TMU hockey alumna Nella Brodett champions student athletes with new award

Nella Brodett — The Amazing Race Canada season 8 cast member, Law and Business alumna, and former women’s hockey team captain — has chalked up a number of successes. She can now add champion of student athletes to that list. 

In 2024, the 10-year anniversary of Brodett’s time as a student hockey player at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), she is establishing the Nella Brodett Empowerment Award to celebrate student athletes who identify as female and who demonstrate actions and character that contribute to building an empowering culture for their teammates and community.

“TMU has really helped to propel me and my career, and brought me together with amazing and incredible human beings that I cherish and love dearly to this day,” said Brodett. “I definitely wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for my time at the university — as a hockey player, as a student leader, and just being in an environment that really encourages young people to thrive and grow. And that’s why I want to pay it forward and leave a legacy through this award.”

Launching in Fall 2024 as part of the President’s Awards to Champion Equity (PACE) program, the Nella Brodett Empowerment Award will annually recognize one student athlete with an award of $4,000. 

Brodett works as Head of Integrated Markets, Company Support and Partnerships at CAN Health Network, a not-for-profit that removes barriers for Canadian health innovation companies to grow. Turning 33 this year, Brodett credits her rise to a senior leadership position at such a young age to her invaluable experiences and connections she made at TMU, especially her time on the women’s hockey team, which taught her about mental resilience and leadership. 

“Traditionally, we would talk about leadership as power, dominance, control and influence; whereas in sport, especially on a women’s team, that is not leadership,” said Brodett. “Leadership is really shown through camaraderie, genuine relationship building, being authentic to yourself and building trust with your teammates.”

Brodett first joined the women’s hockey team in 2011. The following year, the varsity teams moved into the newly opened Mattamy Athletic Centre in the historic Maple Leaf Gardens. “It was electric,” she said, adding that the “vibes were immaculate.” But tough times were still ahead. Brodett began suffering from depression. First to reach out to help were her teammates. 

“I had been diagnosed with depression, and I found immense support through the community. It was pretty incredible to see how many people showed up for me,” she said. In turn, Brodett rallied the community to help her fundraise tens of thousands of dollars for the #RamsTalk Mental Health Resilience and Support Award, which ran from 2014 to 2024. 

After Brodett graduated, the university’s former president Sheldon Levy remained one of her top career mentors, introducing her to the founder of CAN Health Network. “Sheldon Levy really influenced my career in innovation and technology, and the way we see TMU as an innovative school,” she said. Brodett would like to provide that kind of encouragement to others.

“Being a Filipino immigrant, being a minority, being a female athlete, there are many challenges that come with all of those things. But you can overcome them if there are people there cheering you on,” said Brodett. “And I hope that this new award in my name will continue that same sort of thread around championing others and supporting them, regardless of what they’re going through.”