Our People
Miracle Babies Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors who meet quarterly. The Board was formed in 2009 and originally Chaired by Morris Iemma. Miracle Babies Foundation staff are mostly based at head office in Liverpool NSW, although several staff are based across Australia working in programs with hospitals and families. Our Ambassadors are a passionate and dedicated group, supporting the Foundation with their time to raise awareness and promote the Foundation.
Board, Staff, Ambassadors and Volunteers all work toward our vision of ‘better, healthier outcomes for newborns and their families challenged by prematurity or sickness.’
CEO, Co-Founder, Board Director, & Consumer Representative
Kylie Pussell Co-Founded Miracle Babies Foundation in 2005 and has been a Board Director since 2009. After suffering a miscarriage and losing twin babies at 16 weeks, Kylie gave birth to her daughter Madeline at 30 weeks and was diagnosed with Cervical Incompetence. Madeline was cared for in Liverpool Hospital’s NICU for 6 weeks. Two years later, following a further miscarriage, Kylie delivered twins at just 25 weeks. Both were resuscitated at birth and cared for by the NICU. Sadly Kylie’s son Marcus passed away due to complications from his extreme prematurity. Her daughter Scarlet required ventilation and surgery. Scarlet was cared for in the NICU at Liverpool and Westmead Children’s Hospital and was discharged home just before her due date, 4 months later. Kylie’s son Liam was born at 38 weeks through planned c-section following a transabdominal cerclage. Kylie, a qualified counsellor, has played an integral role in the expansion of the Foundation’s program NurtureTime, the introduction of Miracle Babies Foundation to hospitals nationally and the development of national resources. She developed and implemented Miracle Babies Foundation’s successful volunteer program, designing National Volunteer Induction and Training with TAFE NSW. Kylie was selected in the inaugural The Growth Project in 2015. Kylie delivers presentations and forums on the Foundation to community and corporate, both nationally and internationally and shares her personal journey with her children, delivering parent support and positive change for premature and sick babies. Kylie highlights the needs for parents and families in the NICU and the years ahead. Kylie leads support for our bereaved families and assists families and educational institutions in the learning, social and emotional challenges some of these miracle babies experience in the early years, school aged years and adulthood. Kylie has been an instrumental leader in many new services the Foundation delivers, most recently Nurture ‘E’ – The EEE Impact. This information hub is designed to assist families through different life stages of their growing and developing child beyond the baby, infant and toddler years and supporting families through primary and high school right through to adulthood. Nurture E - The EEE Impact has been created in collaboration with parents and health professionals to provide families with Evidence, Education and Empowerment. She is CEO of the Foundation and is passionate in driving the expansion of services and resources across Australia for all families to be supported, educated and empowered. Kylie was Secretary of the Board from 2009 to 2017 and appointed as CEO by the Board in 2017. In July 2019 Kylie became a Founding Committee member of GLANCE and in December 2019 was appointed to the Chair Committee of GLANCE. During 2019 and 2020 Kylie was a member of the Working Group on the ICHOM Preterm and Hospitalized Neonates Standard Set and in September 2020 was named Western Sydney Women – 2020 Community Woman of the Year. Kylie was also awarded ‘Highly Commended’ in the Western Sydney University Women of the West Awards for Community 2020. In July 2021 Kylie became a member of the World Prematurity Day Parent Advisory Board and the World Prematurity Day Global Planning Group. In September 2021 she joined NSW Health Agency for Clinical Innovation as a consumer representative on Paediatric and Neonatal Clinical Care Task force and the ACI Maternity and Neonatal Executive Committee. Kylie is a parent representative on numerous research projects, a previous member of the PSANZ Perinatal Palliative Care Special Interest Group and current member of the PSANZ Perinatal Ethics Special Interest Group. In April 2022 Kylie was awarded as a Finalist in the NSW Women Of The Year Award – Woman of Excellence. In May 2022 Kylie presented the Nurture ‘E’ – The EEE Impact information hub at the global EFCNI Parent Summit in Germany. In 2022 she was invited to join the Advisory Board of parent organisation Prematuridade in Brazil. 2022 Kylie co-authored the article Impact of current Australian paid parental leave on families of preterm and sick infants published in the Journal of Paediatric and Child Health. Kylie also contributed to the published book Neonatal Nursing: A Global Perspective. Kylie is a consumer representative on the National Preterm Birth Prevention Collaboration and in 2023 was elected to the EFCNI Parent and Patient Advisory Board.
Board Chairman
Alistair is a senior executive and economist. He currently works in the Senior Executive Service of the Australian Public Service. Alistair has also worked in private sector, economic consulting, and political advisory roles. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Master of Economics, and graduate diplomas in economics and philosophy. He is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and recently completed the Public Sector Leaders Colloquium at the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership. Alistair lives in Canberra with his wife and daughter. His personal interest in the Foundation relates to the loss of his older sister, after being born premature. Alistair joined the Board in 2022.
Board Director
Dr Robert Guaran is the Executive Medical Advisor in Neonatology for the NSW Pregnancy and Newborn Services Network. An advocate for the work of Miracle Babies Foundation and supporter since its inception, Robert is father to two children. Robert has been a Board Director since 2011.
Board Director
Jo Sheils has worked in Neonatal Intensive Care for over 20 years. She is a project officer with the Agency of Clinical Innovation Maternity and Neonatal Network. As a mother of three, Jo is passionate about involving families in the care of their babies and becoming partners in the NICU care team. She was a site co-ordinator at the Royal Hospital for Women for the multicentre cluster-randomised control trial of Family Integrated Care (FICare) and helped organise the International FICare conference held in Sydney in 2018. Jo has been a Board Director since 2019.
Board Director
Jacqui is a Partner in the Corporate and Commercial team at Hall & Wilcox. She has over 15 years’ experience in corporate and commercial law. With an extensive client base, Jacqui assists clients ranging from start-up and scale-up entities, not for profits, through to large private and public companies and small listed entities across multiple industries. Jacqui has extensive experience in advising and assisting clients with M&As, corporate structuring, corporate compliance and governance, capital raisings and managed investment schemes. She also advises clients with day-to-day legal issues affecting their business including supply arrangements, licensing arrangements, protection and commercialisation of intellectual property, manufacturing and distribution arrangements consultancy arrangements, terms and conditions and privacy and confidentiality issues. Jacqui is a Fellow of the Australian Governance Institute, a member of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association, the Licensing Executive Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand. Additionally, she has a Master of Laws majoring in corporate law and governance, and is qualified as a company secretary. Jacqui has been a Board Director since 2020.
Board Director & Ambassador
Deborah Knight, is a well-known Australian journalist and news presenter. She is host of Afternoons on 2GB and 4BC Radio and presents A Current Affair Saturday edition on Channel 9. Deborah has been a Miracle Babies Foundation ambassador since 2011. She is always ready to lend her support to events such as our Miracle Moon Walk and awareness campaigns. Deborah has been a Miracle Babies Board Director since 2009.
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