PLC Old Collegian, Winks Shephard (Sheedy 1988), has been honoured with the prestigious 2023 Principal’s Inspiring Old Collegian Awards for the Dr June Jones Award. This accolade recognises individuals like Winks whose unwavering commitment to volunteerism and professional accomplishments has made a significant positive impact, not only locally but on a national and international scale.

Winks’ journey of giving back began at 16 when she and her mother volunteered tirelessly at Rocky Bay, offering companionship and care to disabled children. Nearly every weeknight for two years, Winks and her mother would visit the children at Rocky Bay, helping them with their dinner, then playing with them before bedtime.

Witnessing firsthand the lack of age-appropriate care deeply moved Winks, igniting a lifelong passion for supporting those in need. “It just broke my heart to see these children who just wanted to be seen”, said Winks.

With a successful career in events management under her belt, Winks transitioned seamlessly into philanthropy, co-founding Autism West in 2006. This charity, aimed at supporting families and providing co-curricular resources for children on the spectrum, quickly became a beacon of hope for many struggling parents.

Winks’ tireless efforts extended beyond Autism West as she dedicated her time to various charitable endeavours, including organising large-scale fundraising events and serving on the OCA Committee.

Her recent appointment as President of the OCA reflects her unwavering commitment to fostering a strong sense of community within PLC. Through initiatives like the ‘Parent Collegian’ keyring gifts, Winks is bridging the gap between generations, ensuring that the PLC community remains interconnected for life.

For Winks, service is not just a duty but a privilege—a way to make a tangible difference in the lives of others. “There are people in this world that are givers, be a giver.” Said Winks. “Seek happiness in life, and know that giving to each other is the best source of happiness.”

Her inspiring journey serves as a reminder that each of us has the power to create positive change in our communities, one selfless act at a time. As we celebrate Winks Shephard’s remarkable achievements, we are reminded of the profound impact one individual can have on the world around them.

The Dr Patricia Kailis Award highlights the innovative contributions of younger alumni, particularly women who are trailblazers in their fields of expertise.

In 2022, the award was presented to Professor Kathryn Holt (1999) and it was graciously accepted by her aunt and past PLC member of Senior Leadership, Jenny Rankin.

Katie is a computational biologist specialising in infectious disease genomics, and a Professor at Monash University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Katie has a BA/BSc from UWA majoring in Biochemistry, Applied Statistics and Philosophy, with Honours in Genetics, a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Cambridge and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute on the genomics of typhoid fever, and a Masters in Epidemiology from the University of Melbourne.

Katie runs a computational genomics research group utilising genome sequencing to study the evolution and transmission of bacterial pathogen and hospital associated pathogens. Her lab is particularly interested in the global health crisis of multidrug resistant pathogens, and human and environmental microbiomes and their role in chronic disease, infectious disease, and horizontal gene transfer. They develop bioinformatics software when needed, including laboratory and computational methods for nanopore sequencing.

In 2022, the award was presented to Professor Lennie Barblett AM (1977) in a hybrid pre-recorded presentation as she was unable to attend.

Lennie’s research focusses on curriculum development, pedagogy, and pedagogical leadership for effective early childhood. Embedded in this is her interest in the role digital technologies play in children’s learning, development and wellbeing, educator’s teaching and learning, and the connection and engagement of families.

In 2021, Lennie was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her service to tertiary education and early childhood teaching. In the same year, she was also named winner of Engagement Australia’s Outstanding Engagement for Research Impact. She is also a chief investigator on the Australian Learning Frameworks Update project 2020-2022 and Kindytxt, a digital literacy texting program for families of kindergarten children.

The winner of the Dr Patricia Kailis Award, which celebrates achievement in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship for alumni aged 40 years and younger, was Kendall Whyte (2010).

Kendall is the 2021 recipient of the WA Young Australian of the Year for her work in the establishment of the Blue Tree Project.

Driven by the suicide of her brother, Kendall started the Blue Tree Project to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

Blue trees can now be spotted throughout Western Australia and indeed, Australia. A former PLC boarder, her work is helping thousands of people to understand mental illness and prevent suicide.

The winner of the Dr June Jones Award, which recognises an Old Collegian whose accomplishments demonstrate a significant, positive impact – locally, nationally or internationally, is an inspirational role model and has made a difference to the lives of others through their dedication in giving back to the community, is Diana deVos-Beck OAM (1960).

Diana has been heavily involved in the dance and ballet community locally and internationally. Diana has been the Principal Dancer with the West Australian Ballet (1962) and the Kalinka Dance Company (1972) and has danced with the Northside Ballet Company in Sydney (1972).

Diana created and ran the Diana deVos School of Ballet in New South Wales. In 1978, Diana passed the RAD Advanced Teachers Certificate examination and became a founding member of the Royal Academy of Dance Advisory panel of WA in 1982. She then in from 1997-99 was the chairperson of this panel and was the recipient of the Royal Academy of Dance President’s award in 2012.

