About Tara

I grew up in a small town in Vietnam, near a silk village that has been producing silk for over 1,000 years. My grandmother’s most treasured clothes were her silk pants and shirts, which kept her cool during the oppressively hot and humid summers. She passed on to me a deep love and reverence for this precious fabric: light as air, flowing like water on the skin, soft like an early morning breeze, and naturally thermoregulating. It keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

I was fortunate to receive a scholarship to study overseas, an experience that transformed my life and deepened my commitment to women’s economic empowerment. After eight years in academia, I was awarded the Newton International Postdoctoral Fellowship (a prestigious UK research grant similar to a Fulbright but only for Ph.D. holders) to explore how technology can support women entrepreneurs. I conducted fieldwork with hundreds of women in Kenya, Brazil, and Vietnam.

When my academic work concluded, I worked as an international development consultant with the United Nations, USAID, and the Asian Development Bank, with field experience in 23 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. Over time, I realized I prefer to create a small but tangible impact, something real and grounded, in communities.

Tara Sartoria was born from that vision. My goal is to build modern, sustainable businesses rooted in heritage craft and eventually enable other women to replicate this model, creating a ripple effect of women-led enterprises that blend tradition and innovation, expand opportunities for women, and uplift communities. This is also why I personally handle customer service: to bring the essence of the artisan experience into the modern world, not just through the product itself, but through genuine human-to-human interaction

By choosing Tara Sartoria, you become part of this vision and help ensure that heritage craftsmanship, women’s economic opportunities, and thriving communities endure for generations to come.

Tara Nguyen, Ph.D.