Professor Raymond Sacks, Woollahra NSW 2025

For distinguished service to otolaryngology, to clinical training, to tertiary education, and to governance roles.

Raymond Sacks

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS)

• Vice-President, since 2025
• Councillor, 2019
• Australia and New Zealand Scholarships and Grants Committee, 2020
• Chair, Court of Examiners, 2021-2025
• Chief/Senior Examiner, Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, 2012-2014
• Deputy Senior Examiner, Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery 2010-2012
• Examiner, Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery 2004-2014, and 2020-2021
• Member, International Medical Graduate (IMG) Committee, since 2013
• Member, Australia and New Zealand Board of Surgical Research, 2013-2014
• International Medical Graduate Representative, Board of Otolaryngology, 2013-2019
• Fellow, since 1996
• Australian Society of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery (ASOHNS)
• Immediate Past President, 2025
• President, 2022-2024
• Vice-President, 2020-2022
• RACS Speciality Elected Councillor, Federal Council, current
• Member, Federal Covid-19 Committee, since 2020
• Councillor, Otolaryngology Speciality Board, 2019
• IMG Representative, RACS, 2013-2019
• Senior Examiner, 2012-2014
• Chair, NSW Branch, 2003-2005
• NSW State Representative to Federal Council, 2003-2007
• Supervisor of Surgical Training and Member, NSW Regional Training Committee, 1999-2010

Macquarie University

• Professor and Head of Discipline of Otolaryngology, 2015-2019, and since 2024
• Associate Professor and Head of Department of Otolaryngology, 2010-2015
• Honorary Clinical Academic Appointments Committee, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, since 2016
• Clinical Accreditation Committee, Australian School for Advanced Medicine, 2010-2016
• Medical Advisory Committee, Macquarie University Hospital, 2010-2012
• Visiting Medical Officer, Macquarie University Hospital, since 2010

University of Sydney

• Clinical Professor, Sydney Medical School, since 2015
• Head of Discipline, ENT Surgery, Affiliated Medical Schools, c2017-2022
• Member, Concord Institute of Academic Surgery, since 2016
• Clinical Associate Professor, Sydney Medical School, 2008-2015
• Concord Clinical School Representative, Academic Credentialling Committee, since 2015
• Member, Medical Advisory Committee, Sydney Adventist Hospital, 2013-2019
• Head, Department of Otolaryngology, Concord General Hospital, 1999-2012
• Academic Head, Department of Otolaryngology, Concord General Hospital, 1999-2015
• Medical Advisory Committee, Dalcross Hospital, 2006-2010
• Chairman, Multidisciplinary Tracheostomy Steering Committee, Concord General Hospital,
• 2006-2008
• ENT Centre, Private Practice, 1994-2024

Australian and New Zealand Rhinologic Society

• Immediate Past President, 2013-2017
• President, 2009-2013
• Vice President, 2006-2008
• Secretary/Treasurer, 2003-2006
• Executive Board Member, 2003-2017

International Rhinology Society (IRS)

• Australian Representative, Executive Board, 2008-2019
• Honorary Life Member, European Rhinology Society, 2021
• Former Australian Representative, Overseas Committee, American Rhinologic Society

Federal Department of Health and Ageing

• ENT Representative, Panel of Clinical Experts, since 2008
• Australian Medical Association Representative, MBS-OHNS Implementation Liaison Group, 2020

State Government

• Committee for Endoscope Selection, NSW Department of Health, 2019-2020
• Advisor in Otolaryngology, Victoria Health Care Complaints Commission, 2017-2019

Publications

• Co-Author, Book, Endoscopic Surgery of the Orbit – Anatomy, Pathology and Management, Thieme Publishers, 2017
• Co-Author, Manual of Endoscopic Sinus Surgery, Medtronic Publishers, 2018
• Editorial Board, American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy, Australian Journal of Otolaryngology, and Journal of Laryngology and Otology
• Guest Editor, American Journal of Rhinology and Laryngology
• Reviewer, 14 International Journals
• Co-Author/Author, >150 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals
• Co-Author/Author, 23 Book Chapters
• Google Scholar, h-index 44, i10-index 98

