Acadia Alumni Awards Dinner

April 20, 2023

Alumni Awards Dinner 2023 Banner

On April 20, 2023 we invite you to join us in Halifax as we gather in person to honour two inspirational members of the Acadia alumni family.

Reminisce with old friends, make new ones and celebrate the incredible contributions of our alumni community by acknowledging and applauding this year's Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, Dr. Susan Crouse (’85), and Outstanding Young Alumni Award recipient, Ms. Shannon Boldon (’13).

DATE: Thursday, April 20, 2023

LOCATION: Pier 21, 1055 Marginal Rd., Halifax, N.S.

TIME: 5:30 – 9:30 p.m.

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE.

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENT

Dr. Susan Crouse (’85)

Dr. Susan Crouse (’85) is an innovative thinker who throughout an enviable career as a physician has offered help and hope to the marginalized, treating people holistically and acknowledging that simple health problems are magnified when basic needs for food, shelter and medications are not met.

Now retired, Dr. Crouse earned a BSc in biology from Acadia and an MD from Dalhousie before starting her career as a rural family physician in Sackville, NB. There were no emergency physicians there at the time, so family doctors shared the responsibility and Dr. Crouse often travelled in the ambulance with patients to Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John.

In Sackville, she became aware of the many and varied needs of the vulnerable in society and began to work a few hours a week during her off hours at Harvest House Atlantic Shelter, seeking to address the needs of the homeless, the mentally ill, the addicted, and the transgendered community. In 2007, she left her Sackville practice to further develop the medical services at the shelter while working in a private practice affiliated with the Moncton City Hospital.

Her humanity and compassion led her to found Salvus Clinic, a charitable non-profit organization that was initially situated in Harvest House, but is now located in the Peace Centre in downtown Moncton. Salvus in Latin means ‘safe and well’, and by 2017 the clinic had 12 staff and more than 2,400 clients. The clinic helps individuals with complex needs living on the streets of Moncton access healthcare, housing and support.

Dr. Crouse was also instrumental in opening a separate service for persons in the sex trade. A discrete drop-in centre, The Sanctuary, is housed adjacent to the Salvus Clinic and provides a safe place for people to find counselling, rest, a hot meal, and access to harm reduction supplies.

Additionally, Dr. Crouse represented the Atlantic Region on the Mental Health Committee of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and was also Clinical Director for the At Home/Chez Soi research demonstration project implemented by the Mental Health Commission of Canada that studied approaches to ending homelessness among people with mental illness in Canada. She and her husband have also volunteered with RotoCleft Peru, administering care and treatment to children with cleft palates and lips.

A woman of faith, Dr. Crouse noted in a 2010 Bulletin article that some of her fondest memories at Acadia involved her participation in the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. She found that the leadership opportunities the club offered prepared her for the speaking engagements that were such a large part of her professional life. Subsequently, she has been a member and chair of the First Moncton United Baptist Church’s board multiple times, providing exemplary leadership as the church sought to reach out to the community in relevant ways.

“The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes the outstanding achievements of an Acadia alum whose endeavours have distinguished them professionally or in the community and brought honour to the University,” said Alumni Association President Matt Rios (’14). “There is no doubt that Dr. Susan Crouse has had an immeasurable positive and lasting impact on her profession and the communities she has served throughout her career. She represents the highest standard of service leadership and exemplifies the generosity of spirit that sets Acadia alum apart. It’s an honour to acknowledge her remarkable accomplishments and a pleasure to introduce her as this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipient.”

It has been said that Dr. Crouse has a servant’s heart, dedicating her life’s work to providing succor for those in society who need it the most. She received the YWCA Moncton Women of Distinction Award in 2008, the Order of Moncton in 2016, the Dr. Donald Morgan Service Award in 2017, and the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022, in addition to the Acadia Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2023.

She is married to Dr. John Crompton and has three adult children. Her son, Samuel Crompton (’16), is an Acadia alum, and there have been four generations of Acadia graduates in her family.

Shannon Boldon

OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENT

Ms. Shannon Boldon (’13)

Acadia alum Shannon Boldon has an overriding ambition as a health policy consultant: to effect positive change and make a difference in people’s lives.

Currently based in Toronto, ON, the 2013 biochemistry grad strives to improve the knowledge and understanding of different diseases and advance health policies for better patient outcomes. An intelligent, thoughtful and determined individual who is committed to contributing to society in a meaningful way, Shannon is, indeed, making a difference and why she is the 2023 recipient of the Acadia Alumni Association’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

After earning an MSc from University College London (UCL) in Global Health and Development in 2015, Shannon interned at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland as a data analyst, working with an Ebola response team to clean, merge and analyze the Ebola patient data coming to the Geneva office from mobile clinics in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, deepening her insights into health issues in the developing world.

This work paved the way for Shannon to join The Health Policy Partnership in London, UK in 2016, initially as a researcher focused on enhancing care for sarcoma patients in Europe and beginning the following year as Senior Researcher. Through research and expert interviews, the team was able to outline the steps needed to improve sarcoma care across Europe, with findings presented to policymakers at a debate held in the European Parliament.

Shannon later worked to build and grow the All.Can initiative, a multi-stakeholder policy platform that aims to improve the efficiency of cancer care. She played a key role in establishing All.Can as a free-standing international non-profit organization. Impressively, she also registered four publications during her tenure with The Health Policy Partnership.

In 2019, Shannon established her own consulting company, focusing on health policy, and has continued to work with a global client list to improve healthcare. Her clients include global pharmaceutical companies, non-profit organizations, and specialist health consulting companies. She has a strong focus on cancer (bladder and lymphoma), rare diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.

Named the Acadia Students’ Union Junior Student of the Year Award recipient in 2012, Shannon was a member of the women’s varsity volleyball team and earned Academic All-Canadian honours that year as well. Academic All-Canadians are those exceptional student-athletes who achieve an academic standing of 80 per cent or better while playing on one of their university's varsity sport teams. She also founded the Acadia Chapter of Global Brigades and was extensively involved with the program for her final two years as a student. In 2014, she received the Global Brigade Kaplan Course Scholarship, awarded to leaders who have promoted exceptional holistic growth and development of Global Brigades on their local campuses.

“Since her time as a student at Acadia, Shannon has demonstrated remarkable compassion and intelligence, which now informs her accomplished career in global health policy,” says Acadia Alumni Association President Matt Rios (’14). “Her commitment to a ‘human-centric’ approach to health policy is something we all desperately need, and it lives at the very heart of what Acadia strives to communicate to its students. She has brought great pride to the University, and I, like many other Acadia alum, will be cheering her on as she continues to make a difference in the world. I am honoured to acknowledge her as this year’s recipient of our Outstanding Young Alumni Award.”