August
Dr. Penny Ballem, MSc’73, was appointed to the Order of BC on Aug 7.
Ballem became deputy health minister in B.C. in 2001, and held that post until she resigned in 2006. In 2008, she became city manager for the City of Vancouver.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, she became instrumental in delivering survival information to British Columbians and went on to lead the provincial immunization rollout team.
Ballem isn't the only member of the Order of B.C. in her household — her partner, Marion Lay, was appointed in 2012.
Premier David Eby extended his congratulations to the new order members, describing them all as "superheroes'' for their "unique and profound'' contributions to the province.
Sydney Robinson, MSc’15, and Oleksiy Zaika, PhD’23, co-founded 'Vessel Prosthetics' and are refining their design of an automatically adjustable socket for prosthetic legs. They're hoping to get it on the market by next year (2024).