In 1997, Diana co-founded the Terpsichore Dance Centre (TDC); a full-time dance school affiliated with the Northlake Senior High School to enable students to complete academic studies to TEE (HSC) level. Then, Diana became a lecturer of Dance at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) from 1999-2008.

Diana presented at the 26th Annual International Conference of the Association for Dance Medicine and Science in 2016 in Hong Kong where she presented on “The Role of Health in the Development of Classical Ballet in W.A. 1950 to 2016”.

In 2015, Diana was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for Services to the Performing Arts and in  2017, she was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Dance.

The inaugural award was presented to Tasmin Venter (2008).

Ms Venter joined Shell as a graduate engineer and has been a trailblazer for women in engineering at the company.

Her role has taken her across the world and in the past few years she has worked on the Prelude FLNG, the first project of its kind to develop the world’s largest floating structure and the first floating LNG vessel.

Ms Venter’s most recent position as Reliability Engineer requires creativity and innovation for the FLNG, one of the most challenging oil and gas assets in the world.

The inaugural award was presented to Donna Shepherd AM (1980).

Ms Shepherd is the Chair of the Board of Directors of World Vision International and the Managing Director of Creating Communities Australia.

She is a humanitarian, entrepreneur, and consultant. Her passion for social justice saw her move into international development, working with El Taller in Tunisia and lecturing in international development in masters programmes in the United States, Ecuador, and Australia.

At World Vision, Ms Shepherd launched the ‘It takes a world to end violence against children’ campaign in Addis Ababa in 2017.

In 2020, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to children through international humanitarian aid organisations.

Kate’s career reflects the power of following curiosity, purpose and opportunity. “It doesn’t matter if you’re not sure of the direction you want to take in your career,” she shared. “If you follow things that you’re interested in, and take up the opportunities that come your way, you can find yourself doing work that you love.”

After graduating from PLC, Kate completed an Honours degree in Geophysics at the University of Western Australia before commencing work in the mining industry. Over time, her career led her into international development, environmental research and community leadership, including transformative work in Pakistan and Cambodia.

These global experiences shaped her approach to leadership and respect for diverse knowledge systems. “There are many different ways of understanding the world,” Kate said. “What I grew up with is not the only way, and not inherently better than other ways.”

Kate currently works as Manager of Ranger Programs at Tjamu Tjamu Aboriginal Corporation in the Great Sandy Desert, where she supports Indigenous Ranger and Indigenous Protected Area programs. Her work blends traditional knowledge with modern science. “The best programs are grounded in traditional knowledge, then strengthened by modern approaches,” she explained.

One of the most meaningful parts of her work is time spent on country with Elders and Rangers. “The best parts of my job are when I’m camping out on country,” Kate said.

Reflecting on her journey, Kate encouraged young women to stay open to possibility. “When I was your age, I had no idea a career like this existed. But the choices I made and the paths I took led me here in the end.”

Kate’s story continues to inspire students and Old Collegians to lead with purpose, curiosity and compassion.

Belinda holds qualifications including BSc, BVMS (Hons), MVS and FANZCVS (Radiology) and has built a distinguished career across clinical practice, specialist medicine and professional mentoring. With early experience in equine medicine and surgery, and a long-standing interest in exotic animals and wildlife, she has developed a reputation for clinical excellence and collaborative leadership.

She is a Specialist Veterinary Radiologist with more than 19 years of experience and is a founding director of Animalius, a privately owned, multidisciplinary specialist veterinary hospital. Her work focuses on advanced diagnostic imaging, veterinary education and fostering sustainable, supportive workplace cultures within the profession.

Belinda has been a committed member of the Radiology Chapter of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists, serving multiple terms as President. She is widely respected as a mentor and examiner for both Fellowship and Membership candidates across small and large animal practice.

Her commitment to education extends to her roles as lecturer and tutor with Murdoch University, the University of Adelaide and the University of Sydney. She is the author of multiple publications and has contributed to original research that continues to advance veterinary knowledge and practice.

Through her career, Belinda has demonstrated the impact of curiosity, courage and a willingness to step beyond comfort zones. Her professional journey remains a powerful example of the leadership, determination and service that the OCA Inspiring Woman Award celebrates.

Born and raised on a farm in the Wheatbelt, Robyn has 30 years of experience across the education, agriculture, mining and health sectors. Focussing on regional development, stakeholder engagement, community infrastructure and business leadership. She has lived and worked in regional WA and Queensland and also spent time working overseas.  She has worked for a federal government Minister, Rio Tinto, UWA and the WA Country Health Service in addition to being on a number of Boards including the Royal Flying Doctor Service in both WA and nationally. She joined the Royal Agricultural Society of WA as the CEO in March 2022 and is the first female CEO of the organisation in its 192 years.  As part of the role, Robyn runs the Perth Royal Show – WA’s largest community event with 345,000 attending the 2022 show.  She was a PLC boarder and graduated in 1990.

Rebecca is a remarkable and inspiring Old Collegian who has enjoyed an eminent career as an Environmental Engineer for the past 20 years.

Rebecca is currently working for the Global Water Institute based in Ohio USA focused on programme development for water, sanitation, and income-generating activities in rural Tanzania as part of a national rehabilitation initiative. In this role as in other roles, Rebecca has played her part in bettering the fabric of our society and that of developing nations. 

