EARLY LIFE AND WORK
Originally from Philadelphia, Don worked six years in inner city Brooklyn, New York after completing his doctorate where he was active in the Civil Rights Movement, anti-war activism and efforts to end poverty. He worked as an Organizer in poor sections of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was Director of "A Better Chance" House in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania where he helped nine disadvantaged high school students win scholarships to some of the best Colleges in the Nation.

PIONEERING EFFORTS
A Community Organizer his entire life, Don has been involved in several pioneering organizing efforts including Cesar Chavez's Farmworker Organization in Philadelphia, the South African Anti-Apartheid Movement, and efforts for justice in the Middle East. He has lived and worked in Nicaragua and served on the American Friends Service Committee's Africa Project for over 25 years.

COMMUNITY SERVICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Don is currently in his sixth term as Kalamazoo City Commissioner where he focuses on issues affecting working families and the poor. He introduced and helped pass two resolutions opposing the war in Iraq, and one resolution condemning the so-called Patriot Act (which threatens our civil liberties) on the city commission. In the community, he was a leader in establishing the Kalamazoo Living Wage Coalition, Poverty Reduction Initiative and Kalamazoo Communities in Schools.

TEACHING AND EDUCATION
Don is a Professor in the School of Social Work at Western
Michigan University, where he has taught for 31 years. He
teaches classes in Social Policy, Community Organizing and Social Change. He is also the Assistant Director of the University's Lewis Walker Institute for Race and Ethnic Relations. He has a Masters in Divinity degree from Mary Immaculate Seminary, an M.A. from Fordham University and Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College.

PERSONAL
Don is married fifteen years to Kathleen, a Social Worker. They have one son, Nathaniel.