Speaking

I deliver unforgettable speeches on issues that matter.

I am available for keynotes, panel discussions, fireside chats, podcast interviews, and customised presentations for organisations and conferences.

I can also MC or facilitate your event.

Download Speaker Info here!
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  • Lindsay MacDuff

    RETIRED ARMY COLONEL, FORMER BRITISH DIPLOMAT, AND AWARD-WINNING PODCAST HOST

    “I was blown away by Jo’s brilliant speech - thoughtfully crafted to have a profound impact. More than this, her tenacity, values, experience and wisdom combine to make her a compassionate and inclusive leader well worth following!”

  • Jade Warne

    FOUNDER, SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH CLUB

    “Jo is an incredible expert who doesn’t just talk about leadership, she’s lived it. Watching her speak and host you can see this immediately. She holds the room with calm authority, asks the right questions and creates space where even strangers feel they belong. This comes from her decades of experience operating at the highest levels, navigating power, risk and consequence, and translating that into conversations that matter. If you’re seeking a speaker, host or MC to elevate your next event, you need Jo.”

  • Mariana Marcano Franco

    FOUNDER, ELEVATIVE

    “Jo was an outstanding MC… A natural storyteller, she blended her expertise with personal stories in a way that created a safe and open environment where attendees felt comfortable being vulnerable and connecting authentically. She also had an excellent stage presence and a strong ability to read and engage the audience through the event.”

  • Dave Gordge

    AUSTRALIA AWARDS

    “I would highly recommend Jo to speak at events, either solo or on panels... Jo spoke at a panel we organised for Australian Government-supporting international scholarship recipients, and she was engaging, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. Her vast international experience is undoubtedly an asset, but the audience also appreciated her humour, warmth and relatability.”

  • Trish Gorman

    FOUNDER, THE FEMALE LEADER

    “If you’re looking for a speaker who isn’t the usual cookie-cutter of speakers, I would strongly encourage you to connect with Jo Tarnawsky. Having had the opportunity to hear Jo speak a couple of times now, I’m always left with these nuggets of reflection, the kind that stay with you long after the event is over. She has a way of challenging your thinking, while creating a space that feels both real and authentic! If you get the chance to hear her speak, do it!”

  • Grace Williams

    FORMER FBI

    “I was impressed by how Jo brought together a room with clarity, presence and genuine insight. She has a natural ability to engage an audience while navigating complex leadership and organisational dynamics in a way that feels both accessible and impactful.”

  • Eric Adams

    HOST, THE CHANGE AGENT PODCAST

    “Jo Tarnawsky is one of the most clear-eyed, grounded guests I have had on The Change Agent Podcast and that is not something I say lightly. I expected a straight-forward conversation about professional development and leadership. What I got was one of the most honest and consequential exchanges I have had on the show. I was better off for our conversation and I think you will be too.”

  • Tash Booth

    CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, FUTURE FEMALES AUSTRALIA

    “Jo spoke at our Future Females Australia Executive Dinner on ‘Bravery and Belonging’. She has a natural warmth that puts people at ease, and a genuine passion for helping women stand up with confidence, without it feeling forced or performative. Executive women left that evening feeling seen, encouraged and ready to back themselves a little more boldly.”

  • Afeeya Akhand

    FOREIGN POLICY, NATIONAL SECURITY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS SPECIALIST

    “Jo spoke about her leadership journey by drawing on her impressive body of experiences as a former public servant and diplomat and provided valuable advice to postgraduate students and women seeking to succeed in the policy space. I recommend Jo to anyone looking to secure a keynote speaker or panellist for their next event.”

  • Di Gillett

    FOUNDER, POWER OF WOMEN

    “Jo Tarnawsky is building something that matters…. Her storytelling is powerful and born out of lived experience.”

  • Isabel Richards

    CO-FOUNDER, SCI_BURST

    “Jo is a skilled presenter with incredible stage presence and deep insights on leadership, power, and recovering from toxic workplaces. Her wealth of experience shines through in her storytelling and actions, both on and off the stage. I always learn something at her events! I highly recommend her as a host, speaker, or MC.”

SERVICES I OFFER

  • Keynotes, panels, and customised presentations tailored to your audience

  • Engaged storytelling, including insights from politics, diplomacy, war zones, cancer, and lived experience

  • As an MC and event facilitator

  • Interactive workshops

  • Speaking at international, staff, corporate or community events, in-person and online.

I bring a depth of perspective and lived experience that is both rare and insightful, from Parliament House to war zones to surviving cancer. 

Each of my presentations is enlivened by real-world stories and designed to leave people with both practical insights and renewed inspiration.

Whether your event is international or national, or for a corporate or community purpose, I will help make it a success.

