Theo Spencer is a strategic advisor for environmental organizations and donors on policy issues and advocacy campaigns.
Until October 2018, he was a Senior Policy Advocate at the Natural Resource Defense Council. Theo has worked on a wide variety of climate, land, and water issues, including state, regional, and federal vehicle and power plant emissions standards, efforts to overhaul the federal coal program, challenges to proposed new coal plants, and the impacts of climate change on water resources. He also helped manage NRDC’s urban climate preparedness initiative.
As a former reporter at Fortune magazine, he has worked with the financial community to raise awareness about risks posed by climate change and opportunities in clean energy investment.
Theo holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Middlebury College and a master’s from UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. He serves as a trustee of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the Population Council, and the Trust for America’s Health, which he also co-founded. He previously served as trustee and president of the Rockefeller Family Fund.
Theo is a fifth-generation member of the Rockefeller family.