To be eligible for the Alumni Award for Service to Humanity, nominees must:
In my experience, when something feels counterintuitive, it might just mean you're on the right track.
Kelly McJannett is the CEO and co-founder of Food Ladder, a global social enterprise harnessing AI-powered hydroponic systems to combat the global issue of food insecurity. Kelly has spearheaded the creation of the world’s first and only network of connected greenhouses, operating in the harshest environments, to tackle one of the most pressing challenges facing humanity and is a first mover in the adoption of AI and quantum technology for enhanced social impact.
By leveraging cutting-edge technology, Kelly aims to address immediate human need, support critical environmental outcomes, and prepare communities vulnerable to the effects of catastrophic climate change.
During her MBA studies at the Business School, she was awarded the David Anstice MBA Scholarship for Community Leadership and the Dean’s Prize and Leadership Excellence Award. She also continues to be involved with the University of Sydney as a member of the University of Sydney Business School Board of Advice. She has been named as one of Australia’s 100 Most Influential Women and an AACSB Influential Leader Honouree.
Kelly continues to drive innovation at the intersection of sustainability, education, and social impact.
Coming from a background in communications, and into the position of a Founder and CEO initially brought a strong sense of imposter syndrome. My journey with The University of Sydney began with an MBA, which beautifully rounded out my knowledge in areas like financial modelling, data analytics, and strategy—not to mention the lifelong friendships I formed with exceptional peers through the program.
More recently, through Executive Education, I’ve gained immense value from the Sprints in AI Fluency, Net Zero, and Geopolitics. Learning alongside leaders at the forefront of pioneering thinking, I’ve been able to apply these insights directly to my work in real time—with demonstrable impact.
When you’re working on something intrinsically difficult or truly innovative, in a world where the pace of technological advancement has never been greater, I’ve found that the executive education offered by The University of Sydney isn’t just valuable—it’s essential to success.
Arguably, my entire career path appears counterintuitive from the outside—but it has always felt natural to me. I don't believe we should fear being 'counterintuitive.'
When I left my PR job just six months into my career to bring an ed-tech solution to remote Indigenous communities in Australia, many saw it as an illogical move. But to me, it never felt risky. With the National Broadband Network being rolled out to connect all Australians to the internet for the first time, I saw enormous potential to improve educational outcomes for the most remote and underserved communities in our country.
That leap of faith gave me unique insights that eventually laid the foundation for Food Ladder. It was then that I developed my ‘unreasonable’ determination that every community on Earth deserves the infrastructure to grow its own food—meeting the most basic level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Leaving a proven ed-tech model to start a fledgling NGO tackling childhood malnutrition was again seen as counterintuitive, but I could clearly see the opportunity to make it work.
In what may seem another counterintuitive move, I chose to prove the Food Ladder model in the world’s most challenging environments first—remote Central Desert communities in Australia, informal settlements on the outskirts of Delhi, and high-altitude mountain villages in Bhutan. In hindsight, it was the ultimate test. But demonstrating sustainable success in these extreme conditions built immense confidence—within myself, our team, and our ecosystem—as we scaled and evolved into a national flywheel of impact.
In my experience, when something feels counterintuitive, it might just mean you're on the right track.
Dr Richard Brennan AO is the Regional Emergency Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, World Health Organization (WHO). He has three decades of dedicated humanitarian service, including seven years at WHO headquarters as Director of Emergency Operations, Director of Ebola Coordination and Response and Director of Emergency Risk Management and Humanitarian Response.
Rick obtained his medical degree at the University of Sydney after which he completed emergency medicine training. He then undertook a clinical and research fellowship in the United States, returning to Australia as a staff specialist at Westmead Hospital. After several humanitarian missions, he completed a Master of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University and then joined the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to work on humanitarian, disaster management, and civil-military issues.
Naomi Malone is a champion of disability inclusion and a transformative force in accessibility advocacy. Her experience in advocating for herself as a profoundly deaf person, particularly during her studies, fostered a deep understanding of the need for accessibility as a way of creating an inclusive environment for all. She has since consulted on accessibility and inclusion policies across a number of organisations, including the State Library of New South Wales and the Sydney Festival, and her work has contributed to the ongoing accessibility improvements made by these institutions.
