Monica McKay is the recipient of this year’s President’s Blue and Gold Award of Staff Excellence in recognition of more than three decades dedicated to Indigenous student success, community building and institutional change.
A proud member of the Nisga’a Nation of the House of Hiwa’a and the Gisk’aast clan, McKay has spent over 30 years shaping the experience of Indigenous students, staff and faculty at TMU.
In 1993, she helped establish Gdoo-maawnjidimi Mompii Indigenous Student Services under the Office of the Vice President, Equity and Community Inclusion. What began as a small circle of students has grown into a vibrant centre of community, culture and learning that supports Indigenous students throughout their academic journeys.
Throughout her career, McKay has been recognized for her ability to navigate complex institutional systems while remaining grounded in Indigenous values of kinship, care and reciprocity. Her nomination highlights a people-first approach to leadership rooted in relationship building and sustained advocacy. Her work has helped advance reconciliation and strengthen support for Indigenous communities at TMU.
President’s Blue and Gold Award of Staff Excellence: School of Medicine accreditation and launch team
The President’s Blue and Gold Award of Staff Excellence will also be presented to the School of Medicine accreditation and launch team.
This team worked hard to get TMU’s School of Medicine approved and running. They were able to achieve full accreditation of the MD program and 16 residency programs – something no new medical school had done before, working closely with hospitals and community partners in Brampton and surrounding areas to get it done under condensed timelines.
“This recognition belongs to a team that showed us what’s possible when people work together,” said Teresa Chan, founding dean, TMU School of Medicine. “This team built the School of Medicine from the ground up while staying grounded in trust, respect and an unwavering focus on creating a new way forward for health care education. The school exists today because of their dedication, generosity and belief in one another.”
The team also hired over 100 staff and clinical faculty leaders, appointed over 600 clinical faculty members and implemented learner-centred systems designed to support the inaugural cohort of medical students.
“Receiving the President’s Blue & Gold Award is a tremendous honour for our team. To receive this recognition together is especially meaningful, as it reflects the collective effort, shared purpose, and extensive collaboration that have defined this journey from the very beginning,” said Sanya Khan, director, strategy and project management office at the School of Medicine. “This award also represents the contributions of many individuals who are not named but without whom we would not be here: Colleagues across the School of Medicine team, our clinical faculty, and community partners.”
President’s Blue and Gold Award of Staff Excellence: Community Building Working Group team
This year’s awards will also recognize the Community Building Working Group (CBWG), a cross-institutional team that has been helping the TMU community deal with difficult world events and rising polarization.
This group of staff members from different departments took on additional responsibilities to help people connect and have difficult conversations in a constructive way. They created programs about grief and conflict. They ran multiple learning sessions on antisemitism and Islamophobia as well as conflict resolution. They also expanded counselling and wellness support.
“I’m proud we brought colleagues together from across the university to design and deliver sessions that facilitated difficult conversations as well as offer educational sessions on Islamophobia and anti-sentimism as well as conflict resolutions,” said Tanya (Toni) De Mello, vice-president, equity and community inclusion and Chair of the CBWG. “This is a learning institution and it’s been so important to help community members work through grief and have spaces to talk about their identities. Our members are front-line staff that came together at one of the most difficult and busiest times we have known and did this work on the side of their desks.”
Through peer support programs,group discussions, and training and education sessions, the CBWG helped strengthen a sense of belonging for students, staff and faculty, creating space for respectful conversation.
“Receiving the President’s Blue and Gold Award is both humbling and affirming. It recognizes not just individual effort, but the collective work of a cross-functional team committed to advancing TMU’s mission through innovation, operational excellence, and care for people,” said Nina Acco-Weston, who co-chaired the CBWG. “For me, it reinforces the importance of collaborative leadership and the belief that when we work together across roles and portfolios, we can create meaningful and sustained impact.”
Together, this year’s recipients reflect the dedication, collaboration and care that define the TMU community. The 2026 Toronto Met Awards Gala will celebrate the people whose leadership and service continue to shape an inclusive and supportive university environment.
The 2026 Toronto Met Awards Gala will take place on Tuesday, April 28. All recipients will receive their invitation for the gala on Tuesday, February 24.
For a full list of this year’s awards recipients, visit TMU’s Recognition and Awards website.