Peter Wintonick is Canada's most accomplished documentarian. He made international waves in 1992 with the release of Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, which earned multiple awards and has been distributed worldwide. He received the Ecumenical Prize at the prestigious Berlin film festival for his 2000 release, Cinema Verité: Defining the Moment. Wintonick is co-founder of the Documentary Organisation of Canada and a frequent lecturer, workshop instructor and film festival jurist. A pioneer in the exploration of the Internet as a medium for creative expression, he sits on the board of DigiMart, the international forum on the digital cinema market. In 2006, Wintonick was honoured with a Governor General's Award for Visual and Media Arts.

Thanks largely to the efforts of Barbara Carroll, residents of an Ottawa neighbourhood dominated by social housing have the means to acquire the skills they need to move up the socio-economic ladder. As coordinator of the Debra Dynes Family House, Carroll has dramatically increased the number and quality of programs and services available to residents. Every day, an average of 150 people now visit the House to access a range of services such as homework clubs, child-care programs, ESL and fitness courses, and youth activities—all delivered by volunteers and partners. Carroll continues to teach several Algonquin College courses each year.

A 1988 Algonquin College Business Administration grad and 2006 Premier's Award nominee, Joanne Walker has risen through the corporate ranks at EMS Satcom since she accepted her first job there in 1990. She was hired away from Theratronics to implement EMS Satcom's new material requirements planning (MRP) system, which automated the company's manufacturing processes. Within a year of joining EMS Satcom, Walker was promoted to materials manager. Soon after she became the company's Operations Manager, taking an oversight role in the engineering group's costing and job scheduling. Designated in 2004 as EMS Satcom's Profitability Champion, Walker saved the company over $500,000 before she was promoted to the executive team as Vice President, Business Operations.  Most of the positions Walker has occupied throughout her career have been tailor-made for her exceptional talents.  Walker volunteers her time as a member of the Ottawa Manufacturers Network Advisory Board, has worked as a volunteer for the Kanata Children's Choir and competes nationally in the equestrian sport of Dressage. Her extraordinary career has been featured in the Ottawa Business Journal.

After identifying the need for a more reliable cornea-retrieval protocol for Eastern Ontario, Kerry Smith, a registered practical nurse, enrolled in a cornea-retrieval training course and then single-handedly established what has become the most successful retrieval program in Canada. While holding down a full-time job as an opthamology nurse, Smith for three years ran her fledgling Ottawa Cornea Retrieval Program on a voluntary basis before securing funding. Smith also acts as the Ontario Regional Director for the Eyebank of Canada, sits on the Kidney Foundation Donation Committee.

Rick Davies' remarkable career includes stints as welder, teacher, salesman, manager and top executive. Today, Davies is Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for Dustex, an Atlanta-based firm specializing in industrial air-pollution control systems. Since Davies joined the company six years ago, annual sales have skyrocketed—from less than $4 million to more than $30 million. He has held senior management positions with several of the largest welding-supply companies in North America. Davies has also authored papers for the International Sugar Journal and the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, and has volunteered for several service clubs and professional associations.

Mitch St. Pierre wants to run for office during the next federal election. And he believes the surest route is to learn about the world through filmmaking and documentary production—while he builds support in the Ottawa community by providing free documentary services. A Business Marketing certificate from Algonquin College is an essential element in St. Pierre's extraordinary plan; what he learned has given him the tools he needs to launch a successful film and video production company, Intermode Media. The company uses earnings from the production of corporate and promotional videos to fund the company's documentary arm, Films for Human Rights.