Naomi has numerous accolades to her name, including the Deafness Forum of Australia's Members' Choice Award for her work in captioning the first universally accessible theatre production. She is a published author and continues her commitment to inclusion by shaping disability inclusion policies.
Jane Sloane has spent the last 20 years working to advance women’s and girls’ human rights globally. In her role as Senior Director, Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, Jane devised a new program called Accelerate Women’s Entrepreneurship, designed to support one million women entrepreneurs in Asia to gain the support they need to break free of violence and have the economic security.
Jane’s focus has including working to help women in Bangladesh end child marriage in their communities, women in Timor-Leste to have access to finance and opportunities that allowed them to leave domestic violence situations, and women in Laos to create an artisan renaissance in their village and bring back girls who were trafficked to Thailand.
In her current role, Jane developed a program for The Asia Foundation focused on advancing the women, peace and security agenda in Asia to support women being at the front line of helping broker peace agreements and countering violent extremism. In addition, Jane’s work has help support Asian women’s leadership on food, water, land and energy security and connecting women leaders to key forums where they can advocate for gender inclusive approaches to climate governance and financing.
Jane is continually writing, speaking, and advocating for women’s and girls’ empowerment and her prodigious social media engagement is testimony to how she lives and breathes this fierce commitment to advocating for women’s and girls’ human rights.
Recognising the gendered impacts of climate change, Jane works with governments in Asia to ensure gender inclusive approaches to policies addressing climate change and disaster risk management and demonstrating the potential for green jobs for women. She also works to ensure young women studying STEM have access to mentors and experiences to encourage them to learn about green design, construction, waste management, and gender inclusive approaches to AI and coding.
In 2012 Jane was awarded an Advance Global Ambassadors Award for work with women and girls. In 2013 Jane was recognised in the Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence Awards and was also awarded Atlantic Fellowship by the Inequalities Institute, London School of Economics to become a global fellow in 2017.
Garry Huang has committed more than 5,500 volunteer hours in his life. He volunteers in Taiwan and Australia – in Taiwan for the New Taipei City Fire Department where he leads 100 volunteers and in Australia for St John Ambulance where he leads 700 volunteers. Gary began volunteering for St John Ambulance Australia in 1998 where he held the the position of the assistant regional superintendent. He also began volunteering for Taipei City Fire Department in 2011. He transferred to New Taipei City Fire Department in 2016 and established its volunteer battalion where the volunteers have worked a combined total of 22,000 hours.
Garry is CEO of the Wangying Foundation. Since its establishment in 2012, the foundation has trained thousands of professionals and volunteers in first aid, emergency and calamity rescue, medical assistance and pre-hospital care. The foundation also offers scholarships in medicine and health education and fundraises for disadvantaged communities.
In 2013, the legislative assembly in Taiwan drafted a law which prevented health care professionals from rendering assistance through an exclusion clause from criminal prosecution and civil litigation. Garry reached out to his professional and personal network to explain the importance of first aid response which helped members of parliament amend the draft legislation.
He was recognised by St John Ambulance Australia with a 15 year service medal in 2013 and became a member of the Order of St John in 2019. Garry is a registered paramedic in Australia and in Taiwan and is also a Ministry of Education appointed Assistant Professor at Taipei Medical University Faculty of Nursing.
Dr Andrew Browning AM is an obstetrician and gynaecologist who has worked in Ethiopia and Tanzania for more than 17 years. He has founded three hospitals, with a fourth planned in South Sudan, helping over 80,000 women deliver their babies safely and for free, including more than 12,000 women impacted by obstetric fistula. All this work is underpinned by his tireless fundraising through the Barbara May Foundation which he co-founded. Dr Browning currently consults for the United Nations and the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics.
Explore the annual Alumni Awards, featuring six Graduate Medals and six Alumni Awards.