Steve Fisher has been involved with NGOs and community organisations for almost his whole career, performing every imaginable role from volunteer support worker to project officer, chairperson, advisor and various leadership positions. He has worked on social, health and economic development projects in numerous places, especially in remote regions of Australia and in multiple countries in South Asia and Latin America.

In 2008, Steve founded Community Works, a international consulting company based in Melbourne, which he managed until 2024. He is the former Director of Kindred, which is an NGO registered in Australia and one of the directors of the Fundación Kindred, based in Colombia. He was formerly the Australia Director of Spring Impact, an international NGO that focuses on the scaling of social programs and the Asia Director of BasicNeeds, an international community mental health NGO established in the UK and India. He also served for periods as Deputy Director of the Intermediate Technology Development Group and Chief Operating Officer the Centre for Appropriate Technology.

Steve is now a consultant and advisor to multiple organisations, which have included Ninti One, the World Psychiatric Association and ConnectED. In 2016, Steve was appointed an Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne, where he coordinates and teaches the subject Practising Community-led Development as part of the masters program in International Development. He was formerly a board member of Intermediate Technology Consultants, the Colombian Children’s Foundation and Remotebiz and he was the Chair of the Mental Health Association of Central Australia.

Through the many experiences summarised above, Steve has developed specialised skills in development practice, NGO strategy, scaling successful programs, community mental health, participatory research, monitoring and evaluation for social development programs, community development and appropriate technology. As a facilitator and trainer for over 300 workshops in a range of settings in Australia (especially with remote Aboriginal communities), the Pacific, South and South-East Asia, Africa and Latin America, he is accustomed to working through complex issues with multiple participants. Steve is considered an ethical and considerate professional who is open, inquisitive and a critical thinker on the range of subjects related to development practice.