Born in 1991 and based in Perth, Tessa MacKay paints contemporary realism, large-scale hyperrealism and photorealism portraiture.

Reluctant to be boxed in by an overt singular concept or style, Tessa paints diverse subjects ranging from entertainment icons, to the indigenous ‘Montagnard’ people of Vietnam and Aboriginal Australians.

In every instance, she strives to meaningfully engage with her subjects and their story as a means to inform her thematic, stylistic and compositional approach. Above all else, through her own interpretive prism, Tessa seeks to create honest works that capture a subject’s essence, drawing the viewer’s empathy, curiosity, fascination and ultimately, shared humanity.

Tessa’s most recent portrait of David Wenham, titled ‘Through the Looking Glass’ is a 2019 Archibald finalist and winner of the Archibald Packing Room Prize.

Tessa has also been extending her artistic talents into the film industry and was the costume illustrator in the feature film The Furnace, written and directed by Tessa’s husband, Roderick MacKay. The Furnace hits cinemas Thursday 10 December.

Judith Gardam LLB, LLM, PHD, FASSA is Emeritus Professor at the University of Adelaide Law School and is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia.

Judith graduated PLC during an era where community expectation was that marriage and a family were a woman’s ultimate goal. The headmistress of PLC at the time, Dr Summers, however, always impressed on “her girls” the value of a University education, and with the somewhat bewildered agreement of her parents, Judith completed a Law degree at the University of Western Australia.

Partly because of the difficulties confronting women in the legal profession at that time, combined with a very restless spirit, it took Judith quite some time to determine where her vocation lay. She moved to Melbourne in the late 1970s where she found her feet as a teacher and scholar and commenced a journey that has been all consuming and infinitely rewarding. Judith is a feminist international law scholar, and the focus of her work has been on increasing the legal protections for civilians and, in particular women, during times of armed conflict.

One of the most interesting aspects of her work is that it has brought her into contact with a range of international actors including the military of various countries, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organisations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to name a few. Judith’s work is the first in the field and she is acknowledged as an international expert on the topic. Her scholarly writings led to her election as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. On reflection, her career is somewhat of a total surprise to Judith as there were no role models for her at the time and she had no real plan, but it worked out.

For her, every moment has been worthwhile.

After taking a year off after school to work back on the family farm and drive around Australia, Jane studied Sports Management at university. She then worked at the Ministry of Sport and Recreation followed by St Hilda’s school as their Outdoor Education assistant. Still feeling she hadn’t found her true calling, she applied for a position as a career fire fighter. Six months later and after an arduous application process, she was selected with 17 others to start at the firefighting recruit school. At that stage, there were only eight women in the service in WA.

Jane is now in her eighteenth year as a fire fighter, for the last seven years she has worked as a Station Officer in charge of her fire station platoon and at any one incident may manage up to three fire truck crews.

As well as going about her everyday life as a fire fighter, Jane is used to responding to some extreme emergencies. She has extinguished ship fires in Dampier, helicoptered stranded flood victims in the states north, searched for missing persons during New Zealand’s earth quakes (first ever overseas deployment from WA), contained large chemical spills, cut people out of cars, not to mention the obligatory rescuing cats out of trees! She has competed and won the ultimate fire fighters challenge in Canada, and was a runner recipient in New York.

Jane considers herself extremely fortunate to be a member of the first operational all female fire truck crew in Australia. She is passionate about her profession, and continues to train and recruit firefighters as part of her ongoing commitment to the organisation.

Georgie Smith is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, chef and designer, who grew up in Perth and graduated from PLC in 1986.

Georgie founded the non-profit organisation, A Sense of Home (ASOH), after her random act of kindness for an aged-out foster youth formed a model for a community based solution to an escalating crisis.

A Sense of Home is a non-profit organisation based in Los Angeles that is dedicated to creating homes, community and a new beginning for foster youth after exiting the foster-care system.

Foster youth exiting the system are more likely to become homeless or incarcerated than any other population (at a cost of $8billion/year to the tax payer).

In just three years, A Sense of Home has created 240 homes changing the trajectory of 320 young lives. Georgie has hired a staff of all former foster youth to run the organisation, empowering the once disenfranchised to become leaders of sustainable change.

In 2016, Georgie was honoured as a Top 10 CNN Hero for her pioneering, grassroots, community-building work. She was also nominated as one of seven 2017 “Sheroes” at the Women’s Choice Awards, and included in the 2017 global book and exhibit “200 Women Who Will Change the Way You See the World.”

ASOH is a model to be replicated around the US and the world. Georgie and fellow ASOH founder, Melissa Goddard, will soon launch a social enterprise that will benefit ASOH, aged-out foster youth and anyone creating their first ever home. Georgie is dedicated to building healthier, more loving communities from the ground up.

Prior to ASOH Georgie was a designer of new homes, interiors, landscapes and events. The events that Georgie creates also included her own unique culinary expression.

You can read more about Georgie and ASOH at her website.