Sean Kahn: Inaugural Robin Crawford Memorial Scholarship recipient

Photo of a man with short dark hair and round glasses, wearing a pink shirt. He is behind a lectern and speaking to the left of the camera.
Sean Kahn is studying CSI UNSW's Graduate Certificate in Social Impact and was the recipient of the inaugural Robin Crawford Memorial Scholarship in 2019.

When Sean realised early on in his career he was driven by making a positive social and environmental impact, it became a light bulb moment for him in shaping his path.

He’s now “found his sweet spot” in his Sustainability Advisor role at Frasers Property Australia - working at a project and systematic level, with a focus on collaboration and shared value:

“I’ve worked across a broad range of areas, including green building design, research, risk consulting, corporate sustainability and responsible investment,” explains Sean.

“Ultimately I’m responsible for helping to drive positive social, environmental and economic outcomes across all stages of development at Frasers.”

Sean’s interest in measurement, innovation and shared value has been a “perfect” alignment with the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact, which he is currently studying part-time at the Centre for Social Impact.

“The program was on my radar for a while and one course in I’ve already been able to apply my learnings,” says Sean.

“I’m also enjoying the opportunity to network and collaborate with my peers in the program, who work across the corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors."

Sean’s hope is that the program will provide him with the skills needed to better identify and communicate the business case for shared value opportunities and to implement systematic change at the project, organisational and industry level – a topic he is keenly focused on.



“This area is rapidly evolving as business, society and the environment become inextricably linked and companies are now focusing more on solutions that create shared value as they seek to improve their performance across the triple bottom line,” says Sean.

“There is a movement - business can be a force for good - and I want to be part of that.”

About the Robin Crawford Memorial Scholarship

Sean was honoured to receive the inaugural $5,000 Robin Crawford Memorial Scholarship which has financially supported him in completing the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact:

“More than anything to me, it’s a recognition of the key role sustainability practitioners can play in helping solve and address complex social issues and the key role the property industry must also play in helping to create positive social impact,” says Sean.

Robin Crawford - a philanthropist and founding director of Macquarie Group - was one of the original funders in helping to set up the Centre for the Social Impact in 2008:



“I lobbed onto this planet by luck,” Robin said. “I lobbed onto the good part - that was London and Sydney, not Dafur or elsewhere - with reasonable drive, supportive parents, an above average IQ that had nothing to do with me. When you’re that lucky: it seems fairly obvious to be doing something greatly worthwhile.”

We thank Robin’s family and the various donors who have contributed to this scholarship.

Find out more about CSI's latest scholarships .