Jennifer Zwicker honoured as a recipient of Caldwell Canada’s Top 40 Under 40

The School of Public Policy and the Faculty of Kinesiology are pleased to announce the honouring of Dr. Jennifer Zwicker, PhD, program director of health policy, as a recipient of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 for 2021.

Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 is an annual leadership award that recognizes exceptional achievement by 40 outstanding Canadians who are under the age of 40.

Zwicker and her peers were selected from hundreds of nominees by a respected and independent advisory board, comprising 30 diverse leaders from across Canada. Four key criteria were assessed to select the recipients: vision and innovation, leadership, impact and influence, and social responsibility.

“It is a privilege and an honour to be a 2021 honouree and to be part of a network of such accomplished honourees and alumni with amazing records of impact,” says Zwicker. “I hope this recognition can bring more awareness to the important need to address the adverse mental and physical health implications resulting from the patchwork of programs and services for youth with disability and their families in Canada. 

“Working with children, families, community partners and our amazing research networks like Kids Brain Health Network, our vision is to use rigorous, evidence informed policy analysis to reduce service fragmentation and improve access for youth and their families to these essential supports and services,” Zwicker adds. “The innovative, interdisciplinary environment at the University of Calgary has been a catalyst for starting to make this vision a reality.”

Interdisciplinary expertise

Focused on social policy and health-care reform, Zwicker received her PhD in neurophysiology from the University of Alberta and her Master of Public Policy from the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. 

As the director of the health policy program at the School of Public Policy, an associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, and deputy scientific officer for Kids Brain Health Network, and a member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Zwicker has interdisciplinary expertise that cuts across neurobiology and child development, economic evaluation, health services research and policy to translate knowledge from research to evidence-based disability policy. 

Zwicker is also one of 11 University of Calgary scholars awarded Canada Research Chairs in 2020. The Canada Research Chair Program helps Canada achieve the goal of being one of the world’s top performers in research and development, by investing up to $295 million per year to attract and retain diverse, world-class researchers.

Caldwell, Top 40

Founded in 1995 by Caldwell, Top 40 has recognized almost 1,000 outstanding Canadians and is the country’s most coveted award for young business and community leaders. Recipients have a remarkable track record of continuing achievement. 

The 2021 Top 40 Recipients were announced today. Recipients will be honoured at a virtual reception where they will meet each other, as well as advisory board members, program partners and past honourees. In-person events are expected to take place next spring where the recipients will be presented with their awards.