James Gordon Nelson, (1932- ) was a professor at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario until his retirement in 1998. Nelson received his BA from McMaster University, his MA from Colorado, and his PhD from Johns Hopkins University. Before accepting a position with the University of Waterloo in 1975, Nelson held academic and administrative positions at the University of Calgary and the University of Western Ontario. He is an ecologist, a geographer, a planner, and a policy maker. James Gordon Nelson has been a member of the College of Fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, a committee member of the World Commission on Protected Areas of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, a member of the National Executive Committee of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness, and Ontario's Representative on the National Board of Governors of Heritage Canada. He has received many awards, including the first Natural Heritage Award in 1978, the Canadian Association of Geographers Award for Scholarly Distinction in Geography in 1983, the Massey Medal for the Royal Canadian Geographic Society in 1983, a Certificate of Achievement from the Grand River Conservation Authority in 1994, and the 1994 Environment Award for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo.