Don Nelson

Thanks for coming to my blog. I'm Don Nelson. I'm 46, married and am the president of Nevada LIFE (Life Issues Forum and Education).

I was born in Berkeley, CA in the 60's and lived in Oakland and Alameda all my life until I went to graduate school at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. I was not always the committed pro-lifer that I am today. I was very pro-abortion-not pro-choice, but pro-abortion in my 20's while going to an evangelical liberal arts school in San Francisco in the 80s. In my junior year, a friend had an abortion. I saw her crying about it. She'd been to the clinic three times, but they couldn't stop the bleeding. She told me she didn't think they cared. Another friend had an abortion around the same time. Somehow those abortions, along with Jesuit Priest John Powell's book Abortion The Silent Holocaust, not my Bibilcal studies, led me to my pro-life position and concern for the unborn, the vulnerable and then other culture of life issues like cloning and stem cell research. I still don't understand the radical change of heart and mind on abortion. It just happened.

From 1990-1998 I was an evangelical minister with the American Baptist Churches USA. My work with Nevada LIFE and my role as the past host of Voice for Life on Immaculate Heart Radio, have provided me with an extensive pro-life rolodex! If I don't know something, I'd be happy to steer you to those who do.

In my mid twenties, I led our youth group at our church in downtown Oakland. We had 9 different langugage groups. Our kids were from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, El Salvador (Central America), China, Ethiopia and etc. Ethiopian food is the hottest.

In high school I ran cross country, track, played basketball and golf. I'm a 10 or better handicap in golf, depending on the time of year. It's hard to play through the year in N. NV. My favorite course in N.NV/Eastern CA is White Hawk Ranch. I like Arrow Creek and Sierra NV Golf Ranch. I LOVED playing at Spy Glass Hill on the Monterey Peninsula. Most of the time I play public courses.

I live in Nevada. I ride my bike in the hills east of Sparks. I play the drums in the youth band at church. I do bio-ethics presentations to various groups. I was the Bush Cheney '04 Social Conservative Chair for Washoe County Nevada. My favorite place in the world is Yosemite National Park in California.