EWB is an organisation built almost entirely by volunteers, thousands of whom dedicate their time and energy to our work both here in Canada and overseas. Each year, at EWB’s National Conference five of these volunteers are recognized for their tremendous contributions that go above and beyond.

The 2007 Volunteers of the Year are Kyle Baptista, Lianne Cockerton, Jen Hiscock and Florian Villaumé, and the winner of the 2007 Kruchten Award (for his behind the scenes contributions) is Scott Rutherford. These five individuals have each left an important imprint on EWB’s work throughout 2007 that will carry into the future.

Kyle Baptista

Kyle Baptista – 2007 Volunteer of the Year
Kyle is someone whose passion for development is contagious. He first became involved in EWB during his third year at the University of Windsor as one of the founding members of the school’s EWB chapter. He quickly became a leader within the chapter, deploying his energy (and creativity resulting the university almost entirely postered in Kyle’s promotions for the chapter) to attract new members. In 2006 he was the chapter’s first Junior Fellow, a role that had him volunteering in Ghana for four months to contribute to the micro-enterprise sector in the country’s impoverished Northern Region. Upon his return he took on the role of Chapter President and dedicated himself to connecting chapter members to his experiences overseas. This summer, Kyle will join EWB’s National Office staff taking on the communications portfolio.

Lianne Cockerton

Lianne Cockerton – 2007 Volunteer of the Year
Lianne is someone who inspires others to become involved. “When I asked this year’s National Conference Team why they became involved, resoundingly they answered ‘Lianne asked me’,” said George Roter, EWB’s co-CEO who presented Lianne with the award. Lianne became involved in EWB in 2003 as a member of the École Polytechnique Chapter. The following summer she spent four months in Cameroon as the chapter’s Junior Fellow, where she contributed to a water, sanitation and hygiene program in rural communities. Upon her return to Montreal, Lianne became President of the École Polytechnique Chapter, leading the chapter to win the Chapter of the Year Award in 2005. In 2006 she joined the National Office to contribute to EWB’s Curriculum Enhancement Program and the 2007 National Conference. In 2008, she brought with her this experience as a key member of the organising team of the 2008 National Conference in Montreal.

Jen Hiscock

Jen Hiscock – 2007 Volunteer of the Year
Jen is one of EWB’s newest overseas volunteers, who left for Ghana in February with “an open mind, a dedication to learning, and a chance to make a positive difference.” Jen first became involved in EWB at Carleton University where she studied Aerospace Engineering. Through EWB she found an opportunity to bring her technical skills and interests together with her desire to work with people. "More importantly," she says, she was "captured by the opportunity to work with people who struggle with the greatest disparity between their opportunities and needs." Upon graduation, she worked for three years at Natural Resources Canada in energy research and development. There she learned more about the challenges of balancing energy demands with finite natural resources in Canada and the world. At the same time, she helped to start EWB’s Ottawa Professional Chapter, a group which has grown over the past two years under her leadership, through promoting pro-development decisions in the workplace. "After 6 years of volunteering with EWB in Canada, growing to understand more about human development and the role I can play, I wanted to gain some first hand experience in a developing country, helping people to realize their goals for a better quality of life." For Jen, this is a step further in a career she hopes to dedicate toward development.

Florian Villaumé

Florian Villaumé – 2007 Volunteer of the Year
Florian, hailing from France, became involved in EWB while completing his Master's of Mechanical Engineering at Laval University in Québec. Shortly after graduating in 2007, Florian became a long-term volunteer with EWB in Burkina Faso. For the past year, he has worked in partnership with Eau Vive, a French non-governmental organisation that helps rural communities gain fair access to the resources and credit they need to become engaged in market activities and income-generating businesses. With Eau Vive, Florian is working on a water, hygiene and sanitation program which targets 25,000 direct beneficiaries of the Sahel region (in northern Burkina Faso). He works with the operational team to implement program activities and strengthen organisational systems that increase the efficiency and effectivness of the team’s work.

Scott Rutherford

Scott Rutherford – 2007 Kruchten Award
Scott first became involved in EWB in 2005, driven by his passion for helping people and organisations create value, meaning and social change. Scott’s unique approach to working with teams, strengthening their trust and communications, and building their leadership has had a profound impact on EWB’s leadership program for our chapter executives. He has worked with the National Office team for more than two years as a facilitator and coach, and with chapter leaders, facilitating leadership sessions at the President’s Conferences and National Conferences alike. He is also the newest member of EWB’s Advisory Board. To this work, Scott brings a rich career in engineering and consulting on ogranisational leadership, having worked most recently for McKinsey & Co. as well as his own firm, Rutherford Development Strategies. He is currently developing a retreat centre near Ontario’s Algonquin Park to support his work with organisations and teams.

Thank you to all the volunteers across Canada and around the world whose dedication to human development has built EWB’s work and impact over the past eight years. We would also like to thank Aeroplan who provide each of the 2007 Volunteers of the Year with a gift of miles.