Prince George – Alumni who are outstanding assets to their alma mater, their professions, and their communities, as well as an individual who has made significant contributions to the University’s success, will be recognized by the Alumni Association of UNBC this month.

This year’s recipients are Allison Fedorkiw, who is receiving the Professional Excellence Award, Melissa Barcellos, who is the recipient of the Community Service Award, and Art Kaehn, who will be made an Honorary Member of the Alumni Association. 

Allison Fedorkiw

Fedorkiw (MA International Studies 2009) is a self-employed corporate social responsibility professional with particular expertise in community relations and development in Sub-Saharan Africa. While working with Endeavour Mining in Cote D’Ivoire, her responsibility was to ensure that communities played an active role in decision-making that affected them, and were treated fairly during the construction phase in accordance with Ivorian law and global standards as specified by the International Finance Corporation.

In 2009, Allison founded the 27 Million Voices Society, a non-profit organization based in Prince George. The mission of 27 Million Voices is to end and prevent human trafficking. As executive director for the first two years, she focused on building organizational capacity and spearheading fundraising initiatives. Currently, as a general director, she has successfully established partnerships with Challenging Heights of Ghana, a youth empowerment organization, and the Burkina Faso Red Cross.

Melissa Barcellos

Barcellos (BComm Marketing 2011) is the economic development officer at Initiatives Prince George where she helps promote the city as a great place to live, work, play, and invest. She is a tireless advocate for UNBC in her work; she regularly takes investors on tours of the University to promote the amenities available in Prince George and show how UNBC contributes to a trained workforce, working with local industry to develop relevant programming.

Barcellos is also an active volunteer in the community. She runs marketing and promotion activities for the Prince George Judo Club, is volunteering as a co-venue leader at the Charles Jago Northern Sports Centre during the 2015 Canada Winter Games, and has been elected to sit on the board of the BC SPCA. An auctioneer in her past career, she regularly volunteers as a benefit auctioneer and has helped raised money for several local organizations. In addition, she has helped two young entrepreneurs prepare business plans and create websites for their successful businesses in Prince George.

Art Kaehn

Kaehn is a great ambassador of UNBC, a leader in the region through his extensive service in local government, and a philanthropist supporting the mission and mandate of UNBC through his giving to support students. In 1988, Kaehn bought a $5 membership in the Interior University Society, and became one of the 16,000 citizens in northern B.C. who put their support behind the creation of a university “in the North, for the North.” Twenty-five years later, his daughter Sarah is a UNBC graduate (BSc 2007), and his second daughter Emily is a UNBC student and senior member of the Timberwolves basketball team. Art is a passionate leader in local government. Since 1988 he has represented Electoral Area E of the Regional District of Fraser Fort George, and has been the Regional District Chair since 2007.

He served as the Chair of the Northern Medical Programs Trust until 2013, and has been instrumental in advancing the cause of the Trust in helping northern communities through the medical programs at UNBC. He and his wife Leslie are dedicated fans of the Timberwolves, and have been Wolf Club Members for the past seven years. They contribute to the Timberwolves through the Adopt an Athlete program, and rarely miss a game.

The Alumni Association of UNBC will hold its annual awards reception at 7 p.m. on May 29 in the Bentley Centre at UNBC’s Prince George Campus. For more information about these awards or to obtain tickets for the reception please visit http://www.unbc.ca/events/11720/annual-alumni-awards-reception