Mentor, Academic and Community Champion: Professor Cynthia Bled

Professor Cynthia Bled

March 31, 1933 – August 6, 2022 - Sec. 23 – Lot TG70 – Gr. 1 ‘C’

Cynthia Bled was born in Kingston, Jamaica on March 31, 1933. She is a graduate of Howard University and immigrated to Canada in her late 20s where she studied Library Science and Economics. Bled met her husband Yves Bled as a graduate student at the University of Toronto, and they got married in Toronto in 1960.

Bled became an Economics professor, who taught at Concordia University in Montreal, Carleton University, University of Ottawa, and Algonquin College in Ottawa from 1965 to 2005.

Passionate about education and academic excellence, Bled became a School Board Trustee for the Ottawa-Carleton Board of Education from 1988 to 2000, where she rose to Vice-Chair and Chair of the Education Committee.

Once retired, Bled, who was dedicated to helping high-achieving marginalized youth pursue higher education and encouraging greater community involvement, founded the Canadian Future Achievers Leadership Program (CFA) in 2008 with her husband Yves, providing scholarships and support for students pursuing postsecondary studies at universities across Canada.

Bled Future Achievers Leadership Forum is to bring together Canadian youth between 14 and 18 years old from Caribbean, Inuit, Métis and First Nations communities from across the country. This five-day forum will feature interactive workshops and group activities aimed at pushing participants out of their comfort zone. With a strong emphasis on teamwork, participants will interact with peers from across the country and benefit from lived experiences to help them become leaders of tomorrow.

These included UBC, Concordia University, McMaster University, University of Ottawa and Carleton University, in the areas of Social Sciences and Engineering. Since its inception, the CFA Leadership Program has expanded across Canada and internationally to Kenya, where it continues to fulfill Cynthia and Yves’ educational vision.

In addition to her passion for education, Cynthia and Yves shared an appreciation for Chinese culture, which led them to co-author a book to promote a greater understanding of the country's traditions and way of life.

On June 23, 2012, Bled was awarded a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal by Senator Vivienne Poy at the University of Toronto for her tremendous dedication and many contributions to supporting youth leadership, community involvement and academic excellence.

Most recently, Cynthia and Yves received the Faculty of Social Sciences Recognition Award from the University of Ottawa and became recipients of uOttawa’s 2019 Honorary Members of the Alumni Association.

Cynthia Bled died on August 6, 2022.