Gordon Thomas Ward is a writer, presenter, and educator.  He is shown here beneath the historic, 600-year-old, White Oak tree in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

Born in Tacoma, Washington, Mr. Ward's family moved to New Jersey when he was eleven months old.  Both of his parents were talented artists and enjoyed the outdoors, and his family divided their time between the family’s home in Bernardsville, New Jersey, and a summer cottage in Maine.  After high school, Mr. Ward went on to major in fine arts and psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey, where his father was a professor.  Gordon currently divides his professional time between writing, lecturing, and being the Director of Youth and Family Activities at a Presbyterian church.  He has worked as a history teacher in the classroom and as a group transformation facilitator in the experiential education field where he designed and facilitated teambuilding programs for twenty-two years.  Clients have ranged from education groups in international conference settings to major corporations, government groups, athletic teams, community groups, and individuals.

A lifelong writer, Mr. Ward’s works have included books, speeches, newspaper and magazine articles, and poetry.  Gordon is the author of Life on the Shoulder: Rediscovery and Inspiration along the Lewis and Clark Trail (Lucky Press 2005) and a self-published book of original poetry entitled Windows (1994).  A Bit of Earth (The History Press 2007) brings the author back to the land where he spent his childhood.  With echoes of Wordsworth and Thoreau, A Bit of Earth is a timeless meditation on the meaning of childhood.  Mr. Ward is a member of Haunted New Jersey, a premier group of paranormal investigators who make use of many years' worth of experience and the collection of forensic-based evidence to both dismiss and support claims of hauntings, especially in historic locations.  As a result, Mr. Ward's latest book Ghosts of Central Jersey: Historic Haunts of the Somerset Hills (The History Press, September 2008) is about ghostly phenomena at historic locations in New Jersey.  Also in the works is a manuscript that is more spiritual in nature and deals with sensing and experiencing the divine in nature and the environment.

The author currently resides in northern New Jersey where he continually pursues his other passions for songwriting and running.