OUR STORY

At the Loran Scholars Foundation, we identify and support young people who have the integrity and courage to make difficult decisions, the perseverance to work towards long-term goals, the curiosity to better understand the world around them and the drive to make positive change in their communities.

Every year, our volunteers dedicate over 7,000 hours to selecting up to 36 Loran Scholars from over 5,000 applicants. Our scholars come from all walks of life and every corner of Canada, from Hazelton, BC to Montréal to Fogo Island, NL.

In partnership with 25 Canadian universities and our donors, we challenge our scholars to explore, develop and share their talents. Each Loran Award is valued at up to $100,000 over four years of undergraduate study, including mentorship and summer experiences.

We are an independent charitable organization governed by a board of directors, working in partnership with universities, donors and volunteers. In 2017, the Financial Post once again named us a Top Canadian Charity based on evidence of good governance, financial transparency and clear evidence of impact.

LORAN, short for Long-Range Aid to Navigation, is a system that uses three points (for us, our values of character, service and leadership) to determine one’s course for a long journey. The name emphasizes the lifelong impact and values of being a Loran Scholar.

History

Our founders responded to what they recognized as a gap in the Canadian system of merit-based financial assistance to university students. Such assistance tended to be directed to two groups － those with exceptionally high academic averages, via university scholarship programs, and those with exceptional abilities as athletes, via national teams programs. Only a small proportion of overall financial aid was directed at those who show promise of the leadership and other talents that will make their communities better places both during and after their university careers.

In the words of our founder Dr. Robert Cluett, at the heart of our work is the belief that “breadth, openness to challenge, and willingness to take risk are many times more important than any quantitative measure of promise.” It is a belief that we still hold quite strongly today.

Before 2007, Loran Awards were known as Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation National Awards. We changed the name to emphasize the long-term impact of our work and the three pillars of character, service and leadership.

Board of Directors

Kelsey Gunderson 
Head of Capital Markets, Laurentian Bank

Mike Johnston
President & CEO, REDspace

Éric Lauzon 
Senior Community Partnerships Manager, Air Canada

Rhonda Lenton 
President and Vice-Chancellor, York University

Alex Mazer (BMO Loran Scholar ’97)
Founding Partner, Common Wealth

Filip Papich
Managing Director & Co-Head of BMO Capital Markets Québec, BMO Capital Markets

Susan Scace
President, The Henry White Kinnear Foundation

Doug Winslow
Vice-President, Portfolio Manager Burgundy Asset Management

Bruce M. Wright
Retired Managing Partner, MLT Aikins LLP

Ex Officio:

Meghan Moore (W. Garfield Weston Loran Scholar ’98)
Chief Executive Officer, Loran Scholars Foundation

Vali Bennett (Secretary)
Director of Administration, Avana Capital Corporation

Honorary Council

Rod MacLennan, C.M. 
Owner, Tribune Holdings Ltd.

John H. Phillips
President & CEO, Klister Credit Corp.

Wendy Rebanks
Director, The W. Garfield Weston Foundation

Susan Scace
President, The Henry White Kinnear Foundation

Past Council:

Purdy Crawford (1931-2014)
Former CEO, Imasco Ltd.
Former Partner, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Grant L. Reuber, O.C. (1927-2018)
Former COO, Bank of Montreal
Former Chair, Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation

Annual Reports & Publications

Staff

Heather Spratt
Vice-President, External Relations
heather.spratt@loranscholar.ca
416.646.2120 x224

Heather co-founded Loran’s Newfoundland selection committee in 1992 and later volunteered in Ottawa. Prior to her current role, she served as Loran’s Director of Programs for more than ten years. Heather has also worked as a guidance counsellor in Ottawa and special education teacher in New York City. She has a BA and BEd from Memorial University as well as an MEd from the University of Sydney as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.

Carolyn Bailey

Carolyn brings to Loran more than 10 years of experience in the educational and non-profit sectors, both in Canada and in the United States. She is passionate about issues of community development, civic engagement, food security, environmental education, and youth leadership development. She holds an HBA in history from McGill University.

Hailing from the East Coast, Katii earned a BA in Creative Industries from Ryerson University, with specializations in media and journalism and a minor in business. A writer and editor with experience in community-building initiatives, she is enthusiastic about youth leadership and the connections between storytelling and social good. Katii previously worked in communications at Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival.

Erica is a proud Loran Scholar alumnus originally from Niagara, Ontario. She brings to Loran experience in higher ed as a student affairs and career advising professional. Erica is a graduate of the First Nations and Indigenous Studies program at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Outside of work, she enjoys modern quilting and spending time with her dogs.

Yasmina Male (Ralph M. Barford Loran Scholar ’16)
Cluett Fellow
yasmina.male@loranscholar.ca

Yasmina Male is a recent graduate of McGill University, where she earned a BA in Political Science and Gender Studies and received the Honourable Sheila Finestone Award in Women’s Studies. Yasmina brings a passion for social justice and equity to the Loran team, having worked in the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre in Vancouver and volunteered with the Montreal Abortion Access Project. She most recently worked with Payoke, a Belgian NGO associated with the European Union advocating for survivors of human trafficking and labour exploitation.

Emily Scheer
Manager, Selections & External Relations
emily.scheer@loranscholar.ca
416.646.2120 x230

Emily has spent 10+ years working in the field of youth engagement, from the front lines to senior management. Driven by a commitment to creating safe and supportive spaces for creativity and community to flourish, Emily is relentlessly passionate about supporting youth leadership, global citizenry, and the intersections between art and education. Emily holds an Honours BA in Psychology from the University of Guelph.

Adam Shamoon
Senior Manager, Development
adam.shamoon@loranscholar.ca
416.646.2120 x221

Adam joins Loran with 15 years of experience in the Canadian and American non-profit sectors. Working at the cross-section of arts education and equity, Adam most recently served as the inaugural director of the DOC Institute, a professional development hub for documentary filmmakers in Canada. There is nothing he likes more than collaborating with others to amplify impact. Adam is a graduate of McGill University, where he completed his Anthropology degree with distinction.