PERFECT® is my driven core values:

✔ Partnership – truthful and honest partnerships with my clients

✔ Equality – equal opportunity for all stakeholders and genders

✔ Respect – respect our strategic partners and stakeholders

✔ Friendliness – enjoying in different cultures and religions

✔ Effectiveness – Affordable resources but more impacts

✔ Creation – Strong interpersonal & analytical thinking

✔ Teamwork – walk as a team to achieve our goals

Humans simply just want and love what they don’t have.

My philosophy is to maximize what humans want and love while living in harmony to nature. My approach is to cooperate close with clients and implementing partners to better plan, organize, manage, implement, monitor, evaluate, report and draw lessons learnt. Vertically, I have applied participatory integrated planning tool to identify the most important and actual demands of each client and/or implementing partner. Horizontally, I have applied the public-private-community partnership (PPCP) to mobilize scarce resources for wisely investing into viable business models aimed at equalizing and maximizing what humans want and love while protecting environment.

Currently, Teo is the Deputy Chief of Party cum Enterprise Development Director, a senior management team for the USAID Sustainable Forest Management Project. He is supervising a team of technical experts and working collaboratively with them to design and implement technical activities for the Project. The Project is expected to (i) improve sustainable landscape management capacity for 70 institutions; (ii) support 35 conservation-friendly enterprises and promote partnership between wood processing companies with small household plantation owners to improve the livelihoods and climate resilience of over 60,000 forest dwellers; An estimated $12.5 million will be mobilized to finance sustainable forest management, and more than 260,000 hectares of forests will be under improved natural resource management; at least 7,8 million tons of carbon emissions will be reduced from the direct project interventions, and 45,6 million tons of carbon emissions will be reduced through formulating 34 policies and technical support activities.

Teo used to serve as the Deputy Chief of Party-DCOP (with 4 months Acting COP) for the $24M IDIQ USAID Green Annamites (GA) Program in Vietnam. The Program aimed to assist Vietnam’s transition to climate-smart, low emission, and resilient development that protects people, landscapes, and biodiversity in Vietnam’s priority forested provinces. By December, 2020, the GA has reduced, sequestered and/or avoided 7.48 MT CO2 (targeted 6 MT); established 21 CFM Plans, improved natural resource management of 442,000 ha (targeted 400,000 ha); mobilized US$ 21.6 million (targeted US$ 20 million) from public, private and community sources for scaling up sustainable livelihoods and forest conservation interventions; and improved livelihoods of 25,000 people (targeted 20,000 people).

Prior the GA Program, I served as the Task Leader/ Coordinator on Biodiversity Landscapes and Livelihoods for the $22M Greater Mekong Sub-region Core Environment Program (GMS-CEP) administered by Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Bangkok, and implemented in six GMS countries, including Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The regional Program aimed to achieve its environmentally friendly and climate resilient goals. Previously, I worked as a Sustainable Livelihood/Village Development Adviser for the $23.5 M Sustainable Forest and Rural Development (SUFORD) Project co-funded by the World Bank and the Government of Finland in Lao PDR. The project was implemented in nine provinces (included 16 Production Forest Areas with 1.3 million hectares), 36 districts, 723 villages and over 30,000 beneficiaries. The project was rated successfully and broadly acknowledged due to its long-term economic, social and environmental benefits for local communities and government bodies. My contribution had been greatly recognized and the MARD of Lao PDR awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Performance on February 18, 2013. I also served as Executive Director of Consultative and Research Center for Natural Resources Management in Vietnam. This position enabled me to gain empirical and hands-on experience on strategic planning, institutional development, personnel supervision, technical guidance and financial management.

• Doctor of Philosophy Program in Public Policy/Development Administration, The National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), Bangkok, Thailand. Focus on Financial Inclusion, including sustainable financing mechanisms (PES) and SMEs development
• Master of Arts in International Development and Social Change from Clark University, USA. Concentration in microfinances and sustainable development economics
• Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, Hue University, Vietnam
• Bachelor of Arts in English Language, Hue University of Education, Vietnam
• Bachelor of Engineer in Animal Sciences, Hue Agriculture and Forestry University, Vietnam.

Other short courses:

1. Behavior Change for Conservation (online course) initiated by TRAFFIC
2. USAID Sub-award Management Training Workshop in an eLearning Program, Humentum
3. Training of Facilitators, Rapid Basin- Wide Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Tool (RSAT)-3 Modules organized GIZ, MRC & ADB, Lao PDR, Thailand and China
4. Social Media Marketing, HP Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs, Online
5. Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management, Wageningen UR-CDI of Netherlands & Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
6. Community-Based Agricultural & Natural Resource Management, Coady International Institute, St. Francis, Xavier University, Canada
7. Introduction to Disaster Risk Management, The World Bank Institute, Online
8. Science and Policy of Climate Change, TERI, IGES and Tokyo Development Learning Center of the World Bank, Online.
9. Training of Trainers on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (3 Modules). SRD-Finland Embassy. Hanoi, Vietnam
10. Training of Trainers on Assets-Based Community Development, An Giang University & CEEVN, Vietnam
11. Training Workshop on “FSC Group Certification Training Program” delivered by The RainForest Alliance, SmartWood Program funded by WWF, SNV and GTZ
12. Local Economic Development for Managers. GTZ-Inwent, Berlin, Germany.
13. Training for Value Chain Facilitators, organized by GTZ and STUDIO, Hanoi, Vietnam
14. Training of Trainers on Microfinance, online and In-door ADBI,TDLC/GDLN and UNCDF and VDIC of World Bank, Vietnam
15. Participatory Appraisal of Competitive Advantage (PACA) Mesopartner-GTZ, Hanoi, Vietnam
16. Value Chain Development, Studio Consultancy Ltd., GTZ, Hanoi, Vietnam
17. Livelihood and Empowerment for the Hunger Eradication & Poverty Reduction Strategy-AusAID Vietnam-Hanoi
18. Project Management Skills RUDEP-Quang Ngai, AusAID & BPSC Hanoi, Vietnam.
19. Market and Marketing Research Business Promotion Service Center (BPSC) –Ha Noi, Vietnam
20. Leadership Management; GIZ & BPSC, Ha noi, Vietnam

1. Fellowship for Training of Facilitators, Rapid Basin- Wide Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Tool (RSAT), Lao PDR, Thailand and China
2. PhD Program Scholarship provided by NIDA
3. Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Performance under the SUFORD Project, co-funded by the World Bank and The Finland Government
4. Netherlands Government Fellowships (Nuffic Scholarship) to study “Climate change adaption in agriculture and NRM: policy making and programming for sustainable development”
5. Professional Development Grant No. RD 97 for the 2011 Russell E. Train Education for Nature to study in Canada
6. Travelling Award to Participate in First International Forum for Ecosphere and Climate Change in Moscow, Russia
7. Award for Social Change Commitment: “Online Social Lending Platform Initiative” awarded by the Clinton Global Initiative University: Austin, Texas, USA
8. Social Justice and Leadership Scholarship for a 2-year Master Program in International Development & Social Change at Clark University, USA
9. Fellowship for 3-month training in “Regional Economic Development for Managers” Berlin, Germany
10. Fellowship for a 4-month Training of Trainers on Microfinance ADBI, TDLC/GDLN and UNCDF at VDIC Vietnam