2006 Chancellor's Outstanding Alumnus Award Winner, Dr Amaya Gillespie.
2006 Outstanding Young Alumnus Stephanie Jarvie.
Date: 10 August 2006
A Queensland University of Technology graduate who has helped promote the health of children across the globe was today awarded QUT's highest alumni honour.
Dr Amaya Gillespie was named the Chancellor's Outstanding Alumnus for 2006 in recognition of her work as the Secretariat Director for the UN Secretary General's Study on Violence Against Children.
The QUT education graduate is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and travels the world with the United Nations. Dr Gillespie was in Brisbane today to receive her award.
She previously worked for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in New York as its senior advisor for HIV prevention and young people.
The annual QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards were handed out this morning at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre at an event which attracted over 500 guests. The awards recognise QUT alumni who have achieved outstanding results in their careers and communities.
Dr Gillespie has a Diploma of Education, Graduate Diploma in Health Science and a Bachelor of Education from QUT and is an Honorary Fellow of QUT's School of Public Health.
Her career began as a health and physical education teacher in Brisbane. In the late 1980s she won scholarships that enabled her to do postgraduate research into health promotion at the University of Oregon.
This morning's other alumni award winners included Lions Football Club CEO Michael Bowers and Queensland property developer Lawrence Truce (the man behind the Indigo Group).
Communications graduate Stephanie Jarvie won the Outstanding Young Alumni Award for a career which has seen her use her expertise in media and technology to open up new channels of communication for the Scottish Government, Number 10 Downing Street, the European Commission and the 2005 G8 Summit at Gleneagles.
The 2006 QUT Outstanding Alumni Award recipients are:
Chancellor's Outstanding Alumnus, Health - Dr Amaya Gillespie, Secretariat Director for the UN Secretary General's Study on Violence Against Children.
Special Excellence Award - Contribution to Industry and the Community - Lawrence Truce, Indigo Group
Special Excellence Award - Jason Pourpouras, Australian Federal Police (Australian Embassy, Jakarta)
Built Environment & Engineering - Mike Wilke, chief operating officer, Parsons Brinckerhoff Americas
Business - David Pradella, joint managing director, The Pradella Group of Companies
Creative Industries - Peter Alwast, artist
Education - Dr Joseph Pagelio, permanent secretary for education, Papua New Guinea Department of Education
Humanities & Human Services - Dr Gregston Terrill, international climate change negotiator
Information Technology - Greg Davies, vice-president (human resources), Mincom
Law - Michael Bowers, CEO, Lions Football Club
Science - Paul Nitz, CEO, Panbio Ltd
Outstanding Young Alumnus - Stephanie Jarvie, general manager of public affairs, Ericsson
Media contact: Janne Rayner, QUT media manager, 07 3864 2361 or j2.rayner@qut.edu.au.
** Profiles and photos are available for all award winners
Content sourced from QUT News Web Service.