Dr Margaret Scott

Dr Margaret Scott was appointed to the Board of Parkinson’s NSW in November 2019 and President in February 2021 until November 2022. Previous Board positions include Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA), Australian Pet Welfare Foundation and Bloom Asia. She is a Fellow of FIA and has held international accreditation as a fundraiser, as CFRE, since 2002. 

Margaret is highly regarded in Australia and internationally as a presenter, mentor and guide to individuals and organisations developing their fundraising skills and knowledge.  

In staff roles, Margaret’s background included senior fundraising leadership roles in a variety of health and disability related not-for-profit organisations. In addition, she has operated her own business as a fundraising consultant since 2013 and since that time developed and presented fundraising training courses for teams, senior management, and Boards.  

Margaret’s academic focus on fundraising leadership culminated in completing PhD studies illuminating the special relationship between CEOs and Board Chairs and the role of Boards in supporting and driving fundraising. Currently, Margaret tutors and supervises a number of students in industry and university learning programs. 

Rachel Tanny

Stephen Schiemer was elected to the Board of Parkinson’s NSW in October 2018.  He is a fitness instructor and entrepreneur who has been living with Parkinson’s for the past fifteen years.

In addition to experiencing Parkinson’s himself, Stephen runs tailored fitness programs for other people living with the disease.

He has a Bachelor of Business degree and 30 years of experience in running his own businesses, including finance, risk management, logistics, people management, training, and digital marketing.

Dr Martin Ostrowski

Dr Martin Ostrowski was elected to the Board in November 2023. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017 and has a long family history with the disease.   He has first-hand experience of the positive impact that education and integrated care can have on the long-term outcomes for people living with Parkinson’s and their families.

Martin is an active participant in several Parkinson’s NSW Support Groups. He is a regular speaker at the Parkinson’s NSW Newly Diagnosed workshops and recently initiated a support group on Norfolk Island. He recognises the importance of peer support and is committed to ensuring that people living in rural and remote areas have the same level of access to care.

Martin is an accomplished Marine scientist with over 20 years of experience working in the Tertiary Education sector. He is also Chief Science Officer of the Walking Tall research group, established to develop the Walking Tall mobile phone-based application. It is a gait re-training tool which allows people living with Parkinson’s to set their own training time and pace before delivering a rhythmic metronomic beat designed to trigger movement.

Nicole Schleicher

Nicole was appointed to the Parkinson’s NSW Board on 26 February 2026.

Nicole previously served as a Board Director and member of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee for Parkinson’s NSW from 2019 to 2022, and on the Board of Trustees for the Parkinson’s NSW Trust. Nicole feels privileged to once again serve on the Parkinson’s NSW Board, and as a member of their Nominations Committee. Nicole has lived experience of the devastating impact of Parkingson’s with her father having died from complications connected to this terrible disease, and she understands the impact of Parkinson’s extends well beyond the patient to every member of their family.

For more than 25 years, Nicole has worked at a senior and executive level delivering transformational change in some of Australia’s largest charities including Benevolent Society, Wesley Mission and The Smith Family. Currently, she is the General Manager Services & Impact with leading national children’s cancer charity Redkite, where she is responsible for the delivery, quality and strategic growth of Redkite’s support services and leads the organisation’s Research & Evaluation, Advocacy, and Government Relations functions.

Nicole holds an MBA and graduated with an Order of Merit from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has significant expertise in organisational strategy and development, digital services innovation, outcomes measurement, and people, culture, and change leadership.

Betsy Rumble

Betsy was appointed to the Parkinson’s NSW Board on 26 February 2026.

Betsy practised corporate commercial law in Toronto, Canada and Sydney from 1999 to 2017. She subsequently retrained as a Speech Language Pathologist and now manages her own speech pathology practice with a fellow clinician.

Betsy’s involvement with Parkinson’s NSW reflects both a personal and professional interest in the disease. Her grandmother lived with Parkinson’s for twenty years. Betsy works with people with Parkinson’s has been an active volunteer with Parkinson’s NSW since 2021 as a Support Group Facilitator and, more recently, as a member of the Nominations Committee.

Betsy holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons Philosophy) from the University of King’s College (Halifax, Canada), an LLB from the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University (Halifax, Canada), and a Master of Laws and a Master of Speech Language Pathology, both from the University of Sydney.

Mary Kay Walker

Mary Kay Walker joined Parkinson’s NSW in 2018 as Chief Operating Officer. In that role, she was responsible for delivering on the organisation’s services-led strategy by driving sustainable financial and operational performance.  

Mary Kay brought this deep operational knowledge to the position of Chief Executive Officer when appointed recently. 

Her priorities are contributing to the National Parkinson’s Action Plan, and advocacy to NSW Government Ministries and NSW Health. She is also strengthening relationships with researchers, Movement Disorder Specialists, and Parkinson’s nurses across the state.  

Prior to joining Parkinson’s NSW, Mary Kay built a 32-year career in key finance and administration roles in Australia and the United States. She holds a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Mathematics and Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology from the University of Sydney and a Diploma in Securities and Financial Markets from the Financial Services Institute of Australasia. 

Mark Stewart

Mark Stewart joined Parkinsons NSW in 2023 and took on the Chief Operating Officer (COO) role in 2024. He is also the Company Secretary.

Mark has spent over 20 years working in the not-for-profit sector in Australia, Europe and Asia as an executive level manager, after building a career in finance and accounting across a variety of industries.

His experience in driving transformation and growth through strategic and operational initiatives spans an extensive portfolio of organisations, with a focus on delivering superior leadership, stakeholder management and operational change to organisations with a strong values-based foundation.

Having been involved in organisational transformation from a board, executive and operational perspective, and with hands on experience in the operations, marketing, sales and fundraising areas, Mark is now bringing his experience to Parkinsons NSW.

Mark has previously served on the board and as chair of the audit & risk committee of WaterAid Australia, Pinnacle Foundation and is a member of the AICD.