Tara Winkler

Tara Winkler's Biography

NSW Young Australian of the Year | co-founder of the Cambodian Children’s Trust | Pioneering Transformation

At nineteen, Tara Winkler, founded an orphanage in Cambodia, then found the courage to admit she had got it wrong, dismantle it, and build something so effective that a national government is intent on scaling it across the country.

NSW Young Australian of the Year Tara Winkler is a systems change leader and social entrepreneur who is disrupting the international aid sector by proving that bold reform is possible. She co-founded Cambodian Children’s Trust (CCT) in 2007 to rescue 14 children from an abusive orphanage. Since then, she has led CCT through pioneering transformations that are influencing international policy.

In 2012, she closed CCT’s orphanage to reunite children with families, sparking Cambodia’s care reform movement. In 2019, she launched the Village Hive Project to tackle the root causes of poverty, family separation and end dependence on charity. In 2025, the Cambodian government adopted the Village Hive as the official national framework for social protection and is now rolling it out nationwide – cementing CCT’s model as a blueprint for systemic change.

Tara’s work has been featured on ABC’s Australian Story, 60 Minutes Australia, and international media. Her TEDx Talk, “Why we need to end the era of orphanages”, was the most tagged moment from the entire event and has been viewed over 1.2 million times. She is the author of How (NOT) to Start an Orphanage (Allen & Unwin, 2016) and is currently producing a documentary on disrupting the aid sector.

At nineteen, Tara Winkler, founded an orphanage in Cambodia, then found the courage to admit she had got it wrong, dismantle it, and build something so effective that a national government is intent on scaling it across the country. NSW Young Australian of the Year, TEDx speaker and much-loved author, Tara helps audiences rethink how they approach change. Instead of trying to solve symptoms, which prevents real change, she challenges them to change the systems underneath.

Tara holds the rarest proof point a speaker on change can offer. She didn't just theorise a better way to fix a broken system, she built one so effective that in 2025 the Cambodian government adopted it as the national framework for the entire country.

Her story is unforgettable. At nineteen she set out to help by rescuing 14 children from an abusive orphanage in Cambodia. After founding an orphanage to care for those children, she discovered her good intentions were quietly feeding the very problem she was trying to solve. What Tara did next is a masterclass in how change happens, a problem that every organisation grapples with. She dismantled the orphanage she had built and replaced it with a community-owned model now scaling across a nation.

Tara turns that hard-won experience into a clear, repeatable approach any team can follow. Her core message cuts through every industry. You cannot solve a symptom; lasting change comes from finding the root cause hiding in plain sight, and having the courage to take action.

Contact Helene Greenham directly for Tara Winkler’s speaking enquiries – helene@platinumspeakers.com.au

Speaking Topics Include

Tara’s talks challenge audiences to rethink entrenched systems, embrace failure as a catalyst for innovation, and re-imagine what’s possible when courage meets humility.

Named NSW Young Australian of the Year, a TED speaker at the Sydney Opera House, and author of How (NOT) to Start an Orphanage, Tara leaves an audience with both the will to change and the method to do it.

Core themes in Tara’ presentation:

A model for change so effective, a country adopted it. Tara's approach proved itself at national scale.
From one broken orphanage to a national blueprint. Her story shows how a single problem, tackled well, can reshape a whole system.
Solve the problem, not the symptom. With the right process, lasting change is possible where quick fixes fail.
How change happens. Audiences hear directly from someone who has changed a nation and learn what it took.
Hope and courage that anyone can act on. Her story inspires people to make real change in their own lives and workplaces.