Your 2025 Westfield Parramatta Local Hero is:

Ebony Badman

Westmead Hospital

Heartfelt. Innovative. Unstoppable.

Of the 5,000 babies born every year at Westmead Hospital, around 1500 will spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where they and their families receive Ebony’s love and attention. 

Ebony is a NICU nurse who goes beyond medical care to ensure that families feel as comfortable, positive and supported as possible.  

Ebony sees her work as a privilege. “We are determined to give our premature and sick babies their best start. Through relationships and activities, I watch parents become confident, learn new skills and become amazingly resilient families,” she says. 

“You see these families grow and we celebrate together when they get to take their miracle baby home. That joy and excitement when the NICU journey is finished and they go home, means the world as a nurse,” adds Ebony. 

Her initiatives in the unit include leading a ‘readathon’ that gives parents the chance to bond with their babies through reading. Ebony also personally funds decorations, books and prizes to make the ward friendlier and feel less clinical. In addition, her care extends to bereaved families, sourcing memory-making items to provide comfort during loss. 

Through her efforts, Ebony is described as someone who makes everyone feel seen and valued during their NICU journey. 

The $20,000 grant will be used to purchase critical medical equipment for infant intubation and phototherapy in the NICU.

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We’d like to thank and acknowledge our finalists who will receive a $5K grant for the organisation they represent...

Kalil Gibran Henrichs Pinto from The Kaizen Foundation

Kalil founded the Kaizen Foundation to teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to disadvantaged youth, offering them the chance to build discipline and resilience in a supportive community. His programs, inspired by his own positive experiences with Jiu-Jitsu, help up to 700 children. Kalil collaborates with schools and local organisations to ensure everyone can take part, regardless of background.

Nicole King from Riding for Disabled Association Tall Timbers

For three decades, Nicole has helped young people with physical, cognitive or social disabilities to participate more in society through equine programs. Starting as a volunteer and now program coordinator and staff coach, she leads therapeutic programs that help with life skills, social skills, speech and mental health.

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If you need support, please phone Lifeline: 13 11 14

Recognising all our 2025 nominees

View all of the Westfield Parramatta nominees and their organisations.