I have delivered statements to the United Nations, presented keynote speeches, MC-ed events, facilitated staff training workshops, appeared as a guest speaker at virtual forums, hosted diplomatic functions, participated on panels, delivered scripted video courses, presided over honours ceremonies at Government House, and engaged with media through interviews and press conferences.

As an MC and event facilitator, I ensure speakers, sponsors and attendees are engaged so they want to return and refer others to attend future experiences.

My goal is to ensure your event is interactive and enjoyable for everyone. Contact me to find out more.

Contact Jo

TESTIMONIALS

Watch this 90 second video: Why you should engage Jo as a speaker!

SIGNATURE SPEECHES

Each one tailored to your audience, context, and objectives.

  • Drawing on Jo’s career in diplomacy, executive leadership, war zones, and standing up against misconduct inside Parliament House, this session explores what courage looks like in real decisions, real rooms and real moments of pressure. Jo brings audiences inside the lived reality of principled leadership - clarifying how to act decisively, uphold standards, and lead with integrity even when it’s hard. She also shares lessons she learned along the way about power, bravery, and finding your people.

  • The people around you don’t just support you - they shape your judgment, your energy, and the decisions you make when it matters most. When things become difficult, in life or at work, some people step forward and others step back. And often, they are not who you expect.

    In this speech, which has a powerful impact on audiences, Jo draws on her experience across government, diplomacy and surviving cancer to unpack one of the most under-recognised forces in leadership: who stands with you when it counts and why that matters. Because the difference can change the course of a career, a team, or a moment that carries significant consequences.

    This is not a session about networking or building bigger circles. It is about understanding how the people around you influence how you think, what you decide, and what you do next. Jo explores how to recognise genuine allies, strengthen the relationships that matter, and set boundaries where needed. She challenges audiences to think differently about the people around them - not just as support, but as a defining influence on performance, wellbeing, and leadership.

    Because you don’t need a crowd. You just need the right people.

  • This is one of Jo’s most in-demand sessions. At a time when trust in institutions is fragile and leadership credibility is under scrutiny, Jo speaks to what most organisations are quietly grappling with: power, pressure, and the cost of silence.

    In this powerful and practical session, Jo draws from her experience at the highest levels of government to unpack how power operates behind closed doors and how silence often sustains it. She challenges audiences to think differently about their own roles and behaviours, and to recognise the moments and decisions that quietly damage integrity, people, and outcomes. This is not theory - it is lived experience translated into strategic leadership insight.

  • Comfort can look like stability, loyalty, or keeping the peace, but it often holds a powerful and under-recognised influence over our choices. Jo challenges audiences to recognise the moments where inaction, silence, or delay feels easier, and to understand what those decisions can cost over time.

    This speech can be tailored for professional or personal development contexts. For workplace settings, this session equips leaders to acknowledge the role that comfort plays in entrenching inaction and the status quo, and provides incentives to act earlier, intervene confidently, and make decisions that create better outcomes. By more consciously recognising the cost of comfort, it helps organisations lift their standards and create stronger leadership teams who are clear, ethical, innovative, and future-focused.

  • What does it mean to lead as a woman in environments shaped by power, pressure, and expectation?

    This keynote moves beyond familiar narratives of confidence and visibility to examine the real dynamics women navigate every day - how power operates, how behaviour is judged, and how decisions are scrutinised in ways that are often unspoken, but widely felt.

    Drawing on her experience at the centre of government and in high-stakes leadership environments, Jo speaks candidly about risk, visibility, and the tension between fitting in and leading in line with your values. She explores the moments that define leadership - when speaking up carries risk, when staying silent has a cost, and when the path forward is neither easy nor popular.

    This talk is about understanding what courageous and consequential leadership looks like, who gets called ‘difficult’, and why that matters.

    Audiences leave with a sharper understanding of how power shapes their environment, greater confidence in how they show up within it, and a renewed sense of what it means to lead - not just successfully, but meaningfully.

  • Many leaders want to be trauma-informed but don’t know where to begin. This session gives them the language, insight and practical tools to truly understand workplace harm, interrupt damaging and under-recognised power dynamics, retain good people and ensure past failures are not repeated. It’s essential for organisations committed to genuinely healthy and proactive workplace cultures, not performative fixes.

Available Australia-wide and globally. In-person or virtually. Interstate and international travel available by arrangement.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

30 to 45 minutes. The signature format.

FIRESIDE CHATS

Discussions paired with Q&A.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Contributing to meaningful and dynamic discussions with other panellists.

VIRTUAL PRESENTATIONS

For online events.

WORKSHOPS

For interaction and audience engagement, and training for teams.

MC or EVENT HOST

A personable, professional and engaging 
MC or facilitator for your next event.

Start a conversation

Contact Jo