Leadership Team
Sean is the CEO and a founding director of the Mito Foundation. He is responsible for the development and execution of the Mito Foundation Strategic Plan and all aspects of Mito Foundation operations.
Sean has lived and worked in Australia, the UK and the US with broad industry experience in both private and government sectors, covering software development, business consulting and general management. Sean holds a degree in Computer Science and Pure Mathematics (BSc) from Sydney University.
With multiple generations of family members affected by mito, Sean is deeply motivated to drive the impact of the work of the Mito Foundation in supporting the mito community and ultimately finding a cure for mito.
Beyond the world of mito, Sean lives with his wife and two children in a tight-knit community in inner Sydney. He has a soft spot for classic rock hits from the '70s & '80s as well as American muscle cars from the ‘60s. Sean also pretends to play saxophone in a Brazilian drumming band.
As General Manager, Toni steers key strategic projects, supports the team in day to day operations and fulfils the Human Resources and Risk Officer requirements.
Toni has over 20 years of experience in Human Resources in a large corporate environment and brings a strong focus on effective ways of working, project management, enabling technology and team wellbeing.
Toni’s passion for the mito cause developed when her daughter was diagnosed with mito in 2016. It is through this unique lens that Toni strives to ensure families are supported, and the pathway to a cure is advancing.
Toni is interwoven with the foundation: she is a regular at The Bloody Long Walk, fundraises for the foundation and engages in activities to raise awareness of mito. While family activities make up much of her home time, she is committed to rediscovering her creative passions.
Penelope is our Development Manager and she loves hearing all your fundraising ideas. With 11 years in the charity fundraising sector, with a focus on events, she is always excited and humbled to hear the myriad ways communities find to support the causes they are passionate about.
Penelope has a Masters of International Development, loves to climb mountains and explore the world and her local playgrounds with her family.
Isabel is responsible for Mito Foundation’s research investment strategy. In her role, she ensures that Mito Foundation supports high quality research that has a positive impact for people affected by mito.
Isabel has a PhD in mitochondrial biology and has extensive knowledge of the mito research landscape, from discovery to clinical research and commercialisation. Her vision is for mito research to be impactful, collaborative, and responsive to the challenges faced by the mito community.
Outside work, Isabel loves spending time in nature, hiking or at the beach. She loves coffee, dogs and learning about different cultures through travel, music, and food.
Clare leads Mito Foundation's work to advocate for improvements to health, disability and social support for people living with mito. She has a Masters in Public Health, has worked in policy development with NSW Ministry of Health and has managed another Australian rare disease organisation.
Clare played a key role in the establishment of Rare Voices Australia and was a member of the steering committee for the first National Strategic Action Plan for Rare Diseases. Clare's passion for improving the lives of people with mito and other rare conditions is fuelled by her experience as a sister of Lizzie, who lived with a rare genetic condition.
Originally from Sydney, Clare now lives in Orange in the Central West region of NSW. When not working for The Mito Foundation, she can often be found on the ultimate frisbee field, on her stand up paddle board or volunteering as an ethics teacher at her childrens' school.
Team (in alphabetical order)
Kana joined the team in May 2019. Hailing from Tokyo, she brings diverse perspectives into communications strategies. She loves managing social media platforms with a passion for effective and fun storytelling to raise awareness about mito.
Outside of the office, she is a DJ. She presents a show for a radio station and is proud of her ability to eat a copious amount of chips there.
Kana is in charge of the office playlist until Nellorie kicks her off.
After recovering from her first career writing software for insurance companies, Ros studied accounting and joined the Mito Foundation in 2012 as a bookkeeper. She lives in Bondi and swims year-round, although mainly motivated by the coffee afterwards. She also enjoys reading and learning the piano.
Michele began her career in 1984 as a Registered Nurse at Sydney Hospital. She continued to work in the hospital system administering acute and chronic paediatric care and later found herself in the community sector, looking after children with chronic care needs, paediatric case management and as a clinical nurse consultant. She went on to receive a degree in paediatrics, family and community care.
Michele’s passion to help families allowed her to travel to the Middle East and Africa to work in a high care paediatrics unit with a community focus. She found this opportunity educational on a cultural level, where she would exchange western magazines with the local mothers for coffee and beads they made. These encounters enforced a philosophy Michele lives by, which is "To give love by a simple heart by a simple act of caring is better than a thousand heads bent in prayer." (Mahatma Gandhi)
When Michele began her family in 1990, it prompted a change in her career. Michele began work in adolescent health, focusing on school health and later, youth within the Justice health system - a rewarding experience that saw many ‘troubled teens’ turn their lives around. It wasn’t until 2017 that Michele made the transition into adult care, primarily working in aged care.
