Philanthropist Geraldine Cox’s presentations on her work with the Sunrise Children’s Villages in Cambodia is both inspiring and moving. Rather than purposefully or inadvertently painting herself as a saint, Geraldine is honest about her mistakes, providing audiences with an easily relatable story that is still moving to the core.

In 1970, Geraldine Cox began working with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and, during her time with them, was posted to Phnom Penh, Manila, Bangkok, Tehran, and Washington DC. Her time in Phnom Penh specifically created a deep-seeded need to help the orphans she met during her stay. In 1993, she founded the Australian Cambodian Foundation and thus her orphanage Sunrise Children’s Villages.

For her diligent work with this country and her own, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2000, and was awarded the Circle of Courage from the Australian Charity in 2006. In this same year, she was made a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Her latest award was given in 2011, when she won the Weary Dunlop, and she also holds an incredibly unique honour: she is the only Australian in history to be granted Cambodian citizenship by royal decree.

Throughout her career, she has also worked with the Chase Manhattan Bank in Sydney for 8 years, and to this day serves on the International Advisory Board of Oasis Africa. Outside of her charity work, Geraldine has appeared on radio and television shows throughout Australia, Asia, and the United States, only adding her to public speaking experience.