Don Pierce

For the first twenty years of his life Don Pierce spent much of his free time learning about his local natural environment. Both formally and informally, Pierce studied the natural world, eventually becoming an encyclopedia of information about Nature. Then, in 1984, he had a dream that opened up an entire new realm, the inner world of the mind and spirituality. For the next fifteen years Pierce explored this dimension of existence, eventually discovering that the bridge between the outer and inner world is where meaning is generated. The Heartwood Path is the fruit of all this learning. Pierce began his career in the field of environmental protection, working for the Coalition on American Rivers and eventually Friends of the Earth, where he had as his mentor David Brower—the Earth's most influential environmentalist in the post-World War II era. A noted conservationist himself, Pierce successfully led many efforts to protect the environment of the Midwest. He was also one of the principal lobbyists for the second largest conservation victory in history—The Alaska Lands Act. He served as a public interest lobbyist in Missouri and Washington D.C. When not working for Friends of the Earth, Pierce volunteered as Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club and was a governor-appointed Commissioner for the Illinois Nature Preserve System.

Always a maverick with an ability to put seemingly disparate things together effectively, Pierce's undergraduate degree was from a college that only allowed admittance if it could be proven that traditional academic routes would not be suitable. Instead of majoring in a traditional discipline such as biology or journalism, Pierce convinced the College of General Studies at the University of Missouri to allow him to waive prerequisite requirements so he could take the environmental courses from a variety of academic departments. Then, after working as an environmental lobbyist, Pierce continued his education by obtaining a Masters Degree in political science. Realizing that he did not have any credentials in the "people-helping" fields, Pierce went on to become a certified massage therapist. He also received a Master of Social Work degree from St. Louis University—picking that field of study because social work deals with the relationship between people and their environment, a major theme of the Heartwood Path.

Pierce has had distinguished careers in three diverse fields: environmental protection, printing (he is owner and President of Graham-Pierce Stationery Company, Inc.), and social work. He directed an after-school program for teens in Springfield Illinois and provided psychosocial rehabilitation to mentally ill clients in Belleville, Illinois. Pierce has also worked as a manager of a horse-breeding ranch, a massage therapist, and a drummer in a classic rock and roll band.

Seeking to perfect the methodology used in many of the Heartwood Path Challenge Initiatives, Pierce served as the Director of Life Adventures, a challenge education program within the YMCA of Southwest Illinois. During his sixteen years of employment at the YMCA, Life Adventures served over 100,000 people in a variety of ways, ranging from team challenge courses to high adventure trips to self-discovery workshops.

Currently, Pierce is working toward a Ph.D. in eco-psychology. He is enrolled in courses in applied organic psychology that stress the Natural Systems Thinking Process; Natural Attraction Ecology; and connecting with nature for healing, counseling, and guidance. Directed by Michael J. Cohen, Ed.D., Pierce’s doctoral program is through the Institute of Global Education and Akamai University in Hawaii.

Born in 1954, Pierce is a single father of two women. His personal interests include canoeing, backpacking, gardening, music, exercise, and nature study. He is currently restoring a large house in the Belleville National Historic District near St. Louis. Preferring to reuse materials rather than squander them, he plans to convert this home into a model of how ecological living can be compatible with historic preservation. This house will become the first Heartwood House (see Projects page of this website). He loves to travel to pristine wilderness areas, historic places, and the so-called "power-spots" where he can restore his spirit.