2011 winners
Colin Jensen
Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering 2011 Outstanding Alumni Award Winner and Chancellor's Outstanding Alumnus Award Winner
Colin Jensen is one of Queensland's outstanding engineers and Chief Executive Officer of Brisbane City Council. With an annual budget of $2.9 billion, an asset base of $22.5 billion and some 9000 employees servicing 1.1 million people, Brisbane City is the largest local government in Australia. Appointed in 2010, Colin came to the role from a twenty-three year career in the Queensland Government, a period coinciding with one of unprecedented growth. From 2007, Colin was Coordinator-General and Director-General of the Department of Infrastructure and Planning where he was instrumental in modernising the State's planning, development and local government systems. Colin also led the development of legislation - the Iconic Places Act 2008, Local Government Act 2009, Sustainable Planning Act 2009, and City of Brisbane Act 2010. He framed the SEQ Infrastructure Plan & Program 2009 to 2031 and led the delivery of Queensland's $124 billion infrastructure program, the largest in its history. Earlier, Colin served in senior executive roles within Queensland Transport and the Department of Main Roads including Deputy Director-General of Queensland Transport and General Manager (Road System and Engineering) within the Department of Main Roads. He developed and implemented significant innovations in advanced transport modelling and strategic planning systems which are still in use today. Colin is a nationally and internationally recognised figure in Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), having held the roles of President of ITS Australia and Chair of ITS Asia-Pacific, which has fourteen member countries. Colin continues to serve on boards that are important to the delivery of services and investment to Queensland, including City Smart, the TransLink Authority, the City of Brisbane Investment Corporation and the Brisbane Institute. Colin was also a Champion of the community of Aurukun on Cape York. In 2011, for the fourth year running, Colin was named one of Australia's top 100 most influential engineers. Colin graduated from QIT with Honours in a Bachelor of Civil Engineering.
Nathan Mayfield
QUT Business School 2011 Outstanding Alumni Award Winner and 2011 Special Excellence Award Winner
Nathan Mayfield is Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of Hoodlum, an award winning Brisbane-based creative studio that combines traditional screen production with online design and programming to produce high quality content for multiple entertainment platforms. Nathan and business partner Tracey Robertson, both of whom had worked in serial TV in Australia, formed Hoodlum in 1999 at a time when multiplatform entertainment was not fully understood in the screen industry. In 2001 they co-produced Fat Cow Motel, as a world-first multiplatform drama series. This was followed by multiplatform extensions of some of the most popular entertainment franchises on television including LOST, Spooks, Emmerdale and the Sony feature film SALT. Nathan is also the co-creator and co-producer of Foxtel's new multiplatform drama series SLiDE. Today, Hoodlum has cemented its place in this rapidly developing global industry with a raft of awards including two BAFTAS (Spooks Interactive), two EMMYs (Dharma Wants You and Primeval Evolved) and Global Media Awards (FIND815). Nathan completed a Bachelor of Business (Film and Television Production).
Tracey Robertson
Creative Industries Faculty 2011 Outstanding Alumni Award Winner and 2011 Special Excellence Award Winner
In 1999, in a bold and pioneering move, Tracey Robertson founded Hoodlum with business partner Nathan Mayfield. As Chief Executive Officer, Tracey secured international partners and broadcasters to support Hoodlum's multi-platform projects when local interest was limited. She worked with Screen Queensland to develop policy and funding guidelines for building an internationally competitive production industry. The big break came in 2001 with Fat Cow Motel and a succession of on-line and interactive experiences for well-known international TV franchises including the BAFTA winning Spooks Online and Emmy Award winning Dharma Wants You for Lost. Day X Exists, an interactive experience for the Angelina Jolie feature film SALT, was completed last year, while the multiplatform drama series SLiDE will air on Fox 8 in August. Tracey is a regular speaker and participant in local and international forums including the prestigious industry conference MIPTV in Cannes, the National Association of Broadcasters USA and Transmedia Hollywood. Tracey graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts).
Julie Grantham
Faculty of Education 2011 Outstanding Alumni Award Winner
Julie Grantham has served with distinction in the Queensland Public Service, and is currently Director General of the Department of Education and Training. Julie taught for fourteen years at schools in Brisbane South and Gold Coast and was Foundation Principal at both Robina State High School and Varsity College. In 2002, Julie was appointed Education Queensland's Executive Director of Schools (Gold Coast South) and two years later, Assistant Director-General (School Resourcing and Administration). In 2007, Julie left the education sector to accept the position of Deputy Director-General (Justice Administration) within the Department of Justice and Attorney General. Later that year she became Acting Director-General, advancing to Director-General in 2008. Julie returned to education in 2009 in her present role. Julie is also a director of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership and the Australia Council for Educational Research (ACER). Julie completed a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) at BCAE and later, a Masters of Education (Leadership and Management).
Jacqui Reed
Faculty of Health 2011 Outstanding Alumni Award Winner
Jacqui Reed is Chief Executive Officer of the CREATE Foundation, which represents children and young people in out-of-home care. CREATE is in the vanguard of those leading historic reform of the child protection system. Jacqui has grown CREATE from a small, underfunded organisation into a nationally acclaimed body with a clear vision and targeted strategy. It is now considered a leader in the field, generating an annual 'report card' on government activities in the sector and is consulted nationally and internationally. Jacqui is also a member of a number of prominent child welfare organisations including the Coalition of Organisations Committed to the Safety and Wellbeing of Australia's Children, and the board of Families Australia, whose advocacy led to the 2009 COAG National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children. Jacqui's achievements have been recognised with two Child Protection Week (QLD) Awards and a Domestic Violence Prevention (QLD) Award. Jacqui completed a Bachelor of Social Science (Human Services) with Distinction in 2000.
