Tara O’Donnell has called Oldham County home for the past ten years, carrying forward a family legacy rooted in service and compassion. Her late father was a doctor who spent decades caring for residents of Oldham County, treating patients who couldn’t afford care, providing medical support at the LaGrange Reformatory for Women, and serving the community at Cedar Lake. He chose dignity over profit, and his example shaped Tara’s understanding of what real leadership looks like.
After becoming a mother, Tara carried those values into her own life. She stayed home with her daughter for six years, and when she returned to the workforce as a newly single parent, she was treated as if she had never worked at all. With both parents gone, she had no safety net. She took the jobs that fit around an elementary school schedule because her child came first. When employers dismissed the realities of single parenthood or told her to “just get family help,” she didn’t have any to turn to.
Those years taught Tara exactly how invisible single parents and working families can feel. She lived the trade‑offs, the instability, and the lack of support that so many families face. Despite the challenges, her daughter thrived — graduating as a Valedictorian of Oldham County High School and earning a full scholarship to Centre College. Tara wants every parent to have better resources and every child in Oldham County to have the chance to succeed.
Alongside her lived experience, Tara earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville, IBM and Google Data Analytics certifications, and European culinary and wine certifications. Professionally, she built a path rooted in healthcare and patient advocacy. She spent six years at Norton Healthcare supporting cancer patients and urgent clinical needs, earning multiple accolades for extraordinary care. She later expanded her training into cannabinoid science through Bellarmine University’s Cannabis Science & Therapeutics program, earning multiple healthcare certifications and becoming a trusted educator, patient advocate, and policy writer. Her work has focused on helping families and medical providers navigate safe, evidence‑based options while pushing for consumer protections, transparency, and responsible legislation. She believes public health, patient rights, and honest information must guide Kentucky’s future.
Tara is running for Magistrate to honor her father’s legacy of service and to bring fairness, compassion, and common‑sense problem solving to county government. She understands how deeply local decisions affect everyday life because she has lived those impacts herself. Her commitment is simple: to ensure every resident of Oldham County feels seen, supported, and valued. The elderly and working people of Oldham County are the true treasures of this community and should never be overlooked or sacrificed for corporate interests. Tara believes in listening first, serving with integrity, and leading with the same dignity her father showed every patient who walked through his door.