Jane looks after all things Bloody Long Walk for the Mito Foundation, having joined in 2016. Her background is in business development and marketing/advertising, via a couple of short stints in finance.
Jane has an interest in interior design and can parallel park like a boss.
Hania is our Community Insights Research Analyst making sure that the voices of the mito community are represented across all the work that we do.
With a Masters in Public Health and a background in research across diverse populations, Hania has a passion for all things public health related.
When she’s not writing, Hania can be found reading a book in a quiet, sunny corner of a park. Her other hobbies include hiking, snorkelling, and roller-skating.
Nellorie ensures the foundation remains operational with her steadfast support of the team, and additional responsibilities with the services team. With a background in Human Resources and recruitment, she is well-versed in providing solutions regardless of the area of need. Nellorie is passionate about providing quality customer service with a smile (as long as she’s had her morning coffee).
Outside of work, Nellorie can be found on a golf course, testing out a new baking recipe or just kicking back with a glass of red wine.
Tabitha is a Research Analyst with a passion for science and making a difference. Her work involves understanding and communicating the impact of our research funding and contributing to our work to accelerate access to mito therapeutics.
Tabitha was raised in Canada and has a M.Sc in Systems Neuroscience from McGill University. She enjoys eating interesting foods at fine restaurants and trying to replicate the flavour at home, as well as getting stronger through resistance training.
Abbey is a member of the Support Services Team, based in regional Victoria.
She has also been a member of the mito community. In 2018, sadly her son Tyler passed away after being clinically diagnosed with Leigh's Syndrome. With a background in administration, community services sector and disability support coordination NDIS, she is determined to support and help people around life limiting conditions.
Kristen is a member of the Support Services team - manning the Helpline and contributing to several operational projects to improve resources for the mito community. She enjoys meeting members of the community, hearing their stories, and doing her best to assist with support and referrals.
Kristen has a background in publishing and editing, however, after taking some time out to raise three children, she has spent the last ten years in the community services sector, working for not-for-profits such as Lifestart and Interrelate in project management, facilitation and service roles.
Kristen spends her spare time bushwalking with her family and her middle-aged dog Rosie, planning the build of the family home and exploring the south coast of Sydney. She also illustrates, and is keen to carve out more time for her painting and printmaking hobbies.
Hailing from Brisbane Kirralee joins the Support Services team after graduating from a master’s degree in Public Health. Kirralee can be found assisting with helpine calls, Mito Meet-ups, Information Days, Connect Calls alongside implementing projects to improve the lives of those with mito. Kirralee brings lived experience of dealing with a complex and rare inherited multisystem disorder and the difficulty of navigating complex health systems to receive medical treatment and care. These experiences have led to an interest in improving the ability of patients to both understand, explain, and advocate for their own care and medical needs, and a passion for connecting people to care that can offer both evidence-based and positive quality of life outcomes.
Kirralee keeps busy with an array of ever changing hobbies; dabbling in learning to play the wheel vielle, tinkering with computer builds, growing a variety of fragrant flowers, hiking, and socialising with friends over games of the video or tabletop varieties.
Aaron has a love for tech, having developed and launched over 100 websites over the last 10 years. He has also developed digital marketing strategy for some of Australia’s biggest brands including Coles Insurance and Kia Australia.
In March 2015, Aaron’s dear friends Sam and Lisa Por sadly lost their daughter Gabriella to mito, which inspired Aaron to volunteer for the Mito Foundation in December 2015. While volunteering, he supported the development of the foundation and Bloody Long Walk websites, including a full rebuild of bloodylongwalk.com.au, before joining the foundation full-time in July 2018.
Aaron is a mad Cronulla Sharks supporter and loves spending time at the beach with his wife and three kids.
Lindsey is a member of the Communications team. Her background in the disability sector sparked a passion for accessible communications. She loves that her work has a positive impact on people’s lives. She also likes the design and analytical aspects of her role.
Outside of work, Lindsey is an avid reader and always has access to a book. She also enjoys embroidery and origami. Her partner has been trying to teach her to cook with varying success.