King's College London

Alumna of the Year – Errollyn Wallen CBE (Music/Composition, 1983)

This accolade recognises someone who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and impact.

A multi-award-winning composer, Errollyn has written 22 operas and performed on stages across the world. She made history as the first Black woman to be featured in the BBC Proms and was the first woman to win an Ivor Novello Award for Classical Music. In 2024, Errollyn was appointed Master of The King’s Music by King Charles III and made the 28^th Fellow of the Ivors Academy.

Through her talent and ingenuity, Errollyn is opening doors for talented alumni from all backgrounds as they follow in her footsteps.

On her royal appointment, Errollyn said: ‘It will be a privilege and great honour to serve His Majesty the King. I look forward to championing music and music-making for all.’

Helen Hudson Award – Kelvin Miranda (Chemistry & Management, 1993)

The award honours alumni who have made an exemplary contribution to our King’s community.

Kelvin was recognised for his role as President of the King’s College London Alumni in Malaysia Committee. In his time as President, Kelvin has played a key part in welcoming and hosting alumni in Kuala Lumpur and making them feel part of the King’s family.

A proud alum, Kelvin’s sense of service and dedication towards his King’s network are values he shares with alumni across the world.

He comments: ‘My time at King’s instilled in me the discipline to learn independently, the curiosity to explore beyond the classroom and the resilience to navigate challenges with purpose.’

Future Alumnus Award – Mahdi Sadeghi (Medicine, 2025)

This accolade recognises a current King’s student who has demonstrated exceptional potential alongside their studies through extracurricular activities.

Mahdi founded a UK-registered charity, Empathos Foundation. Through this, he led impactful work in education and poverty relief.

Within academia, he supports thousands of students annually. These include medical students through medical education programmes and aspiring healthcare students from widening participation backgrounds. By organising these free educational initiatives, he helps students develop transferable skills and insights into higher education and healthcare careers.

Within welfare, Mahdi creates volunteering opportunities for his fellow students. He has distributed essential items to individuals experiencing homelessness and he has fundraised for numerous humanitarian causes internationally. He established a health clinic in Iraq, providing free care to orphans. He has also raised funds to purchase a free-running ambulance in Afghanistan, construction of water wells in East Africa, and provision of humanitarian relief for families affected by poverty, conflicts and natural disasters.

Mahdi is an inspiring young man whose activities exemplify our ethos of service to society.

In Service Award – Dr Khaleda Zaheer (Periodontology MClinDent, 2024)

This accolade recognises a member of the King’s alumni community who has made a significant impact to society through charitable or voluntary work.

Dr Zaheer is the Chief Executive Officer of Refugee Crisis Foundation, a UK-registered charity and an international humanitarian organisation working in the health and education sector. With nearly a decade of experience, she has led healthcare responses in refugee camps across Asia and Europe, and she is at the forefront of delivering oral healthcare and ear and hearing care services in crisis settings.

Alongside service delivery, Khaleda is deeply engaged in research and advocacy. She is currently supporting dental schools in Gaza and developing training programmes for health workers in Afghanistan. Through her work, she has forged partnerships with the United Nations, Royal College of Surgeons of England, academic institutions and NGOs to create context-appropriate models of care for displaced populations.

‘I’m blessed to have the opportunity to work in the humanitarian sector – to not only deliver vital services, but also to advocate for those who are often unheard,’ says Khaleda.

Changemaker Award – Oscar Davies (French & History, 2016)

This accolade celebrates alumni who are changing the status quo for good.

Oscar is an award-winning human rights barrister at Gardens Court Chambers. Their work covers multiple areas, from climate justice to media law. As the UK’s first publicly recognised non-binary barrister, Oscar is paving the way for trans and non-binary rights in the UK. In 2024, they were named Legal 500’s LGBTQ+ Champion of the Year.

Inspired by their time at King’s, Oscar is challenging restrictive laws around gender identity and advocating for under-represented communities. At King’s, Oscar sung in the chapel choir, acapella groups and won the John Taylor Book Prize (2014) for the highest mark in a modern French literature module.

In their words: ‘I was the first barrister to come out publicly as non-binary, so I do lots of advocacy around transgender and non-binary rights. This work was informed by the variety of gender theory modules I did in my final year at King’s and the fearsome tutors that I had who taught me to challenge the status quo.’

Local Communities Impact Award – Dr Souci Frissa (PhD Psychiatric Epidemiology, 2009)

This accolade recognises a King’s graduate who has made an outstanding impact within one of King’s home boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark or Westminster.

Dr Frissa is the Chief Executive Officer of Black Thrive Global, a partnership organisation that brings together communities, statutory bodies and voluntary groups. These stakeholders collaborate to tackle systemic and structural inequalities that adversely affect the mental health and wellbeing of Black people, while embedding race equity in systems changes needed for Black people to thrive. Black Thrive Global’s approach integrates research, mobilises communities to advocate and share their experiences in crafting solutions, and drives systemic change.

Prior to her role at Black Thrive Global, Dr Frissa combined an academic career with mental health research. Her commitment to addressing social and health inequities, and enhancing the lives of individuals in London and beyond serves as an inspiring example for our alumni and student community.

