Theo has over 13 years of experience working in the field of NRM and participatory approaches . In the early 1990s Theo worked as a Rural Liaison Officer for the Australian Conservation Foundation. He then worked for the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food as a community landcare facilitator and as team leader/project manager for several projects related to sustainable rural development, marketing and communication, property management planning and community weed and pest management. More recently he has been involved in projects supporting improved project design for NRM staff, developing a strategy to improve extension skills and fostering the project cycle management approach (including Logical Frameworks) within the Department.

Theo holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) specialising in human geography (development studies) and post graduate certificates or diplomas in Rural Systems Management, Agriculture, Farm Forestry and Frontline Management.

Theo has strong skills in workshop facilitation, is also a qualified trainer, and holds a Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training, BSZ40198.

Theo combines a strong background in participatory approaches with considerable knowledge of evaluation. Theo has worked closely with Jessica Dart in the delivery of several Program Evaluation and Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Improvement (MERI) courses for the Department of Agriculture and Food and NRM stakeholders in Western Australia.

Theo also has experience as a capacity development adviser in an international development context. He has worked as National LandCare Facilitator for the South African LandCare programme and assisted in the piloting of a capacity self assessment tool for local and district municipalities in South Africa.. He has delivered training in the Most Significant Change (MSC) technique for World Vision staff in Kenya and assisted in the review of MSC training in Malawi.