MEET THE TEAM

Our Khmer staff are a crucial part of the work that we do at Heartprint. Each of them have come from impoverished upbringings and harsh circumstances, and are now dedicating their work to help others break the cycle and enjoy a much better life. Without these people Heartprint House Community Centre and many of our community projects would simply not be possible. By employing local Khmer staff, Heartprint are committed to ensuring all donations remain with those who need it most and all of our projects are completed with utmost respect and sensitivity for Cambodia culture and traditions.

If you would like to sponsor one of our Khmer staff, please email us through our Contact Us page for more information.

BOR SREY PHEAP / OPERATIONS MANAGERSponsors: Help Cambodia Wagga; Leanne and Charlie Ritossa; LanlanPheap is the heart and soul of Heartprint, managing the Khmer staff, running The HOpE Initiative by Heartprint and ensuring our projects are delivered to those most in need. She keeps a close eye on all of the local community and ensures that the local children are keeping fed, dressed, sheltered and attending school. Coming from an impoverished background herself, Pheap is committed and passionate about helping her people. Pheap our wonder student is undergoing a Certificate 3 in Business Administration online thanks to Ignite Education in Australia.

BOR SREY PHEAP / OPERATIONS MANAGER

Pheap is the heart and soul of Heartprint, managing the Khmer staff, running The Community Centre and ensuring our projects are delivered to those most in need. She keeps a close eye on all of the local community and ensures that the local children are keeping fed, dressed, sheltered and attending school. Coming from an impoverished background herself, Pheap is committed and passionate about helping her people.

HAY SREY MAO / HOPE INITIATIVE TEAM MEMBERSponsor: Black & White Accounting      Srey Mao is experienced in the hospitality industry and does a fantastic job managing the cafe at The HOpE Initiative by Heartprint. She ensures every meal is made delicious and nutritious for our visitors all year round. Mao and Noy together co-wrote a cookbook, Food with Heart which can be purchased through our online shop.

HAY SREY MAO /CAFE MANAGER

Srey Mao has years of experience in the hospitality industry and does a fantastic job managing our offsite cafe. Her kind and caring demeanour make her the perfect trainer for our young and upcoming cooks. Creating new dishes is one of Mao’s favourite pass times but teaching and passing on her skills and being able to give back to her community is definitely her biggest passion. Call in for a little bite to eat and see why most of Siem Reap rave about her food.

SIM THOM / BUILDING & MAINTENANCESponsor: Heidi Knodle   Our quiet and hardworking Thom has also seen some harsh times growing up in Cambodia and has a passion to make the Khmer people live long and healthy lives. He works on our housing and sanitary projects, teaching the local community and volunteer groups alike about building, DIY handyman works, and sustainable toilet and well projects. Thom loves making things and you’ll see a lot of his handy work throughout The HOpE Initiative by Heartprint. 

SIM THOM / BUILDING & MAINTENANCE

Our quiet and hardworking Thom has also seen some harsh times growing up in Cambodia and has a passion to make the Khmer people live long and healthy lives. He works on our housing and sanitary projects, teaching the local community and volunteer groups alike about building, DIY handyman works, and sustainable toilet and well projects. Thom loves making things and you’ll see a lot of his handy work throughout The Heartprint Community Centre. 

TEP SREY NEAR / HOPE INITIATIVE TEAM MEMBERSponsor: Tony & Kerrie GarayWe first met Srey Near when we profiled her family to build them a house. Although she was a few months pregnant we saw the potential in her and we offered her a job at Heartprint. Near now has a daughter and although life for her is still hard she is thriving under the guidance of our other Khmer staff. Being an orphan she loves the security of her Heartprint family.

TEP SREY NEAR / PROGRAM ASSISTANT

We first met Srey Near when we profiled her family to build them a house. Although she was a few months pregnant we saw the potential in her and we offered her a job at Heartprint. Being an orphan she loves the security of her Heartprint family. It also makes her a great program assistant, knowing best when the kids need a little extra care.

SOK KHUN / SERVICE MANAGER

With more than 17 years experience in the hospitality industry, Sok Khun is a wealth of knowledge that she passes on everyday to our trainees and junior staff of the cafe. Khun works alongside Srey Mao to keep improving the lives of her community. A strong, powerful, empathetic person Khun is someone our juniors look up to and want to be like in the future.