Awards and Recognition include:

• James Hardie Niell Annual Oration, New Zealand Society of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Inc, NZ, 2022
• Educator of the Year, RACS Academy of Surgical Educators, 2020
• Ann and Julius Hicks Annual Lectureship in Otolaryngology, University of Alabama, USA, 2020
• Joe D’Souza Medal for ASEAN Societies, Hyderabad, India, 2019
• Garnett-Passe/Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation Medal, 2018
• Medal for Distinguished Service to Surgery, NSW RACS, 2017
• Society Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the Art and Science of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, ASOHNS, 2015
• Medal for Distinguished Service, IRS, 2015
• Medal for Outstanding Service to Court of Examiners, RACS, 2014
• Concord Clinical School Award for Teaching, 2010
• Sydney Adventist School Award for Teaching, 2008
• Gold Medal for Academic Excellence, South African Society of Otolaryngology, 1994

Raymond Sacks told JWire about receiving his award: “ It was totally unexpected and I was thrilled to bits.
I’ve always loved teaching, and I’ve been actively involved for probably the last 30 years, if not longer.
I was partially responsible for bringing endoscopic sinus surgery to many third-world countries
I did a study on burnout a number of years ago, and the incidence of burnout in our surgical trainees was unbelievably high.”
I did a lot of work in terms of changing the on-call ratios, better working conditions and working hours for the surgical trainees, and I’m very proud of that.”
It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.”

David Dinte

For significant service to the not-for-profit sector, to the Jewish community, and to children.

• NextSense (formerly Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children)
• President, since 2019
• Chair, since 2019
• Vice President, 2009-2018
• Board Member, since 2000
• Chair, Investment Committee, since 2019
• Chair, Building and Capital Works Committee, since 2003
• Board Member, The Trustee for the Elisabeth Murdoch Scholarship Trust, current
• Chair, Fundraising Committee, 2017-2018
• Former Member, Master Plan Committee
• Chair, Nominations and Governance Committee
• Former Member, Appeal Committee
• Signatory, Memorandum of Understanding, Macquarie University, since 2020
• Life Member

Australian Friends of Tel Aviv University

• Member, Board of Governors, since 2012
• Director, NSW Division, current
• President, NSW Division, 2010-2016
• Chair, Trustee Incorporated Association, current
• Chair, Founder, and Sponsor, Scholarship Fund Tel Aviv University, New South Wales, since 2014

The Central Synagogue

• Director, c2000s
• Treasurer, 2001-2003

Sydney Jewish Museum

• Former Treasurer
• Former Director
• Young Presidents’ Organisation, Australia and New Zealand
• Founder, New South Wales Chapter, 2011
• Member, since 2002

South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club

• Director, Souths Cares, since 2015
• Benefactor, The David and Judy Dinte Theatre, The Community and High Performance Centre, 2022
• Member, current

Community

• Director, HopeTown School, 1998-2007

Professional

• Managing Director, DD Corporate, since 2008
• Member, International Council of Shopping Centres, current
• Member, Australian Institute of Company Directors, current
• Managing Director and Chief Executive, Terrace Tower Group, 1997-2007

Awards and Recognition include:

• Plaque, The Community and High Performance Centre, South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, 2022
• Regional Gold Award, Young Presidents’ Organisation

David Dinte told JWire: “I’m just grateful that I’m in a position that I can do this work and help people who are in need.
I was the president of the Australian Friends of Tel Aviv University’s New South Wales division for six years.
One of the greatest things that I was proud of in that involvement was that during that period, I created a scholarship fund.”
With that scholarship fund, I’ve sent many students to Tel Aviv Uni. Most of them have been non-Jewish, which has been fantastic. They’ve come back as great ambassadors for Israel.

I’m involved with NextSense, formerly known as the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children.
We help some 11,000 families across Australia with vision and hearing impairment
Seeing the impact I have on less fortunate people is a huge reward for me. I just absolutely love it.”

Jason Steinberg, QLD

For significant service to the Jewish community in Queensland, and to historical commemoration.

