To be eligible for the Alumni Award for International Achievement, nominees must:
Don’t doubt yourself, the company you keep is extremely important...
Dr Steven V. Zizzo is the founder and Medical Director of Winterberry Family Medicine in Hamilton, Ontario — one of Canada’s largest team-based primary care centres. His passion for medicine began early, inspired by his father and uncle, both family physicians in his hometown.
Steven earned his MPH and MBBS at the University of Sydney, completed his internship at St Vincent’s Hospital, and returned to Canada to complete residency training. Guided by a commitment to evidence-based care, he built Winterberry Family Medicine, which now provides care to more than 30,000 patients with a team of over 50 health professionals.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Steven distinguished himself by mobilising his clinic to deliver one of the largest private immunisation campaigns in Canada. Under his leadership, the team provided strong public health messaging and administered more than 35,000 vaccinations to Ontario residents since May 2021. This contribution was recognised by Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath as the city’s largest private immunisation effort, earning him the Order of Hamilton, the Award of Excellence from the Ontario College of Family Physicians, and the Award of Excellence from the Canadian College of Family Physicians.
In addition to his clinical leadership, Steven is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine at McMaster University, a Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and a Principal Investigator in more than 20 research trials focused on obesity and diabetes. In recent years, he has dedicated his practice to obesity medicine. As a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine, he champions the elimination of obesity bias and discrimination while leveraging technology to improve health outcomes. A passionate educator and mentor, Steven continues to shape future medical professionals while driving meaningful change in public health.
University of Sydney was a wonderful time in my life. Sydney is probably the most beautiful city in the world, people are smart, hard working but balanced, and USyd has the opportunity to look at the whole world, decide on a best approach and then either embrace or develop it when needed. They have the benefit of choice and global perspective; I cannot think of a better place to learn given all the opportunities afforded by the Uni and also the people of Sydney, NSW and Australia to which I will be forever grateful.
Not to follow-status quo just because its popular or common.
Alumni Award winner Katherine Bennell-Pegg in her flight suit at the observatory on top of the University's Nanotech Building.
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LinkKatherine Bennell-Pegg (FIEAust) is Australia’s first female astronaut. In 2023, following a lengthy selection process, she was the first international astronaut candidate to be invited to take place in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Basic Astronaut Training program in Germany.
Becoming an astronaut has been a life-long dream for Katherine, and in addition to her studies in aerospace engineering and science she undertook extracurriculars that would support that dream including aerobatic flying, scuba diving and amateur astronomy. In her university years, in addition to being in Engineering revues, helping establish Sydney University Women in Engineering and the Rocket Society and representing the university in basketball, she also volunteered with the NSW SES, travelled to India with Engineers Without Borders and was an Australian Army Reservist. She had internships with NASA, ESA, RAAF and the University of Sydney School of Physics. Katherine also received the Charles Kuller Graduation Prize for the first-placed undergraduate thesis in the School of Aeronautical, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering.
Georgia Dawson's election to the role of Senior Partner at global law firm Freshfields has helped to transform the professional landscape for future leaders in the legal profession. An early international role as a legal aide in Vietnam inspired her to pursue further global work ultimately securing roles in London, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Her election as the Senior Partner made history, marking the first time a woman has led the global firm in its 280-year existence. Her remarkable career journey goes beyond personal success; she's also an advocate for diversity, setting the standard for broad based representation in leadership roles. Her strategic leadership of the firm and contributions to the legal field earned her the Financial Times Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyer Award in 2020. Georgia continues to inspire, opening doors for others and pushing the boundaries of inclusivity beyond the legal world.
Niny played an integral role on the Timor-Leste legal team negotiating the Timor Sea Treaty with the Australian Government, resulting in the lion’s share of the natural resources going to Timor-Leste. She was also part of the Timorese diaspora in Australia, who returned to Timor-Leste to help efforts as the country neared Independence. She spent seven years advising the Timor-Leste Prime Minister and Minister for Natural Resources on petroleum-related matters, drafting petroleum legislation and contracts, serving on the Executive of the Timor Sea Designated Authority and, managing the Joint Petroleum Development Area.
Niny then joined the Norwegian state oil company, Statoil, where she became Chief Counsel for Sustainability and Global Head of Legal for New Energy Solutions. She was in this role at a defining period when Statoil was transitioning from a petroleum company to Equinor, a forward-looking energy company, with significant renewable energy and emerging technology interests.
Niny is currently a member of the executive management team responsible for the international upstream sector which is looking at innovative solutions to drive Equinor to accelerate the energy transition in accordance with the Paris Agreement. She is also a Director for the International Association of Energy Negotiators.
Living in Asia, North America and Australia provided Patrick Grove with an international perspective and motivation to do business in different parts of the world. Whilst still in college, Patrick dreamed of starting his own business, but his parents did not support this. Patrick agreed to finish university and work for three years to gain professional experience. After graduating, Patrick moved to Asia to start Catcha. As Co-Founder and Group CEO of Catcha Group, Patrick is one of the leading entrepreneurs in the Asia Pacific region.
Between 1999-2021, he took six digital businesses from startup to IPO. These include the iProperty Group – which was acquired by REA Group in 2016 in one of the largest ever acquisitions of a Southeast Asian internet company at the time; iCar Asia, an operator of leading automobile marketplaces in Southeast Asia; and Frontier Digital Ventures, an owner and operator of leading online marketplaces in frontier markets.
Patrick is also the Co-Founder of Rev Asia, a Bursa Malaysia-listed online media and publishing company; Wild Digital, a leading tech conference in Southeast Asia; and Instahome, an online home rentals platform. In February 2021, Catcha Group listed a blank check company, Catcha Investment Corp, of which Patrick is Chairman and CEO, on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The company raised an upsized US$300m in their IPO to target technology businesses in Southeast Asia and Australia.
Patrick has been recognised with numerous international awards, including Global Leader of Tomorrow and New Asian Leader by the World Economic Forum; Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the Australian Chamber of Commerce, Singapore and Asia’s Best Young Entrepreneur by Bloomberg Business.
Professor Scolyer is Vice President of the International Academy of Pathology and the Clinical Professor of Pathology at the University of Sydney Central Clinical School. As one of the world’s most cited scholars in melanoma pathology, in 2020 Professor Scolyer was ranked the world’s seventh leading melanoma expert in any field or discipline as well as the world’s leading melanoma pathologist. He is recognised for developing the world’s largest biospecimen bank of melanoma tissues and blood samples.
Explore the annual Alumni Awards, featuring six Graduate Medals and six Alumni Awards.