LIM MAO / COOK

Bong Mao is like everyone’s mum. She is the cook at the community centre making sure all the staff are fed as well as making our Friday and Sunday meals for the children. Her meals are not only delicious they are nutritious. Her job doesn’t stop there and you’ll often see her within the community centre making play doh and other items for our community centre programs.

HOUEN KIMCHENG / EDUCATION SUPPORT

Kimcheng is a qualified English teacher, which allows her to work with the Heartprint children in the centre to further their English skills. Not only do the children benefit from her knowledge she also works to improve the Heartprint staff and trainees' skills. A forward thinker, Kimcheng is smashing all the boundaries of Cambodian education and coming up with programs that not only extend the children’s knowledge but teach them forward and critical thinking, problem solving and decision making.

 

CHOUN SOTHEA / BUILDING & MAINTENANCE JUNIOR

After doing a 12 month traineeship with Heartprint Sothea was offered a full time position. He worked so hard during his traineeship and showed us just what he was capable of, applying himself to everything we threw at him. Sothea has been part of the Heartprint family since he was nine years old. He wants a better future and is doing everything within his power to break the cycle of poverty, bringing everyone he comes in contact with along the way.

CHHEOUT NARY/ OUTREACH COORDINATOR

A strong willed, caring, empathetic young woman, Nary is everything we hope the girl’s in our program grow up to be. She is part of the younger generation of Cambodian’s that are demanding equality and change. Working side by side with our build crew, Nary works with our families outside of the community centre making sure they receive the basic needs that every human deserves. Nary has lived amongst our community for many years and can’t wait to see the changes she can make within it.

MEET THE BOARD

WENDY & GARRY O’BRIEN (Executive Directors)

Two of the founders of Heartprint, Garry and Wendy, have lived in Cambodia for more than six years. Working on the ground, supporting our Khmer staff, Garry and Wendy have dedicated their lives to improving the lives of Cambodians. Garry heads up the build team, while Wendy oversees the day-to-day running of the whole operation.

MARK CALDWELL (Treasurer)

Mark is the owner of Black & White Accounting Solutions in Wollongong. With over 20 years’ experience as a CPA, Mark is a specialist in SMSF’s & Small Businesses. Mark has been on the board of Heartprint since its foundation and is the current treasurer. 

ALEISHA HOWEY

Aleisha volunteered for Heartprint as one of the first interns in 2018 whilst she was travelling Asia. She fell in love with traveling Asia and all the incredible impacts organisations like Heartprint were making in local, underprivileged communities. Aleisha joined the board in 2019 and is head of fundraising, assisting with fundraisers to raise money for a specific purpose, program, or goal.

RIANNAN DE LA TORRE (Chairperson)

Riannan is one of the founding members of Heartprint and also the Public Officer.   After a visit to Cambodia in 2013, Ri wanted to help the poor and marginalised in the community of Siem Reap.  Ri leads the board, ensuring the smooth running of meetings, good governance and transparency for all stakeholders.

BRAD O’BRIEN

Brad is a founding board member with extensive experience in marketing. Brad was responsible for the design and setup of the website, which he continues to maintain and update. Brad also established Heartprint’s cloud-based software platform allowing us to easily stay in touch with donors, sponsors, and other stakeholders. 

JACKSON DUNN

Jackson is a practicing Accountant from the Gold Coast. Jackson first volunteered with Heartprint as a 17-year-old in 2017. After multiple volunteer trips and a 3-month internship in 2019, Jackson joined the board as the latest board member in December 2021. He assists in the finance operations of Heartprint and now lives in Cambodia to help the cause further.

SAMANTHA O’BRIEN (Secretary)

Samm is a founding board member of Heartprint, and currently holds the position of Secretary and manages Heartprint’s Heart of Gold Club – a club which involves annually pledged contributions from donors to ensure Heartprint can continue operations.  

TAYLA MARKS

Tayla is a founding board member of Heartprint. After travelling through many underprivileged countries and communities, she wanted to make a difference. Tayla was honoured to be involved in the beginning setup stages of Heartprint. Tayla was vital in the creation of Heartprint’s community education programs.