Dr Nicki Scholes-Robertson (Founder and Director)
With over 25 years of clinical experience as a rural and remote physiotherapist across Australia and the UK, Nicki has dedicated her career to supporting people in communities where access to care can be limited. She especially valued her time working in remote communities, including with The Purple House in Alice Springs, supporting dialysis and transplant patients. Currently, Nicki is working for the University of Sydney as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Kidney Research.
Nicki's own journey with Kidney disease and search for support sparked the start of Rural Kidney Australia and her research career. Her goal was to understand and improve access and equity of kidney care for people with Chronic Kidney Disease from both angles; research to understand the problem and charity to provide support.
When she is not working, you can find Nicki spending time with her 3 children, in the rose garden or playing with the cavoodle, Hallie.
Neil Scholes-Robertson (Treasurer and Finance Officer)
With a background in finance, Neil has dedicated the last 20 years of his career to working for not for profits in the areas of social housing, tenant advocacy, and remote dialysis in the NT with the Purple House. In his roles as Finance manager and Business services manager, Neil has particularly enjoyed supporting organisations in making a tangible difference in people's lives.
When Neil's wife, Nicki, began experiencing kidney disease, it raised his awareness of the difficulty in accessing kidney care for people in regional/remote areas. So Neil helped Nicki in supporting the kidney community in Armidale.
When we decided to formalise existing support and extend this to more people with Kidney Disease, Neil was able to use his not-for-profit finance background to establish RKA as a registered charity. As our Finance Officer and Treasurer, Neil does the administration that keeps RKA going.
In his spare time, you can find Neil at the beach with Nicki and their puppy Hallie (co-owned with their daughter Hannah).
Jess Scholes-Robertson (Marketing and Communications Coordinator)
As a Speech Pathologist, Jess has a passion for supporting accessible information for people from different backgrounds, and communication needs. Jess particularly enjoyed providing outreach to rural areas and providing students with trauma informed communication supports when working in a school.
When Nicki (Jess' Mum), became unwell, Jess was in her final years of high school and witnessed first-hand how difficult it was for Nicki to access the support she needed. Jess joined the rest of the family in supporting the beginning of the kidney support group.
Jess has recently started supporting RKA 1 day a week with social media and communications so that we can share more of what we do every day. She is probably who you are interacting with on Facebook and Instagram!
When not working, you can find Jess at her local park in Geelong, knitting or reading a good book.