Paul Brainerd (born 1947) is an American businessman, computer programmer and philanthropist. In 1984, he co-founded the

Aldus Corporation Aldus Corporation was an American software company best known for its pioneering desktop publishing (DTP) software. PageMaker, the company's most well-known product, ushered in the modern era of desktop computers such as the Macintosh seeing ...

, which released

Pagemaker Adobe PageMaker (formerly Aldus) is a discontinued desktop publishing computer program introduced in 1985 by the Aldus Corporation on the Apple Macintosh. The combination of the Macintosh's graphical user interface, PageMaker publishing software, ...

, the first consumer-use

desktop publishing Desktop publishing (DTP) is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal ("desktop") computer. It was first used almost exclusively for print publications, but now it also assists in the creation of various forms of online ...

software. Brainerd has since coined the term "desktop publishing". Since 1995, he has been involved in philanthropic efforts, including the founding of Social Ventures Partners in 1997, a global organization that connects local investors with non-profit community organizations.

Life

Brainerd was born in

Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the Me ...

, to Phil and VerNatta Brainerd. He attended the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is a ...

, where he received his BA in business administration, followed by an M.S. in journalism from the University of Minnesota. He was the editor for the school's paper, the

Oregon Daily Emerald The ''Daily Emerald'' is the independent, student-run weekly newspaper produced at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Its predecessor, the ''Oregon Daily Emerald'' newspaper, founded in 1899, trained many prominent writer ...

. Following graduation, he worked at the

Minneapolis Star-Tribune Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Desktop publishing

Brainerd co-founded the publishing/printing software company Aldus in 1984. The company subsequently brought

PageMaker Adobe PageMaker (formerly Aldus) is a discontinued desktop publishing computer program introduced in 1985 by the Aldus Corporation on the Apple Macintosh. The combination of the Macintosh's graphical user interface, PageMaker publishing software, ...

to the market. Brainerd is also known for having coined the term "desktop publishing". He stepped down from his position of president and chief executive of Aldus in 1993, ten years after its founding.

Philanthropy

In 1995, Brainerd founded the Brainerd Foundation, a small family foundation that provides innovative grantmaking to

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

communities and nonprofits to build a lasting conservation ethic at the local, state, and federal level. Brainerd founded Social Ventures Partners (SVP) in 1997. The organization works by matching philanthropists, who provide funding and mentorship, with local community organizations. By 2017, the organization consisted of 3,500 venture philanthropists in 43 cities and nine countries. The group's collective investments total more than $63 million in over 800 organizations. In 2000, Paul Brainerd founded Islandwood, an environmental learning center created to improve access to meaningful, nature-based learning experiences for the region's children. The center is located on

Bainbridge Island, Washington Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 23,025 at the 2010 census and an estimated 25,298 in 2019, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County. ...

. In 2018, Brainerd founded Camp Glenorchy, an accommodation provider that operates in Glenorchy,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. Camp Glenorchy is designed, built, engineered and operated in line with the philosophy and principles of the Living Building Challenge, a sustainability standard for buildings. The establishment of the camp was controversial with the local community.

References

Sources

HistoryLink Essay: Paul BrainerdBrainerd Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brainerd, Paul Philanthropists from Oregon American computer programmers University of Oregon alumni People from Medford, Oregon Living people 1947 births