Allison Stanfield
Faculty of Law 2011 Outstanding Alumni Award Winner
Allison Stanfield is Director and CEO of e.law, a company specialising in the nexus between technology and the law. e.law has managed many high profile matters including the HIH Royal Commission and the Oil for Food Inquiry. e.law has offices throughout Australia and in Hong Kong, the UK and Canada, and counts as its clients some of the world's largest legal, corporate and government organisations. Allison is considered a pioneer in the field of legal technology, in particular, courtroom technology and evidence management systems, and has authored two books on litigation examining the collection, management and presentation of digital evidence. Allison lectures in QUT's Masters of Law, Electronic Litigation course which she developed, and her firm assisted the University to establish its Electronic Moot Court. Prior to the establishment of e.law, Allison was a solicitor at Corrs Chambers Westgarth and registrar at the Queensland Court of Appeal. Allison graduated with a Bachelor of Laws and Masters of Law and is currently undertaking a PhD in the authentication of digital evidence through QUT.
Dr James Bradfield Moody
Faculty of Science and Technology 2011 Outstanding Alumni Award Winner
Dr James Bradfield Moody is the CSIRO's Executive Director of Development. James has worked for CSIRO since 2004 as General Manager - Government and International, General Manager - International, and Director of Divisional Business Strategy for the Division of Land and Water. For over a decade, James has also had a strong association with UN activities on space, science and technology, the environment and sustainable development. Currently he is an Australian National Commissioner to UNESCO. James recently co-authored the book The Sixth Wave: How to Succeed in a Resource-Limited World which examines how resource scarcity will drive the next wave of innovation, but he is best known to the Australian public as a panellist on the ABC's New Inventors program. In 2000, James was named Young Professional Engineer of the Year and Young Queenslander of the Year. By 2005 he was included in the top 100 most influential engineers in Australia. James qualified with First Class Honours in a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) and Distinction in a Bachelor of Information Technology.
Special Excellence Awards
Special Excellence Awards may be made each year at the discretion of the Chancellor's Judging Panel. Alumni in this category often display strengths in one area of professional or academic achievement, or exceptional contribution to the community at the local, state, national or international level.
James Teh
2011 Special Excellence Award Winner
James Teh is Vice President and Co-lead Software Developer of the not-for-profit organisation NV Access Inc. James and business partner Michael Curran, drew on their experiences as blind computer users to develop the free, open-source program, NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA). This software provides a synthetic voice to read words on a computer screen as the cursor moves over them, enabling blind and vision impaired people to access computer systems for no more cost than for a sighted person. Deemed worthy of further development, the project attracted grants from Mozilla Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, Yahoo! and Adobe Inc. In 2009, NV Access Inc won a Vision Australia 'Making a Difference' Award for its work on NVDA. In 2010, the invention won James and Michael the ABC's New Inventors program 'Les is More' award. Translated into 32 languages, the software is now used in over 150 countries. James graduated from QUT in 2005 with a Bachelor of Information Technology.
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award
The QUT Alumni Board also recognises outstanding achievement of graduates up to 35 years of age at the time of nomination. The winner of an Outstanding Young Alumnus Award is recognised as a high achiever, though yet to develop the depth of experience and career history of earlier graduates.
Caroline Austin
2011 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award Winner
Caroline Austin is the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' (IFRC), Beneficiary Communications and Accountability Delegate in Pakistan where she has been working with populations affected by the devastating floods that swept that country in 2010. Pakistan estimates that over 20 million of its 170 million people have been affected by this disaster, with over 1,900 killed, and one in twelve of the population rendered dependent on aid for survival. Caroline also coordinated Red Cross and Red Crescent programming in the aftermath of the Bali Bombings and the 2004 Asian Quake and Tsunami. Following graduation, Caroline was a solicitor at McInnes Wilson Lawyers before working as International Affairs and Humanitarian Law Officer for the Australian Red Cross. She has also been part of Red Cross emergency responses to natural disasters in Australia for the past eight years. Caroline has a Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Law (Industrial Relations) from QUT and a Master of Public and International Law from the Melbourne Law School.
Lenine Bourke
2011 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award Winner
Lenine Bourke is Artistic Director of Contact Inc, an arts and cultural organisation committed to positive social change and the promotion of inter-cultural understanding through creative collaborations with diverse communities. Lenine has driven a large number of successful youth arts programs and is well-known for her association with Youth Arts Queensland, the IDEAS Festival, Stylin'Up Regional, and Transit Lounge. Currently, Lenine is collaborating on projects with the Canadian company Mammalian Diving Reflex and is a member of the Australian Theatre Forum Curatorial Committee and Arts Queensland's state-wide Touring Assessment Committee. More recently Lenine was Executive Director of Young People and the Arts Australia. In 2006 Lenine was awarded the Australia Council for the Arts, Kirk Robson award for innovative leadership and commitment in working with Indigenous, regional and youth communities. In 2009 she was awarded the Brisbane Lord Mayor's Creative Fellowship to undertake research in the area of Social Practice. Lenine graduated with First Class Honours in a Bachelor of Arts (Drama) and also completed a Bachelor of Education (Secondary).