Congrats to these leaders, innovators and creators
NAIT grads, students and staff do amazing things. To celebrate that, we share news every season about those who’ve won awards, reached great heights, marked major milestones, or played leading roles in building their communities.
Here’s the latest group. Please join us in congratulating them.
(Know someone we're missing? Let us know.)
Four years later, results and recognition
Over four years, the NAIT Applied Research department created one of Canada’s most comprehensive datasets representing the presence of microplastics in a local waterbody (namely, the North Saskatchewan River). To do it, they even devised a novel system for detecting and measuring the tiny pieces among natural, suspended sediment.
That work was recognized in March with a Dow Western Canada Technical Excellence Award. Dow was a partner in the project with Inter Pipeline. On June 4, the same NAIT team will learn the results of the Emerald Awards for Environmental Excellence, where they’re nominated in the Water category.
Read about the technology developed by NAIT Applied Research
Ooks soar to historic heights
Another season of Ooks’ athletics is in the books, this one remarkable for being the first time NAIT competed in all 10 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) sports. Here’s the medal count:
🏸Badminton: ACAC and Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) – men’s doubles, gold
🏀Basketball: ACAC – women, silver
🥌Curling: ACAC – men, gold; CCAA – men, silver
⚽Futsal: ACAC – women, silver; men, silver
⛳Golf: ACAC – men, silver; women, bronze
⚽Soccer: ACAC – women, silver; men, gold; CCAA – men, bronze
🏐Volleyball: ACAC – women, bronze
👟X-country running: ACAC – men, bronze
Check out more of the season’s milestones, including the six coaches of the year
Captains of (St. Albert) industry
Rob LeLacheur (Marketing '94, left) was sworn in as 2026 chair of the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 14 – his second time serving in the role. The owner of Road 55, a content marketing company, LeLacheur is also the current executive-in-residence for the JR Shaw School of Business.
LeLacheur is joined at the chamber by first vice-chair Mark Kay (Personal Fitness Trainer '06), owner of Iron Fit Personal Training.
Read about Rob LeLacheur’s unique fundraiser for NAIT students
Ryski and reward
Mark Ryski (Marketing ’88) continues to earn kudos for his expertise in data analytics. Recently, media outlet Rethink Retail named him a top retail expert for the second consecutive year.
After that, his 2025 book, Store Traffic is a Gift, won gold at the Nonfiction Authors Association & Writers Conference. The book has since earned gold at the Axiom Business Book Awards.
Learn more about Mark Ryski’s book and others written by NAIT grads and students
Eating and edification
Edify magazine’s annual Best Restaurants issue is one of the go-to local references for the best of the Edmonton culinary scene.
By extension, it also highlights NAIT grads who own or cook for those businesses. Here’s a look, by category, at who made the pages in February:
Best New Restaurants:
Juu•Ku, chef and owner Andrew Fung (Cook ’01, Baking ’98)
Best Overall
RGE RD, chef and co-owner Blair Lebsack (Cook '98, pictured on the cover, left)
Olia, chef and co-owner Daniel Costa (Culinary Arts '05)
Fu’s Repair Shop, chef Shariff Rajpar (Culinary Arts '17)
Best Brunch
Pip, co-owner Nathan McLaughlin (Cook '04)
Best Tried and True:
The Next Act, co-owner Nathan McLaughlin (Cook '04)
The Marc, co-owner Jillian Fonteyne (Hospitality Management '12)
Best Burger
Fox Burger, co-owner and head chef Sean O'Connor (Culinary Arts '06)
Woodshed Burgers, owner Paul Shufelt (Cook '01)
Best Dessert
Chocorrant Pâtisserie + Café, pastry chef and co-owner Kai Wong (Culinary Arts '07, pictured on the cover, right)
Duchess Bake Shop, co-owners Jay Downton (Finance '02) and Ewa Jastrzebski (Interior Design Technology ’07)
Best Pizza
High Dough, chef and co-owner Lasha Gust (Culinary Arts '15, Cook '14) and co-owner Brayden Kozak (Culinary Arts '02)
Find other Edmonton and area restaurants featuring NAIT grads
Feeding the economy
Through its annual Chamber Awards, the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce honours the city’s economic leaders, innovators and builders – including two grads in January.
Peter Keith (Cook ’12), an entrepreneur behind the culinary business incubator concept Scale Kitchens, won for Community Builder. Alberta Food Processors Association executive director Bianca Jade Parsons (Radio and Television – TV ’09) took top spot for Economic Impact.
A two-track mind
In February, gold-medalist Kelsey Mitchell (Instrumentation Engineering Technology ’16, Personal Fitness Trainer ’17) made her third showing at the Olympics – this time out of season. After proving herself as a top track cyclist, Mitchell tested new skills at Milano Cortina 2026 on the bobsleigh track as part of the Canadian two-woman team.
Read about Kelsey Mitchell’s gold-medal cycling performance at the Tokyo Olympics
Nugget is golden (and silver)
NAIT’s student newspaper, the Nugget, earned two awards (and a nomination) in February at the John H. McDonald Awards for Excellence in Student Journalism – high recognition for the more than 60-year-old publication.
Josh Gwozdz (Radio and Television - Radio ’21), Alleah Boisvert (Bachelor of Business Administration ’25, Marketing ’21, Veterinary Medical Assistant ’14) and Amy St. Amand earned silver in investigative reporting.
Sanjiyven Alfred Joseph (Accounting ’25) won gold in the opinion writing category. The awards recognize student journalism from across Canada.
Welcome Craig Harder!
A passionate entrepreneur and advocate for innovation, Craig Harder was appointed to NAIT’s Board of Governors for a three-year term starting Dec. 17, 2025. Harder is the founder and CEO of the RAPTOR group of companies, a leader in engineering, mining services and robotic manufacturing of parts for the global mining and construction industry.