As an educator and activist, Dr. Martha Jodrey has devoted much of her life to ensuring students from primary to PhD have a level playing field and equal opportunities to advance their education and skills. Her commitment to this goal has earned her the 2011 Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser award at the Maritime Philanthropy Awards on June 5.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the members of the Awards Committee of the Atlantic Chapter of the Canadian Fundraising Professionals for the tremendous honour they have given me through bestowing on me this wonderful award,” says Dr. Jodrey.
(L-R): Dr. Ramona Lumpkin, President and Vice-Chancellor of the Mount, Dr. Martha Jodrey and Deanne MacLeod (BBA ’92), Vice-President of the Mount’s Alumnae Association at the recently held Maritime Philanthropy Awards.
A connected member of the Mount community, Dr. Jodrey has dedicated an immense amount of time to establishing the Chair in Learning Disabilities at the University. Dr. Jodrey also served as Chair for the Mount’s ‘Building Tomorrow, Together’ capital campaign.
“I am immensely grateful to Mount Saint Vincent University for honouring me with this esteemed nomination,” indicates Dr. Jodrey. “Receiving this award was a highlight in my life that will always be for me, at a deeply emotional level, both singularly uplifting and unforgettable.”
A relentless fundraiser, Dr. Jodrey pursues every avenue when it comes to supporting a cause in which she believes deeply. This passion was evident when it came to making the Chair in Learning Disabilities a reality. Dr. Jodrey established three academic support programs for students with Learning Disabilities in 1985, 1990 and 2004 at the primary, secondary and university level. These programs were interdependent links in a circle of support that enabled exceptional students to achieve their full academic potential. Dr. Jodrey envisioned the endowed Chair in Learning Disabilities as the final link in this circle of support – it will help to ensure that no student is lost.
On May 11, Mount Saint Vincent University hosted the official announcement of the appointment of Dr. Jamie Metsala as the inaugural Gail and Stephen Jarislowsky Chair in Learning Disabilities. The endowed Chair is the first of its kind in Canada and only one of four in the world. It will provide Mount graduates with enhanced knowledge and skills to identify and teach children with learning disabilities in a classroom setting.
Dr. Jodrey played an instrumental role in securing a $1 million gift from the Jarislowsky Foundation which made the Chair’s establishment possible. The Jarislowsky Foundation responded to Dr. Jodrey’s evident passion to ensure that not one child be lost and that academic supports for students be brought into the public classroom.
The Mount’s Chair in Learning Disabilities will be involved with teaching, research and course development in the Faculty of Education at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The research and education that the Chair in Learning Disabilities will carry out at the Mount will have a positive and lasting impact on public education and on the children and families who struggle with learning disabilities.
In addition to her tireless efforts in advocating for students with learning disabilities, Dr. Jodrey has extensive capital campaign experience, including Leadership Gifts Chair for the $42.5 million QEII Working Miracles campaign, chair of the Board for Bridgeway Academy and two of its capital campaigns. She has also lent her time and energy to Kings Edgehill, the St. Mary’s Atlantic Centre of Support for Students with Disabilities and the Salvation Army.
“If you want to accomplish anything, be passionate about it,” says Dr. Jodrey “Your passion will win others to your cause and will sweep you steadily along to success.”