Dr. Larissa Vingilis-Jaremko

Dr. Larissa Vingilis-Jaremko is the founder and current President of the Canadian Association of Girls in Science (CAGIS), a not-for-profit organization that supports interest in STEM among girls and gender nonconforming youth. As a child, she noticed that girls in her class had negative stereotypes of STEM professionals, and founded CAGIS at the age of nine to expose girls to diverse role models, exploration, and hands-on activities. The organization has since grown nationally with chapters across Canada. Dr. Vingilis-Jaremko has become a recognized expert in the field, frequently consulted by the government and media, and serving as an adviser on various selection and review committees. She has received numerous honours including Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women and serves as the chair of the board of directors of the Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades, and Technology (CCWESTT). In addition, Dr. Vingilis-Jaremko is a trained vision scientist and received her PhD from McMaster University in 2013.