy debates related to the long-term impact of such global events as the African slave trade and European colonization, as well as the role of institutions in international trade. A young academic whose reputation is on the rise, his wide breadth of work includes articles investigating the impact of Fair Trade certification, CIA interventions during the Cold war, industrial policy and foreign aid.

For more information about the awards and the event, please visit https://goo.gl/LoMwug