Jason Steinberg

Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies

• President, 2021-present and 2009-2017.
  • Vice-President, 2017-2021 and 2003-2009.
  • Public Relations Chair, 1990-1997 and 2003-2009.
  • Long-standing leader of the roof body of Queensland Jewry.
  • Managed institutional relationships and communal advocacy.
  • Served as a primary spokesperson for the Queensland Jewish community.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry

• Vice-President, 2021-present and 2009-2017.
  • Provided national leadership and strategic direction for the Australian Jewish community.

Queensland Holocaust Museum and Education Centre

• Founding Chairman, 2021-present.
  • Led the concept, cross-government funding acquisition, and physical and digital launch of Queensland’s first dedicated Holocaust museum.
  • Helped create an enduring space for students and visitors to learn directly from the stories of Queensland Holocaust survivors.

Australian Holocaust Museum Alliance

• Co-developed the national governance structure to establish the inaugural alliance of Holocaust museums in Australia.

Queensland Government Ministerial Multicultural Advisory Council

• Council member, 2014-2019.
  • Appointed by the state government to advise on policy.
  • Contributed to work that led to the development of the Multicultural Queensland Charter and the passage of the Queensland Multicultural Recognition Act 2016.

Australian Jewish News

• Queensland correspondent, 1988-1996
• Reported on, documented and researched communal affairs, antisemitic incidents and Holocaust survivor narratives in Queensland.

World Jewish Congress

• Member of the Australian delegation, Budapest, Hungary, 2013.
• Represented the Australian Jewish community in international sessions focused on rising European antisemitism.

Maccabi Australia and Maccabi Queensland

• Board of Governors, Maccabi Australia, 2016-present.
• Life Member, Maccabi Queensland, awarded 2016.
  Contributed for decades to youth leadership and community connection through sport.

Maccabiah Games

• Media Manager, Team Australia, 1993 and 1997 Games in Israel.
  • Managed media and public relations for the Australian delegation at two Maccabiah Games.
  • Was on the bridge during the tragic 1997 Maccabiah bridge collapse.

Jason Steinberg told JWire: “I had a family who fled the pogroms in Russia to have a safe and healthy life in Australia, so it’s very rewarding for our family history to have this recognition.

Being a journalist and covering stories for the Australian Jewish News for nearly a decade gave me such a connection to the wonderful people in the Queensland community and the Australian community.

Combating antisemitism and really standing up for our rights as a community to feel safe has been part of me.

Without a Holocaust museum, we can’t educate people to understand racial hatred. Opening that in 2023 was a huge moment for me.

To see it functioning with kids meeting survivors, kids meeting descendants and really changing their perspective on who Jews are and what hatred really is, that’s hopefully a legacy.

It’s part of the fabric of Queensland education now.”

Simon Tedeschi, Newtown NSW 2042

For significant service to music as a concert pianist.

Simon Tedeschi

Pianist

• Concert Pianist, since 1990
• Performer, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Malta, 2015
• Lecturer, various workshops, including the Queensland Music Festival

Films

• Cast Member, The Musical Mind; A Portrait in Process, 2023
• Pianist and Hand Double, Shine, 1996

National Solo Performances include:

• Sydney Symphony Orchestra, various performances including productions of ‘Meeting Mozart’ and ‘Who needs a conductor anyway’
• Utzon Music Series, Sydney Opera House
• Musica Viva Australia
• UKARIA Cultural Centre, Mount Barker Summit, South Australia
• Shanghai Arts Festival, Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle
• Perth Theatre Trust

International Solo Performances include:

• Opening Recital, The Australian Pavilion, The World Expo, Nagoya, Japan, 2005
• G’day USA Concert, Carnegie Hall, New York
• Colorado Symphony Orchestra, United States
• Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, United States
• Illinois Symphony Orchestra, United States
• Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand
• Abu Dhabi International Arts Festival, United Arab Emirates
• Sony Music Australia – Album Releases
• Debussy – Ravel, with Roger Benedict, 2023
• A Winter’s Tale, with Roger Benedict, 2018
• Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23, with Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Alexander Briger, 2013
• Enoch Arden, with Alfred Tennyson, Richard Strauss and John Bell, 2017
• Tender Earth: Australian Music for Piano, 2014
• Gershwin and Me: Take Two, 2013
• Gershwin and Me, 2012
• Simon Tedeschi and Ian Cooper, 2008
• Piano Concertos: Tchaikovsky, Grieg, with Queensland Orchestra and Richard Bonynge, 2006
• Simon Tedeschi, 2000
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• Regular Guest, Spicks and Specks
• Subject, Australian Story, 1999

