An accomplished businessman and community leader, Donald Lawson is the recipient of the 2015 Etta St John Wileman Award, in recognition of his lifetime of achievement in supporting the career development sector across Canada.

The award was presented at the Cannexus National Career Development Conference on Jan. 27 in Ottawa in front of nearly 800 career development professionals who gave Lawson a standing ovation.

“Simply put, his contributions have helped to refashion the fabric of Canadian society – and impacted our sector significantly,” said Jan Basso, Chair of the CERIC Board of Directors.

Donald Lawson receives the Etta St John Wileman Award for Lifetime Achievement in career development from CERIC Board Chair Jan Basso during the Cannexus15 conference.

Lawson’s record of community service began more than 60 years ago through involvement with the YMCA of Greater Toronto. Then, in the late 1960s, he was recruited to be Chair of the Board of the Y, which was then in deep financial crisis; he led a renewal effort that helped to make the Y, among this country’s largest providers of career and employment counselling, into one of the most active and respected charitable organizations in the community.

In 1984, Lawson took over as Chair of The Counselling Foundation of Canada, where his efforts focused on helping those on the margins of society including: children and youth-at-risk, Aboriginal peoples, immigrants and new Canadians, single-mother led families, and people with physical and learning disabilities lay the foundation for their employability and to achieve their potential.

“It is through this vision and humble tenacity that, under his leadership, groundbreaking initiatives such as Tri-mentoring, Pathways to Education, the National Consultation on Vocation and Guidance (NATCON), and DiscoverAbility were developed,” said Basso.

Lawson also played the key role of Founding Board Chair of the Canadian Education and Research Institute for Counselling (CERIC).

For his many achievements, he has been awarded the Canadian YMCA Fellowship of Honour Citation, Honourary Doctorates from Victoria University and Dalhousie University, the Arbor Award from the University of Toronto, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Initiated in 2007, the Etta St John Wileman Award for Lifetime Achievement recognizes and celebrates individuals who have devoted their lives to furthering the profession of career development and the sector as a whole. Past recipients have included Marilyn Van Norman, Denis Pelletier, Norman Amundson, Mildred Cahill and Bryan Hiebert.