Business & Entrepreneurial Award – Feargus MacDeaid (Law, 2009) & Nnamdi Emelifeonwu (Law, 2009)

This accolade recognises alumni who have demonstrated exceptional entrepreneurial acumen and a drive to make the world a better place through their business.

Co-founders of Definely, Nnamdi and Feargus are transforming how lawyers read and review complex contracts. What began as a tool shaped by Feargus’ lived experience navigating the legal world as a blind lawyer has grown into a solution used by more than 100 global organisations, helping legal professionals work faster and more accurately.

By solving for the edges, Definely is removing barriers across the legal profession – reflecting values deeply shared within the King’s community. In 2025, the company was recognised as one of the UK and Ireland’s fastest-growing start-ups on the prestigious Sifted 100 list.

Feargus reflects: ‘King’s played a massive role in helping me understand the technology and support that would allow me to succeed in the workplace.’

International Impact Award – Joseph Healy (MSc Psychology & Neuroscience of Mental Health, 2021)

This accolade recognises a member of our alumni body who has made an outstanding impact globally or within an international community, and is working to address worldwide challenges.

Joseph is the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Judo Bank. He raised $1.5 billion to build the bank, which is now listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. He has also held executive positions at NAB, ANZ, Citibank and Lloyds Bank. Inspired to action by the tragic death of his son, Joseph retired from finance and took an MSc in Psychology & Neuroscience of Mental Health at King’s in 2020.

Since graduating in 2021, he has been working on building a more integrated approach to mental health through the acquisition of more than 100 mental health clinics across Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, and revolutionise their practice. His new business, Malu Health Group, aims to deliver one million treatments per year to help address the mental health crisis in Australia.

‘Think big and work with like-minded people,’ says Joseph when asked about what advice he’d give to those wanting to create impact make the world a better place.

STEM Award – Francis Jones (MA STEM Education, 2023)

This accolade recognises a member of the King’s alumni community who is driving transformation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, arts or mathematics.

Francis Jones is the founder of STEM@Home. Now known as SnapGrade, which develops AI-based EdTech products, this innovative start-up addresses educational inequality in science. Recognising a critical gap in hands-on science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning for disadvantaged students, Francis developed curriculum-aligned experiment kits and an AI-driven marking solution to improve access to high-quality science education, particularly for those with special educational needs.

Francis’ work on building STEM@Home saw him win the Innovate UK Unlocking Potential Award in 2024. He is one of the few King’s alum to receive this honour.

When asked what his advice would be to fellow entrepreneurs taking on similar challenges, he says: ‘Never be afraid to ask for help. And struggle, challenge and rise to struggle again.’

Arts & Culture Award – Alex Beard CBE (Classics, 1984)

This accolade recognises alumni who have made outstanding contributions to creativity and cultural impact.

Alex has been Chief Executive of the Royal Ballet and Opera since 2013, transforming the Royal Opera House’s Grade 1 listed home, leading the organisation through the financial challenges of the pandemic and strengthening its reputation as one of the world's leading artistic enterprises. He previously worked at the Tate family of galleries in several senior roles, playing a key role in creating Tate Modern. He has had many high-profile board and advisory roles in the arts, and is currently chair of High House Production Park.

Alex’s commitment and passion for the arts and education is helping connect people across our King’s community and beyond. To fellow alumni pursuing a similar path, Alex advises: ‘Try enough stuff to find out what you’re good at and where you can make a difference. Stretch yourself and never negotiate with yourself. Make sure to take time for colleagues, friends and family along the way.’

Global Health Award – Dr Rachel Baggaley OBE (MBBS Medicine, 1984)

This accolade recognises someone who has demonstrated outstanding impact in the medical or healthcare sectors.

Dr Baggaley worked as the team lead for testing, prevention and populations in the Global HIV, hepatitis and STI programmes at World Health Organization in Geneva. Before that, she worked on HIV in all regions with a focus on post-conflict countries and fragile states.

In 2024, she was awarded an OBE for her services to people living with HIV and global health.

Says Rachel: ‘I’ve spent much of my life working on HIV. This infection disproportionately effects people from marginalised communities.

‘I hope my focus on working in partnerships with these communities, including their voices, listening to their challenges and the ways they’d like to receive services, has had an impact on HIV service delivery in low- and middle-income countries.’

Emerging Leader Award – Jonathon Dawes (Philosophy, Politics & Economics, 2024)

This accolade celebrates alumni who are changing the status quo for good.

Jonathon is an award-winning changemaker and the youngest Councillor for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). He has transformed tennis in his hometown, co-founded the Queen’s Club Foundation Inclusive Player Pathway and co-authored the refreshed LTA Tennis Leaders Qualification. The latter is delivered to 10,000 young people every year.

He sat on the Pride in Tennis Board and was a Panel Member on the Youth Sport Trust’s Unified Action Project, supporting volunteer pathways for under-served young people. Jonathon has collaborated with 16 English counties, Tennis Wales and Tennis Scotland to develop tennis, and led the Sport for Peace event promoting Arab-Israeli dialogue through tennis.

At King’s, his ‘inclusive by design’ vision made tennis the largest sport on campus, increasing participation by 66% and earning KCL Tennis the BUCS Club of the Year award for 2023-2024. Now a NINE DTP Scholar at Durham University, he runs Disability Tennis Workshops and launched KCL’s first LGBTQ+ Tennis Festival as an alumnus.