Tom Dewar now lives full-time in Bologna, Italy. Most recently he has been working in support of local action guided by Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) principles in both the US and Europe; and in support of efforts to reduce mass incarceration. His last full-time job was with the Aspen Institute’s Roundtable on Community Change, where he co-authored “Voices from the Field III” and “Resident Led Community Building.” He is now an Emeritus faculty member of the Asset Based Community Development Institute and a Senior Associate with Nurture Development in Dublin. Before Aspen, Tom taught International Development in Bologna through Johns Hopkins University; was Director of Evaluation for the MacArthur Foundation (in Chicago); Senior Associate with Rainbow Research; and Professor at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs (for over twenty years.) His work has addressed many topics, including especially citizen leadership; community organizing; the value of disruptive innovation; asset based community development; integration of labeled people into everyday community life; and the dangers of an over-reliance on professionals. He has led or assisted with a range of evaluations on various subjects, in various places, including juvenile justice, neighborhood revitalization, peace-making and conflict resolution, and the mis-use of jails.
He is married, the father of three, and the grandfather of four.