Three women helping to create healthier communities

To honour International Women’s Day, meet three inspiring Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) alumni who are helping to improve the health of our communities in different ways. From developing more nutritious frozen foods to creating safer workplaces to enhancing patient treatment and care in hospitals, these remarkable women are leaders in their fields and making a tremendous impact through their work.

While working in food manufacturing, Lauren Watkins became intrigued by the process of how food becomes the products we see on grocery store shelves and restaurant menus. As a busy millennial who worked full-time, she found it challenging to get a hold of quick and easy options that nutritionally made her feel good but also tasted good. 

“If there are any ingredients in a product that are long and chemical sounding, or that I need to search on Google in order to understand the effects it has on my body, I don’t purchase it,” Watkins explains. “I also always review the label’s nutrition fact panel so that I can understand how that food choice plays a role in my overall lifestyle.”

This lack of healthy options is the reason Watkins created the frozen food company PuraVida Foods (external link, opens in new window) . “It was important for me to start a company that offered healthy, convenient options because I was unable to find frozen foods that matched what I was looking for,” she says.

Watkins also points out that she doesn’t like cooking, and knows the frustration of buying a lot of fresh produce only to find that it has started to go bad, causing her to trim off most of the product she purchased or throw it out altogether. 

“In a time when people are looking to be more conscious of their spending and also trying to purchase more sustainable options, frozen foods really offer a lot to consumers,” she notes. “People can portion out as little or as much as they need, and know that the next time they go to use that product it will be in the same state it was before.”

PuraVida Foods has had great success since launching in Costco in December 2020, and is now available in Sprouts Farmers Markets and a number of other retailers. To date, PuraVida products have sold more than $30 million in retail.

Watkins has been recognized for her success. She was named to the 2023 Forbes 30 under 30 list (external link, opens in new window)  and invited to speak at the Forbes 30/50 Summit for this year’s International Women’s Day.

She advises other women looking to start their own businesses to learn how to channel their passion. “After finishing my undergrad, I felt overwhelmed and nervous that I wouldn’t find a career in psychology,” she explains. “I knew that I wanted to help people lead a healthier lifestyle but didn’t know where to start. But by being open to new opportunities, I was able to learn how to channel my passion for helping others and health in a way that I never imagined possible.”

After graduating from TMU, Manisha Mistry knew that she wanted a career where she could help people and also apply her education from the Occupational Health and Safety program. Working in the health and safety field fulfilled both of those needs and has allowed her to make a difference in the health and well-being of workers.  

More than two decades ago, Mistry joined CSA Group, a global leader in Standards Development and in Testing, Inspection and Certification, in the organization’s first-ever dedicated health and safety role. During this time, she has solidified her reputation as one of Canada’s leading health and safety professionals. 

One of the accomplishments Mistry is most proud of is leading the organization’s mental health and well-being strategy, coined ‘Project Care.’ She says CSA Group has made significant strides in expanding and strengthening its resources and offerings. 

“Most recently, we launched a Mental Health Ambassador Program with 70 Mental Health Ambassadors trained globally,” she explains. “At the core of their role, volunteer ambassadors assist employees in need of mental health support, open the lines of communication around this often stigmatized topic, and help employees navigate CSA Group’s portfolio of mental health resources.”

Mistry also worked with other teams at CSA Group to develop strategies, policies and programs to help the organization effectively respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and led the organization’s registration of their global Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) program to internationally recognized standards.

Her work has not gone unnoticed. In 2022, Mistry was selected as an Excellence Awardee for the BGIS Award for Safety Leader of the Year (external link, opens in new window)  and was named by Canadian Occupational Safety as one of the Top Women in Safety (external link, opens in new window) . 

She is also supportive of other women wanting to pursue and further their careers in the health and safety field, sitting on the board of the Women in Occupational Health & Safety Society (WOHSS).

“For those women already in the field interested in continued professional and career development, the importance of networking and mentorship opportunities cannot be overstated,” Mistry points out. “Canadian occupational health and safety associations, organizations and networks have done a fantastic job facilitating networking events and opportunities for collaboration, but we cannot take our foot off the pedal.”

As someone who grew up knowing she wanted to be of service to others, Tiziana Rivera was interested in pursuing a career in nursing because it strongly aligned with her core values. It would also give her different opportunities to make meaningful and fulfilling contributions — at the bedside, in education, in research, in administration and in public health. 

Since graduating from TMU more than 35 years ago, Rivera has been making a major difference in the health and lives of patients at hospitals across the Greater Toronto Area. 

“I am privileged to be in a position where I am able to use my passion and my skills to help improve the lives of patients and their families,” she says. “When I think about my key accomplishments, there is a common thread running through them all — a vision to create long-term, sustainable, quality- and safety-based changes in practices and policy.”

Having four family members die from medical errors led Rivera to her current leadership role in Quality and Patient Safety at William Osler Health System, and fuelled her desire to influence change at a system level. As the first registered nurse to lead both the Quality and Research portfolios at Osler, she co-leads programs across the hospital to adopt a new framework for quality, and a renewed focus on patient safety and client and family experience. 

“In alignment with my passion for quality and service excellence, I have been selected as surveyor for Accreditation Canada,” she adds. “I look forward to continuing to impact and support quality in health care on a provincial, national and global scale.” 

Prior to Rivera’s work at Osler, she worked closely with the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario to support the international adoption of best practices, and supported two Ontario hospitals in their journey towards achieving Best Practice Spotlight Organization status. She is also a recipient of the Nursing Award of Excellence in Nursing Leadership through the Ontario Hospital Association. 

Rivera, who is currently teaching in the undergraduate nursing program at TMU, encourages other women who are interested in pursuing leadership roles in health care. “Although for me, it is not about gender,” she says. “We need great leaders to make the most important contribution to the well-being of society: health care. In policy, practice, administration, research, governance, academia, public health and beyond, your knowledge, expertise, curiosity, innovation, energy and contributions are needed.”