The lasting impact of Paul Brainerd’s dedicated work
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Former tech entrepreneur Paul Brainerd was best known for his role in bringing computers to the public, but his work to bring the public to nature has shaped generations in the Puget Sound.
Brainerd was the founder of “desktop publishing” software Pagemaker, the technology which popularized Macintosh computers, democratized printing, and laid the groundwork for ubiquitous software like Adobe InDesign. He died Feb. 15 at his home on Bainbridge Island at the age of 78.
But that was just 10 years of his career. For the next 30 years, he dedicated his time and resources to funding environmental initiatives, including BI’s landmark environmental education center, IslandWood, political action group Conservation Strategies, and dozens of others in the Pacific Northwest through the Brainerd Foundation — from mining moratoriums in Montana to nearly 11 million acres of parkland in British Columbia.
“He believed strongly in creating the world you want to live in,” said Megan Karch, chief executive officer of IslandWood. Karch worked closely with Brainerd to lead IslandWood’s growth and programming until his passing. “The common theme has been creating the world he wanted to live in and taking care of the planet […] I think he applied the same discipline to that work that he did in creating Aldus. I think he balanced this strong, strategic business analysis with a humbleness and heart, which is, frankly, I think, rare.”
To be clear, it was never about the legacy of Brainerd himself, Karch noted — “he only really wanted to talk about what was in the best interest of [our organization], what was in the best interest of the students, what was in the best interest of getting kids out there.”
IslandWood is a 256-acre living classroom in the middle of Bainbridge Island, featuring five unique ecosystems: a bog, a pond, a second-growth forest, a stream and a saltwater estuary. The organization partners with school districts and after-school programs to bring K-12 students, educators and researchers from around the Puget Sound to the center for immersive exposure to natural environments and environmental science.
In 2000, it nearly became a 20-parcel residential development, but Brainerd and his spouse, Debbi — both lifelong lovers of the outdoors and Pacific Northwest ecology — heard about the land sale and became inspired to preserve it.
In talks with Tony Angell, then-state director of environmental education, Debbi learned that despite being a state-mandated tenet of public education, many underprivileged youth in Washington had little access to nature. The Brainerds found this troubling: “There was never funding provided to support that mandate,” said Debbi in a 2023 video from IslandWood.
“Some of us were lucky enough to have experiences outside in nature growing up […] In some ways, I think that experience — along with my husband Paul’s at a small cabin near Diamond Lake, Oregon — led us both to creating the school in the woods,” Debbi said.
Karch said that many of the programs and buildings at IslandWood embody the Brainerds’ values related to conservation. The culture Paul Brainerd fostered at the nonprofit was one of inquiry, close listening, and dedication to the mission at hand, she explained.
“He did follow his own example. Paul never lost sight of what we were trying to do. He never lost sight of the difference we were making in the lives of kids, and he never lost sight of the difference we were making in inspiring others to make choices on behalf of our planet,” Karch said.
