Gary Theisen

Gary has been involved in international development work for over 30 years as a Peace Corps Volunteer, a professor, and as a consultant, senior technical expert, and corporate manager for a variety of international organizations.

Following his graduate work at the University of Chicago where he specialized in education systems development and economic change in third world countries, he worked for the Ford Foundation in Indonesia, served as Deputy Director of the Office of Education at the United States Agency for International Development, and was Director of Research and Planning at the Academy for Educational Development in Washington DC.  As Vice President for Development Assistance at the Institute for International Education he developed and managed IIE’s global portfolio of technical assistance programs. From 1996-2008 he served as a Senior Sector Specialist at the World Bank.

He has worked on education and social sector related policy and program design and system analysis in over forty countries, has authored several books, has published numerous scholarly and technical articles, and was elected President of the major international professional organization in his field. He is now retired and lives in Mercer, Wisconsin enjoying photography and wood working.

Courses offered:

Visioning: Responding to Nature Through Photography

Cities of the World–Cities of Greenland and Newfoundland, Indonesia

The Role of Development Assistance in U.S. Foreign Policy

International Order and the Impact of Foreign Assistance