Digital marketer and cartoonist Daniele Rossi, who offers support to people who stutter, is among the recipients of the York Catholic District School Board’s (YCDSB) 2023 Distinguished Alumni Awards.
A graduate of St. Elizabeth Catholic High School (CHS) in Thornhill, Rossi offers a Stuttering is Cool podcast, runs an online community called Stutter Social and has published a book entitled, Stuttering is Cool, which is used by speech therapists.
Each year, the YCDSB selects six graduates who spent most of their formative years with the board and who’ve gone on to make significant contributions in their respective careers and communities. It announces the award winners at the beginning of Catholic Education Week, which runs this year from April 30 to May 5.
The board also recognized sportscaster Andi Petrillo, a CBC Sports and OneSoccer analyst and recipient of the Canadian Screen Award for Best Sports Host. A graduate of St. Joan of Arc CHS in Maple, she was recognized for continuing to break barriers for females in sports broadcasting, where she has been the first woman in multiple categories in her field.
James Anderson manages several Rogers TV studios in York and Durham regions. He also directs many programs, including The Parenting Show, Santa Claus parades, live election coverage and Ontario Police Memorial observances. A graduate of St. Robert CHS in Thornhill, he also serves on the Board of Directors for Georgina Cares.
Andrew Nembhard, of the National Basketball Association’s Indiana Pacers, represented Team Canada in FIBA (the international basketball association) competitions at the U-16, U-17 and U-18 levels and the senior national team at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. He graduated from St. Jerome Catholic Elementary School (CES) in Aurora.
Assistant professor and researcher John Calarco is a researcher in the University of Toronto’s Department of Cell and Systems Biology and a Canada Research Chair in Neural RNA Biology. He established a research lab at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Calarco attended St. Francis of Assisi CES, St. Peter CES and Father Bressani CHS in Woodbridge.
Maria-Rosa La Neve, a clinical research nurse coordinator at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, works in the Division of Infectious Diseases, specifically in the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) program. She is also a RSV nurse coordinator. She attended St. Rene Goupil CES and St. Michael Catholic Academy and graduated from St. Robert CHS in Thornhill.
Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are featured on posters that are distributed across York Region.
Photo of Daniele Rossi courtesy of the York Catholic District School Board.