Publications

• Author, Fugitive, collection of poetry and prose, 2022
• Author, This woman my grandmother, Essay, 2022
• Patronages
• Roving Ambassador, Australian Children’s Music Foundation
• Blue Mountains Concert Society
• Bowraville Theatre and Cultural Festival
• Sydney Eisteddfod
• Ryde Eisteddfod

Awards and Recognition include:

• Calibre Prize, Australian Book Review, 2022
• New York Young Jewish Pianist Award, 2009
• Overseas Study Award, Queen’s Trust, 2008
• Centenary Medal, 2003
• Young Performer of the Year Award, Symphony Australia
• Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust Scholarship

Simon Tedeschi told JWire: “Artists and musicians are, in many ways, the pulse of society. I’d like to think that in my own way I have and will continue to contribute to making Australia a more compassionate and more intelligent place, and making it a more tolerant place.”

Jonathan Leo Teperson, NSW

For significant service to the Jewish community through a range of organisations.

Jonathan Teperson

Jewish Communal Appeal

• Non-Trustee, Board of Governors, 2012-2018
• Member, Executive Committee, 2012-2018
• Chair, Building and Capital Committee, 2017-2018
• Treasurer, 2012-2017
• Chair, Investment Committee, 2012-2017
• Member, Investment Committee, 2005-2011
• Member, Major Donors North Shore Fundraising Committee, 2008-2012
• Trustee, Board of Governors, 2005-2008

Masada College

• Committee Member, Steering Committee, North Shore Education Review Taskforce, 2018-2021
• Board Member, Hyman Abromovitch Foundation, 2005-2019
• Committee Member, North Shore Education Review Taskforce, 2012-2015
• President, 2005-2008
• Treasurer, 2002-2005
• Board Member, Finance Committee,1988-2002

Judith Neilson Family Office

• Chairman, Judith Neilson Family Office, 2015-2022
• Director, Judith Neilson Head Trust, 2018-2022
• Director, Judith Neilson Institute of Journalism and Ideas, 2018-2022
• Director, Judith Neilson Foundation

Professional

• Chief Financial Officer, Lowy Family Group Holdings, 2006-2011
• Director, Finance and Administration, Westfield Group, Australia, 1986-2001
• Deputy General Manager, Finance Big W, Woolworths Group, Australia, 1983-1986
• Corporate Accountant, Pick ‘N Pay Stores Ltd, South Africa, 1977-1983

Jonathan Teperson told JWire: “I’ve always felt that when you can give back, you should. I enjoyed working with tremendous organisations, with Masada College and with the JCA.

I have had the opportunity of working with a lot of fantastic people.”

Professor Bernard Edward Tuch, Randwick NSW 2031

For significant service to endocrinology and to medical research.

Bernard Tuch

New South Wales Stem Cell Network

• Chair, 2002-2022, 2023
• Co-Founder, 2002

Stem Cell Research

• Advocate, successful passing of embryonic stem cell legislation in Parliament and gained support from key Parliamentarians in changing laws to permit therapeutic cloning, New South Wales Stem Cell Network
• Founder, New South Wales Transplantation Group, 1992

Diabetes Research

• Director, Pursuing encapsulated cell therapies for insulin-dependent diabetes, Australian Foundation for Diabetes Research, since 2014
• Project Leader, Diabetes Therapy Project, Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation 2010-2014
• Member, Professional Advisory Panel, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Australia, 2004-2012

Endocrinology – Practice

• Consultant, Endocrinologist, Physician Practice Specialist, since 2009
• Director, Diabetes Transplant Unit, Prince of Wales, Hospital, 1991-2009

