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INTERIOR DESIGN, 2005 CHIEF oF VISIoN AND DIFFERENCE, WILLIAM STANDEN Co. Cassandra Nordell-MacLean had a dream to own her own business and now she's an award-winning designer at the helm of three of them. Last year, the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) named Cassandra one of the Top 30 under 30 in its annual round up of exceptional young professionals who are excelling in the North American kitchen and bath industry. As Chief of Vision and Difference at William Standen Co., Nordell Homes and Normac Group Inc., she built her companies around superior service and innovation. The NKBA wasn't the only one to recognize her business acumen. PROFIT Magazine also named William Standen Co. one of the most promising businesses in Canada in its Hot 50 list in 2013. It showed a 368 per cent increase in revenue growth over two years. Of the companies recognized, Cassandra was among the 11 per cent to be led by a female CEO. Cassandra's design work has been featured on HGTV Canada, in several Canadian and international magazines, and she is a regular design columnist for the London Free Press. She lent her expertise as a speaker at the industry's largest design show in Las Vegas in 2014, and at North America's largest home show in Toronto this year. She will return to the Las Vegas show in 2016 to speak to design businesses about how to increase sales. A leader on the green front, Cassandra introduced recycling programs to Sarnia's building sites and promotes using environmentally friendly materials. She won NKBA's Ontario awards for best overall green design in 2015 and the best green kitchen design in 2014. For each of the past three years she and her team have also created kitchens and bathrooms for Habitat for Humanity houses and earlier this year, she designed a barrier-free community kitchen for Lambton County Developmental Services. Cassandra credits Georgian with providing her with a superior technical and practical skill set. She says her education was enhanced with business knowledge, providing her with the confidence to become a freelance designer and, later, an entrepreneur, pushing to succeed and become a business leader in her community. CASSANDRA NORDELL-MACLEAN Received awards for fastest growing companies and Top 30 under 30 2015 PREMIER'S AWARD NOMINEE 19 GEORGIANVIEW 2015 ALUMNI IN THE NEWS