Our Board
Nicole McMahon, Chair
Nicole is the Group owner for National Capability and Federal Government at Telstra Enterprise. She has responsibility for Telstra’s strategy and focus across all tiers of Government, bringing enabling technology and services for a secure and thriving digital economy. She also leads the customer teams in the Federal and ACT portfolio.
Graduating from the University of Colorado in the field of Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Biochemistry, she started her career as a medical research scientist in the field of cancer and at the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) in HIV Gene Therapy.
With a diverse career, Nicole has been a journalist, producer and editor in media organisations, in senior business roles for multi-national ICT organisations, and prior to re-joining Telstra in 2020, Nicole was General Manager of a National counselling service for domestic, family violence and sexual assault.
She is a passionate advocate for diversity and women's health. She has two daughters and lives in Canberra. In her down time she loves to mentor others, learn new things, ski or tackle ocean swimming (despite a fear of sharks).
Dr Marc Russo
MBBS DA (UK), FANZCA, FFPMFANZCA
Marc is a Specialist Pain Medicine Physician in Newcastle, Australia and has been in practice since 1999. He has treated over 20,000 patients in that time.
He first trained and practiced as a GP before training as an anaesthetist, and then as a pain specialist.
He is the President of the International Neuromodulation Society, Medical Examiner for the Faculty of Pain Medicine, Senior Advising Editor of the Pain Medicine Journal, and an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong
Marc runs a large multidisciplinary pain management clinic, research centre, day surgery centre, and pain management program. His focus is on cutting edge treatments to advance the field of pain medicine and research into CRPS.
Dr Romil Jain
MBBS, MD, FCICM, FFPMANZCA, FIPP
Dr Romil Jain is the founder and Director of ACT Pain Centre. Dr Jain is a qualified Specialist Pain Medicine Physician and Interventional Pain Specialist. He completed his post graduate qualification (MD) in Anaesthesia from world renowned L.T.M.G Hospital in Mumbai before moving to Australia. He completed his Fellowship in Intensive care (CICM) from Sydney. He then completed his Fellowship in Pain Medicine under mentorship of Prof Sundaraj in Sydney and later Fellowship in Interventional Pain through World Institute of Pain.
“Dr Jain is also a former Director of Pain management Unit at the Canberra hospital and currently works as a Visitor Medical Officer at the same Hospital.. He is clinical Lecturer in Australian National University and involved with teaching of medical students and registrars in Canberra Hospital. Dr Jain is also an examiner with ‘Faculty of Pain Medicine’ and involved in many educational and research activities.
Dr Jain believes in comprehensive care of chronic pain patients in multidisciplinary environment. He is an ‘Interventional Pain Specialist’ and uses Pain Procedures as part of Biopsychosocial model of Pain.
Dr Jain’s area of interest includes Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS), CRPS and other intractable neuropathic Pain conditions. Dr Jain is well experienced in various Pain procedures including radiofrequency ablation and Neuromodulation. He is also passionate about offering various pain procedure options for intractable Cancer pain including Intrathecal catheter.
Anish Patel
Anish is a senior level executive with over 20 years’ demonstrated success in the consumer health and FMCG sectors in Australia, New Zealand, North Asia, and the UK. He is an accomplished leader with a breadth of strategic and operational experience in senior roles across General Management, Finance, Innovation and Marketing.
Anish is currently ANZ General Manager of leading consumer health company, Haleon, prior to which he was General Manager at Bayer Consumer Health in New Zealand and North Asia respectively.
Anish is passionate about health inclusivity and championing unmet healthcare needs. He is a husband and a father of two boys. Anish grew up in the UK, relocating to Australia over 20 years ago.
Liz Sleeman
Liz is a healthcare professional with over 30 years of experience as a Registered Nurse and is committed to advancing healthcare delivery across both the private and public sectors. Since 2017, she has held various leadership roles at an ASX-listed private health insurance company and currently serves as Senior Executive – Group Clinical Governance. In this capacity, she oversees the clinical governance framework for the healthcare and insurance business, engaging with healthcare providers to support the development of new models of care, across acute and mental health services.
Her passion for chronic pain management developed during her time as Director of Nursing at a private mental health facility, where she witnessed the impact of chronic pain and the risks of unregulated opioid prescriptions. This interest became more personal when her daughter sustained a workplace injury resulting in chronic back pain, further reinforcing Liz's dedication to advocating for transparency and access to evidenced based information on chronic pain.
Liz has a strong interest in indigenous health and health equity. She has three children who she enjoys spending time with and is constantly encouraged to learn and experience new things, including, most recently, indoor skydiving.
Cath Di Dio
BA, LLB, Grad. Dip in Legal Practice, Cert IV Government Investigations
Cath is currently a Principal Government Lawyer for the Commonwealth having practiced as a lawyer for over 28 years with significant experience in both government and banking.