Country Education Foundation of Australia (CEF) announced the winners of the 2020 Alinta Energy – CEF Alumni Awards during a live, virtual event connecting current and past recipients, foundations, the CEF National team and passionate stakeholders on Saturday 7 November, 2020.
An amazing 42 nominations were received for the five award categories from almost half of the local foundations spread throughout rural and regional areas in five Australian states and territories. From women in STEM through to wool classing and optometry, this year’s awards recognise achievements of current and past recipients from a wide range of vocations.
Alinta Energy – CEF Alumnus of the Year
Brooke Kaveney (CEF Young)
Alinta Energy – CEF Community Champion
Lauren Hutchinson (CEF Orange & Districts)
Alinta Energy – CEF Young Achiever
Raymond Happ (Coonamble & District Education Foundation)
Alinta Energy – CEF Launching Star
Jamee Johnson (Blackall-Tambo District Education Group)
Alinta Energy – CEF Rising Stars
Heather Walker (CEF Grenfell) and Matilda Langford (Shoalhaven Education Fund)
Winner of the highest accolade, CEF Alumnus of the Year and Charles Sturt Alumni Brooke Kaveney recently completed her PhD on soil biochemistry and is starting a post-doctoral research position with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). Much of Brooke’s research focusses on the importance of scientific collaboration in developing a hunger free world. “It is an honour to be awarded Alumnus of the Year. Previous winners have accomplished so much and I feel privileged and humbled that my work has been recognised to be of a similar standard,” Brooke said.
Brooke was proudly nominated by Leanne Parkman, Chair of CEF Young. This is testament to the pride CEF volunteers feel for students and the investment they have in their success.
CEF CEO, Juliet Petersen is thrilled to see nominations and engagement in the CEF Alumni Awards grow significantly in only their third year. “This shows how passionate our volunteers are about access to education, the students they support and how exceptional the youth of rural and regional Australia are,” Mrs Petersen said.
“We are delighted to acknowledge Brooke, Lauren, Raymond, Jamee, Heather and Matilda and look forward to seeing what the future holds for all our winners and nominees and our ever-growing alumni network.”
Alinta Energy General Manager Sales & Marketing, Jane Mills, comments, “Alinta Energy would like to congratulate all the nominees and award winners; everyone should be very proud of their achievements during such a challenging year. The future is looking very bright with the abundance of talent showcased in those nominated, further highlighting the impact of CEF’s amazing work.”
Country Education Foundation of Australia (CEF) is an education charity offering equity-based financial support for further education to young people (16-25) in the 44 locally based foundations based in rural and regional Australia.
