Theo Shaw

Theo is a visionary leader who collaborates to develop systems and practices that address historical inequities to ensure all students and communities thrive by design.

Theo currently serves Hunger Free Colorado as Chief Operations Officer at Hunger Free Colorado. Theo leads HFC’s efforts to become an anti-racist organization that intentionally works to dismantle elements of inequities and pursue institutional systems and policy change to overturn the legacy of systemic racism.

Theo previously served as Director of Equity and Community Partnership at Jeffco Public Schools, leading capacity-building efforts to foster equity for students, families, and schools. In his role as Executive Director of Culturally Sustaining Curriculum and Instruction at Denver Public School, Theo created a plan, name, and vision for a new department combining culturally
responsive education and curriculum and instruction to ensure culturally responsive work was not an “add-on” but embedded into all teaching and learning. Aligned with the new name, he created a vision with stakeholders and our teams that called for the “disruption of systems of inequity to provide a culturally and linguistically sustaining education that enables us to re-envision rather than repeat the district’s historical injustices to provide an equitable education for ALL students.”

Theo has dedicated his career to combating inequity through community collaboration and helping organizations seek partnerships from impacted communities for transformational change. He holds a B.S. in History and Secondary Education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, an M.Ed. from Xavier, and an Academic and Intellectually Gifted Licensure from Duke University. Theo is pursuing his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Denver.