Local Citizen of the Year Awards
On Australia Day Council recognised the outstanding work of the local community’s unsung heroes at the Local Citizen of the Year Awards. These awards honour the individuals and organisations who generously donated their time and effort to help others and improve the Ku-ring-gai Community.
2025 Local Citizen of the Year Award Winners
Citizen of the Year - Madeleine Steel
Three years ago Madeleine decided to set up the Empowering Parents in Crisis (EPIC) an organisation, as a way of connecting those parents needing support and social outings.
EPIC provides peer support to parents and carers of young people and recognises parents as first responders to their children and supports them by creating a safe, non judgemental community that empowers parents with the knowledge, skills and confidence to enable them to best support their young person, their family and themselves.
With nearly 400 members and its community outreach work has touched many lives in the local area. Last year EPIC created 1065 parent/carer connections, supported 709 people through a phone helpline, organised 24 walks for parents/carers and hosted 29 workshops and forums.
Maddy continues to work tirelessly to help parents and carers because she understands the power of connection through peer support and the impact it has on the lives of those lucky enough to have access to it.
Young Citizen of the Year - Matthew Hayes
Matthew a Turramurra resident was a student at Ku-ring-gai High School and is passionate about politics, public transport and planning and advocating for young people with disabilities.
Since leaving school, Matthew has been volunteering at the Sydney Tramway Museum and running his YouTube channel Aheadmatthewawesome which has nearly 2000 subscribers and over half a million viewers. Here he showcases transport, planning and infrastructure in NSW. What makes this achievement more remarkable is at a young age Matthew was diagnosed with autism and doctors thought he would be unable to speak at all.
One of Matthew’s greatest demonstrations of community leadership has been his contribution to the NSW Youth Parliament. Matthew was selected to be the Youth Member for Wahroonga and helped develop bills on a range of topics, including the creation of an alternative suspension program in schools.
Matthew’s ability to connect with young people was exemplified with his peers electing him to the prestigious position of Youth Deputy Premier.
Environmental Citizen of the Year - Sofia Zvolanek
Sofia has contributed significantly to ecological, scientific and environmental education throughout greater Sydney and Ku-ring-gai via the platform Inaturalist, as well as through her volunteering with groups such as the Powerful Owl Project and the Growing Food for Wildlife Project.
Within Inaturalist, Sofia has contributed a staggering 25,306 observations, with 2,224 species recorded and 154,535 identifications across the platform. Sofia’s involvement in planting days with the Growing Food for Wildlife Project has seen Sofia teach participants about mycelium and fungi and shed light on the mutualistic relationships between the two. Sofia has also been involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife. In 2023, Sofia was a finalist for the Nature Conservation Council ‘Rising Star’ award.
As an active member of BirdLife Australia’s Powerful Owl Project, scouting owls and recording data into a BirdLife’s app (BirdData), Sofia has contributed to the collection of data pertaining to tree height and hollow dimensions as a means of allowing BirdLife Australia to better inform land managers on how to manage such habitat. Her passion for sharing what she has learned has had a great influence many people’s journey into the ecological sciences
Mayor’s Award for an Outstanding Contribution by a Community Organisation - Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women's Shelter
The Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter has been awarded today in recognition of their efforts to support women and children in crisis.
Every day, the shelter serves as a lifeline for individuals who are experiencing domestic violence, providing a safe space and essential services. The shelter also offers holistic support services that empower women to rebuild their lives such as access to financial advice, outreach services, counselling and other support services. Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s shelter plays a crucial role in raising awareness about domestic violence through education, community outreach and partnerships with local organisations and schools.
The Shelter has a dedicated volunteer board and extensive volunteer network. All of these individuals are driven by their passion to make a positive impact on the community and to help turn the tide on the domestic violence crisis. Each of these individuals dedicate their time and energy to enable the shelter to continue providing its critical service and thereby helping women to reclaim their futures.
For any enquiries please contact the Events Team events@krg.nsw.gov.au.