Alumni Achievement Awards

Amélie Wen Zhao is the New York Times, Sunday Times, and internationally bestselling author of the Song of the Last Kingdom duology and the Blood Heir trilogy. Amélie was born in Paris and grew up in Beijing, where she spent her days reenacting tales of legendary heroes, ancient kingdoms, and lost magic at her grandmother’s courtyard house. She attended college in the United States and now resides in New York City, working as a finance professional by day and fantasy author by night. In her spare time, she loves to travel with her family in China, where she’s determined to walk the rivers and lakes of old just like the characters in her novels do. The Scorpion and the Night Blossom is coming January 2025.

David Su is at the forefront of video game audio and interactive music technology, working on award-winning games with innovative audio-driven mechanics as well as publishing research papers, speaking at conferences, and contributing to the open-source community. 

David was invited to contribute two chapters to the fourth volume of the book Game Audio Programming: Principles and Practices, which was published in December 2023. His work has been featured in outlets such as NPR, Rolling Stone, and the Los Angeles Times. 

He strives to work on projects that have a positive impact on audiences. To that end, Brass Lion Entertainment, where David is currently the senior audio programmer, is a studio focused on creating original fictional universes that center on Black, Brown, and other traditionally marginalized characters, cultures, and stories. Similarly, One Hand Clapping, a singing-based game which he worked on prior to joining Brass Lion, has helped many players gain confidence in their singing voices. That positive impact also extends to his role as a professor at the University of Southern California, where he teaches students the fundamentals of sound design and implementation for games. 

David is actively involved in the local game audio community in Los Angeles as well. He is one of the co-organizers of the Game Audio LA group, helping put on monthly meetings as well as special events such as a talk series. David also mentors students interested in game audio, both through one-on-one mentorships as well as volunteering at a local high school. 

Justine Sylvester is a global development professional currently working as a Land Tenure Specialist at The World Bank. In this role, Justine focuses on social sustainability and land rights in the context of mining and the green energy transition (‘Just Transition For All’). Justine has experience working on related issues of community engagement, green growth, land governance and tenure security, and civil society–private sector partnerships. 

Before joining The World Bank through the Young Professionals Program (YPP), Justine was based in Laos for several years, where she was a Technical Advisor in the Land & Livelihoods Program at a grassroots organization (Village Focus International). Prior to this, Justine worked for the Australian Federal Government.  Justine holds a Masters in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development. 

Mathilda Ström is the co-founder and Deputy CEO of BIMA, the leading digital health and insurtech in Africa and Asia with 10m active users across 7 countries. She launched the business in Ghana in 2010 with a vision to disrupt the traditional insurance industry by bringing affordable insurance to underserved customers. Leveraging on its insurance experience, BIMA is now providing affordable and accessible digital healthcare and telemedicine solutions to empower people to take control of their health, alongside mechanisms like insurance to finance their care. She has also served on the boards of Micro insurance Network, Azuri (a PayAsYouGo Solar company in Africa) and Tangelo (a tech company providing alternative credit in Latin America). She has been recognised in top 9 future female leaders in Sweden and as one of the 50 female entrepreneurs to watch in 2022. Originally from Sweden, and mother of two, she currently lives in London.

Tina Huang is an AI and tech content creator with an audience of more than 800,000. She also built a learning platform that teaches students AI skills to work on freelance projects from real companies. Previously, she was a data scientist at Meta. Tina got her master’s degree in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto.

Wendy Qiu is currently (as of April 2024) a 6th-year associate at Holland & Knight, an international law firm with over 2,000 attorneys. Her clients have ranged from Fortune 500 companies to pro bono sexual assault victims and tenants in slumlord cases.

Wendy recently completed oral argument in front of the United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit (one level below the Supreme Court). This type of opportunity is rarely given to a mid-level, 6th-year associate at a large international law firm. As a first-year associate, Wendy conducted an internal investigation of one of the world’s largest video surveillance companies. As a junior associate, she was heavily involved in litigation strategy, drafting, and management for the high-profile case UCLA Vs Under Armour.

During law school, Wendy externed/clerked for the Honorable Dolly M. Gee, the first Chinese American women to serve as an Article III Judge (Federal District Judge). This Alumni Achievement Award finalist is also on the Pro Bono Advisory Council for civil rights advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California.