WESTMINSTER ALUMNI AWARDS 2020

Westminster Alumni Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of graduates from the University of Westminster, as well as from our predecessors including the Polytechnic of Central London and Regent Street Polytechnic. The awards have now been running for three years, and in that time they have highlighted the variety of ways our graduates make a real impact across the globe.

This year, we received hundreds of strong submissions about the amazing things our alumni are doing, and senior staff from across the University had the challenging task of choosing just three finalists in each of our six categories. Almost 7,000 people from around the world then took part in a public vote to choose your six winners.

Here we present the winners of the Westminster Alumni Awards 2020.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

PROFESSOR CHRISTOPHER EVANS SCIENCE BSC,1976

Dr Christopher J. Evans is Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and holds the Stefan Hatos Chair for Neuropharmacology. He received his BSc from the Polytechnic of Central London in 1976 and his PhD from the Medical Research Council Institute and Imperial College in London. He completed his postdoctoral training at Stanford University and accepted a faculty position at UCLA, where he continued his research on the opioid system.

His research accomplishments have included the identification and characterisation of several novel endogenous opioids or endorphins/ enkephalins; the cloning of the first opioid receptor; and formative studies demonstrating opioid agonist bias. Dr Evans has published over 220 peer-reviewed publications, predominantly related to opioid neurobiology, and he has over 11,600 citations of his research papers.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AWARD

JOSHUA BAKER CONTEMPORARY MEDIA PRACTICE BA, 2012

Since 2012, Josh has built a remarkable career in documentary journalism. He has dedicated himself tirelessly to investigating stories that focus on humanitarian issues; often from some of the world’s most dangerous conflicts. He has been nominated for two Emmy Awards, and shortlisted for three Grierson Awards and eight other awards for reporting and directing films on topics that range from the fall of ISIS, to sex work in the UK, and the plight of refugees. This year alone his films with Louis Theroux and Stacey Dooley have been watched by over three million people.

Josh is the first in his family to go to university, and at just 30 years old he has not only built an incredible career in the creative arts but has dedicated himself passionately to telling the stories that must be told and helping to protect the journalists that tell them.

ENTREPRENEURIAL AWARD

LETTIJA LEE LAW LLB, 2006

Working as a paralegal at the global live events company Live Nation, Lettija developed a love for attending music festivals. At Wireless Festival in 2012, she noticed a lot of plastic waste including rain ponchos, and the eco-warrior in her decided to look into alternatives to plastic ponchos. She found a factory that supplied 100 per cent biodegradable and compostable material, which could be used to make biodegradable rain ponchos.

With her law school loan and LLB loan to repay, Lettija was determined to keep start-up costs down. She taught herself basic coding and built her website herself. Using her knowledge of intellectual property law and an intensive course in brand management, she registered her chosen brand name, Peco Poncho, as a UK trade mark and registered the company. In the years

SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD

JOHN BERT MACATO INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT MA, 2015

Before John began at the University of Westminster, he was a survivor of Typhoon Haiyan. The typhoon desolated 95 per cent of infrastructure and 10,000 people perished. Right there and then, John decided to give back to humanity. With support from Westminster’s Disaster Regeneration Fund, his postgraduate degree gave him the leverage to handle projects in protracted armed conflicts. He joined the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and for the past five years, has been doing his part in protecting civilians affected by armed conflict; especially vulnerable groups such as women and children. John manages hospital projects of the ICRC in countries including Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria.

that followed, Peco Poncho has supplied numerous brands including Virgin, Savills, Net-a-Porter and The Royal Collection (Buckingham Palace gift shop).

RECENT GRADUATE AWARD

ETHEL TAMBUDZAI DEVELOPMENT STUDIES AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BA, 2018

Following her graduation from Westminster in 2018, Ethel founded Tambu Group, a consulting firm which led her to introduce investments in renewable energy and infrastructure across emerging markets, working with clients from South Africa, Georgia, the Caribbean and the UK.

Additionally, she co-founded Sonaaar, a platform connecting Black communities around the world through arts, culture and heritage. Launched in October 2019, Sonaaar believes in the collective wealth of the afrodiaspora to self-sustain through their three ‘A’s: altruism and mentorship, amplifying voices and altering the narratives of Black experiences and achievements.

