Romi Russek

Romi discovered her passion for occupational therapy after years of working and travelling in varied settings with a range of people from diverse backgrounds. She has always loved working with people and influencing positive changes. She feels that these values align perfectly in her work with GTK where she am able to work closely with a range of stakeholders, from assistive technology/wheelchair users, their families, carers and therapists. Romi is extremely passionate about promoting independence and supporting individuals to achieve their goals through finding the optimal seating and mobility solutions.

Romi’s previous work experience includes work with children with complex physical disabilities, working as an occupational therapist in a regional setting with a varied caseload including working closely with Indigenous communities, and then moving into the complex rehab space where she was able to hone in on her complex seating and wheelchair prescription skills and experience.

Some of the things that makes this work so special and rewarding for Romi is being able to share moments like seeing a mother and son embrace in a hug standing face to face after the prescription of a standing wheelchair, enabling a mother and daughter to be able to stand next to each other in church or supporting a little girl to be able to ‘feel like a super hero’ and go outside with her friends without an adult.

Romi says that she has found her true passion in this space and foresee a long career working with wheelchair users to continuously support and promote independence. Romi has a particular interest in paediatrics and promoting 24 hour positioning, through continually educating and empowering users and carers.

When Romi isn’t working, you will find her sweating it out at a spin class, strength, pilates, yoga or anything in between. She loves doing anything active and have recently discovered cold sea swimming which in the middle of a Melbourne winter is very cold- you’ll have to trust her on that! Romi is happiest being outdoors and you may find her admiring your plant collection. She loves travelling to new places and discovering new cultures and foods. Romi also  enjoys scuba diving and one of her favourite experiences was diving in the Galapogas islands with a school of sharks! The next thing on her bucket list is to go swimming with Whale Sharks in Western Australia.