Denise Bewsell

Denise leads Scarlatti’s agricultural extension team. She has worked in the primary sector for more than 25 years, in roles including extension officer, facilitator, extension researcher, extension programme designer and evaluator. Extension has been a constant throughout her work, particularly the challenge of helping industry groups, delivery teams, farmers and growers, turn ideas, research and innovation into practical change.

Denise is often involved in projects when organisations need to improve uptake, strengthen delivery, or create a clearer pathway from activity to impact. She helps clients understand what needs to change, what is getting in the way, and how extension activity can be designed, sequenced and adapted to support adoption and action on farm.

Her work includes developing extension strategies, designing Theory of Change, building the capability of extension teams, supporting delivery in practice, and assessing extension impact. She brings a strong focus on co-design, working with end users, partners and delivery teams to build engagement and shared ownership of approaches that work on the ground.

Denise believes that at the heart of any project is people, and that understanding how people respond to change is key to making that change effective. She combines extensive extension experience with practical facilitation, training and evaluation expertise to help clients move beyond counting activity to understand what is really driving behaviour change and impact.

She holds a Master of Commerce and Management from Lincoln University and a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from the University of Melbourne. Denise is a longtime member of the Australasia Pacific Extension Network (APEN) and a recipient of APEN’s Lifetime Achievement Award.