While a freshman at the University of Colorado, Ted co-founded the CU Wilderness Study Group in 1970. After graduation, Ted ran the Colorado Wilderness Workshop, the only statewide preservation organization at the time. From 1975 to 1985, he was a leader of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, campaigning to secure designation of the first wilderness areas in the Tongass National Forest. At that time, he was recognized as the most accomplished environmental leader in the country of 25 years of age or less by the Tyler Foundation, which awarded him its 1976 Junior Tyler Ecology Award. Later, he earned a Ph.D. in geography from the University of California, Berkeley, investigating grassroots proposals for conservation and development in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil . After serving as a member of the faculty in the Geography Department of Michigan State University (1992 – 1998), Ted became a Member of the Faculty at The Evergreen State College. He teaches in both the Master of Environmental Study (MES) Program and in undergraduate programs, being affiliated with two planning units – Environmental Studies and Sustainability & Justice. His students published a major book under his guidance in April 2004, called Defending Wild Washington (The Mountaineers Books). His most recent research was a collaborative investigation of tribal perspectives on marine protected areas in western Washington.