Roger Packham is an independent consultant and an associate professor at the University of Western Sydney.
He has been teaching and researching systems thinking and practice for thirty years and am internationally recognized for the application of systems theory to educational, rural development, and organizational situations. At the end of 2003, after a twenty-eight-year career at the University of Western Sydney, he moved into an adjunct associate professor role to allow more time for consulting work. During his career at the university, he held a number of leadership positions, including associate dean, head of department, and head of an academic group. His consulting interests include using systems approaches for rural development, values-based leadership, and the use of systemic development praxis for decision-making with complex issues.
He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Systems Studies at the University of Hull and a teacher, a think-tank member, and a facilitator at Schumacher College in Devon, England. He is also currently Deputy Central Coordinator of the Sathya Sai Organisation of Australia and PNG, a multi-faith spiritual organization.
Until 2003, he was the Head of the UNESCO APEID (Asia and the Pacific Program of Educational Innovation for Development) Centre, located within the Centre for Systemic Development at the University of Western Sydney. He has been the leader of a number of development projects, including Technical and Vocational Education on experiential learning in China, India, Thailand, Japan, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. From 1992 to 2003 I led a Strategic Planning/Curriculum Development Project at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India, as well as being a team member for a systems curriculum development and review for the University of Natal. He has participated in agricultural development projects in Indonesia, The Philippines, Vietnam, and the Solomon Islands.