Living Cell Technologies

• Chief Executive Officer, 2021-2022
• Chairman, 2002-2022

Education

• Adjunct Professor, Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Monash University, since 2012
• Director, Diabetes Transplant Unit, The University of New South Wales
• Honorary Professor, The University of Sydney, 2014-2021

Medicine – Other

• Member, Xenotransplantation Society, 2000
• Member, Scientific Review Panel, Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, 2012
• Member, Regenerative Medicine Advisory Group, AusBiotech, 2016
• Member, Bellberry Human Research Ethics Committee, 2017
• Member, Advisory Committee on Biologicals, Therapeutic Goods Administration, 2019-2021
• Former Non-Executive Director, Diatranz Otsuka Limited

Research Impact

• h-index – 37

i10-index – 113

• Citations – 5844

Other

• Co-founder and Life Governor, Mount Sinai College, Maroubra

Bernard Tuchman said to JWire

“Achieving this goal has demanded passion, perseverance, and long-term commitment. While there is still work ahead, we are now closer than ever, with the endpoint clearly in sight.”

Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the General Division

Dr Dov Aharon Degen, Brighton VIC 3186

Dov Degen

For service to medicine, and to mental health support.

Tallilah May, VIC

Kevin Slomoi, Caulfield North VIC 3161

For service to the Jewish community.

Kevin Slomoi

Jewish Community

• Chairman Fee Assessment Board of Jewish Education Foundation, since 2022
• Treasurer and Director, Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, since 1999
• Board Member, Jewish Community Services, 1997-2000
• Member, Finance Committee, Jewish Care, 2001-2004
• Board Member, Jewish Education Foundation, since 2025
• Member, Project Fortify Committee, Community Security Group Victoria, 2019-2021
• Trustee-Community Security Group Victoria, since 2023

Professional

• Principal, KS Advisory, since 2019
• Partner, Deloitte Australia, 2015-2019
• Partner, GMK Partners, 1991-2015
• Senior Manager GMK Partners 1989-1991
• Group Financial Controller, Afcol Ltd, South Africa, 1987-1989
• Senior Manager, Grant Thornton, South Africa, 1982-1987

Mt Scopus Memorial College

• Member, Executive Committee and Council, 2002-2007
• Treasurer and Chairman, Finance Committee, 2003-2007
• Member Finance Committee 1996-2003

Professional Memberships

• Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, since 1990
• South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, 1984-2009

Kevin Slomoi told JWire: “I feel that we all have an obligation to contribute to our community, be it time and/or money. It is so fulfilling to witness how one’s actions may have assisted in improving an organisation or sometimes bettering people’s lives!”

Dr Paul Valent, Melbourne VIC 3004

Paul Valent

For service to the Jewish community.

Melbourne Child Survivors of the Holocaust Group

• Co-founder, 1990
• Former Founding President
• Member, since 1990

Melbourne Holocaust Museum

• Former Member, Testimonies Advisory Panel

Australasian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies

• Co-founder, ~1980s
• Former President
• Life Member, since 2007
• Member, since ~1980s
• Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
• Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist, 1971-1996
• Distinguished Fellow, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, since 1970
• Former Senior Lecturer, Psychiatry, Monash University
• Former Liaison Psychiatrist, Monash Medical Centre
• Member, Mental Health Response Team, Ash Wednesday Bushfires, Victoria, 1983
• Prince Henry’s Hospital, Melbourne
• Former Liaison Psychiatrist
• Co-establisher, Liaison Psychiatry Team, 1980s

Publications

• Author, ‘Mental Health in the Times of the Pandemic’, 2021
• Author, ‘Heart of Violence: Why People Harm Each Other’, 2020
• Author, ‘Trauma and Fulfillment Therapy: A Wholist Framework’, 2013
• Author, ‘In Two Minds: Tales of a Psychotherapist’, 2013
• Author, ‘From Survival to Fulfillment: A Framework for the Life-Trauma Dialectic’, 1998
• Author, ‘Child Survivors of the Holocaust’, 1994

Valent told JWire: “I am glad that the issue of the Holocaust and its effects, especially on children, was recognised.” “I hope the honour will help to give credence and emphasis to my recent books and writings.”

The awardees were interviewed by Rob Klein

Did we miss anyone? Let us know by emailing [email protected]