SONJA BATA, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
Sonja Bata was born and educated in Switzerland where she studied architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. She is the Director of the Bata Shoe Organization, Vice Chairman Bata Shoe Foundation and the founding Chairman of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. Sonja Bata has served on the Board of Directors of several companies (incl. Alcan Aluminium Limited; Canada Trust; Canadian Commercial Corporation) and organizations (including Canadian Chamber of Commerce, North York General Hospital, Junior Achievement, World Wildlife Fund). Her design and education related activities include:
- Member, National Design Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, (1964-1976-Chairman 1973-1975).
- Member, Board of Trustees, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, (1968-1974).
- Member National Capital Commission, Canadiana Fund, (1990- 1992).
- Member, Board of Governors, York University, Toronto, Ontario, (1976-1985).
- Member of the Board of The Royal Military College of Canada, (1997-).
Sonja Bata has received numerous honors including honorary doctorates from five Canadian universities and one US university. She was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada, in June 1983 and Honorary Captain in the Canadian Navy in 1989. Other honors include: CESO Award for International Development, 1990; the Silver Medal of the United Nations Environmental Program, 1982; and the Paul Harris Fellow, Rotary.
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