We spoke to Ethel to find out a little more about her recent accomplishments:

You have achieved some amazing things since graduating just two years ago – what do you personally feel is your greatest success? “This one’s difficult. With Tambu Group I really had to pull myself up by the bootstraps and turn up to meetings with investors and government officials. By getting myself into rooms where I felt like the smallest person there (at 5’ 2” I probably was!), I was fuelling myself with courage to walk into even bigger rooms. This was an incredible achievement for me realising that as long as I was willing to take up space I was offered, I could do anything.

“On the other hand, launching Sonaaar is my greatest achievement to date, because I believe that building platforms and services for Black communities is my calling. It has taught me so much about myself, about the journey of growing your passion into an experience that others can share with you.” In what ways is Sonaaar contributing to the Black Lives Matter movement? “One of our three ‘A’s represents amplifying the voices of the diaspora. We have been speaking with members and our community partners around the world to hear their stories and share them across our network. We have been to Black Lives Matter protest marches, signed petitions and we are in the process of joining forces with Black businesses that have come to our attention; to improve the circulation of the Black pound/dollar/yen to rebuild the Black economy. Alongside this, we have been holding organisations we have associated with to account, by asking them about their long-term commitments to racial diversity; because it’s clear that ‘diversity of thought’ is not enough. We are also in discussions with different heritage organisations on how we can build strong and resilient institutions to support the objectives of the movement until justice is served.”

What are your plans for Sonaaar over the next year? “Our focus is supporting Black communities post-lockdown. During economic downturns, Black communities are often disproportionately affected financially, socially and in relation to their access to services. We are looking to launch a digital platform that allows our members to access tools for building capital one step at a time, and learn what support is available for them when they need it.”

What does it mean to you to have won a Westminster Alumni Award? “Winning the Westminster Alumni Award is like all the years I spent at Westminster running towards me and embracing me for the woman I’ve worked to become today. It feels emotional, glorious and shocks me into appreciation for myself for continuing to endure. There are lights in the tunnel, not just at the end! Thank you so much again to all who voted, it means a lot.”

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

KOW ESSUMAN LAW LLB, 2007

Kow is admitted to practise law in England and Wales, New York State and Ghana. He holds an LLM degree from the prestigious Cornell University in New York, where he argued cases successfully before the Social Security Administration. In 2017, he was appointed by the President of Ghana as his Assistant Secretary and Counsel, to assist the Secretary to the President and act as legal adviser to the President. For two years, he lectured the law of Trusts on the University of London LLB External Programme offered by Zenith University College in Accra and tutored law students at the Ghana School of Law in Advocacy and Ethics.

Kow has been voted the Most Influential Young Ghanaian, nominated as one of 100 Most Influential People of African Descent and one of 100 Most Influential Young Africans.

We caught up with Kow to learn some more about his achievements:

What do you pinpoint as your biggest professional achievement? “At this point in my career, it has to be being appointed by the President of Ghana as Assistant Secretary and Counsel in his office, because the President himself, being one of Ghana’s very accomplished lawyers with many years of experience, would consider a number of factors before choosing a legal adviser in his office. Therefore, for the President to appoint me to this office and in this capacity shows that he is confident in my professional ability. Working as Counsel to the President is also a very rare opportunity, and has given me a unique perspective to the practice of law.”

What does a typical day in the office look like for you? “Unlike my previous job where I could predict what my typical day in the office would entail, my current role does not give me that luxury. Every day brings its own challenge. It can include giving legal advice to the President, drafting a piece of legislation, reviewing documents to be sent to Parliament, responding to petitions, organising the swearing-in ceremonies of constitutional and statutory office holders, and many other exciting things. I sometimes have the opportunity to travel with the President around the country and to other countries.”

What motivates you to push yourself further in your career? “I believe that God created everyone in this world to fulfil a purpose in their generation, and it is my desire to fulfil that purpose. That motivates me to continue to push myself further in my career.”

What does it mean to you to have won a Westminster Alumni Award? “I consider winning the Outstanding Achievement Award a humbling experience. Being shortlisted as a finalist and then winning the public vote has proved to me that my hard work has not gone unnoticed. I thank everyone who believed in me and voted for me.“

COULD YOU WIN A WESTMINSTER ALUMNI AWARD? Look out for more information from January 2021, or visit westminster.ac.uk/westminster-alumni-awards to find out more.