Biography of James A. Swan, Ph.D.

custom horizontal line

James grew up on a 10 mile-long cigar-shaped island in Lake Erie, Grosse Ile, where he spent countless hours on Lake Erie. In high school he won awards in football, golf and archery. He began his acting career with the role of "Charlie Davenport" in the Senior Class play, "Annie Get Your Gun."

Living downwind and downstream from Detroit, where oil spills from nighttime releases from factories coated the water and occasional clouds of irritating smoke from mainland factories often filled the air, he chose a college major of conservation at the University of Michigan, where he also played intercollegiate football and rugby (leading scorer, 1963), until knee injuries put him on the sidelines.

James received his BS in Conservation Education, an MS in Resources Planning , and a Ph.D. in a combined program between Natural Resources and Psychology in 1969 and developed skills in broadcast journalism at the U. of M. TV Center, where he wrote and hosted two documentaries. He also developed musical skills playing folk and rock music, appearing with Steve Newhouse (Doc Watson), and working with the Canterbury House coffee house to produce many of the best-known folk performers of the 1960's.

In 1970 he was one of the producers of the nation's largest college Earth Day 1970 teach-in that drew 50,000. That same year he appeared at 22 teach-ins across the US, speaking and playing music.

Seeking to understand how to most effectively educate people about the environment, in the early 1970's James' research on environmental attitudes and values and mass communications won him awards from the American Public Health Association and Psi Chi Psychology Honorary and resulted in shake-ups in the public health departments of several Detroit communities. He is one of the original founders of the Division of Environmental Psychology in the American Psychological Association and helped write the definition of environmental education that is used around the world today.

From 1969-1978 James was a college professor, teaching both psychology and environmental studies. This included:

1969-1972 University of Michigan taught Conservation and Environmental Psychology and was a Research Associate at the Institute for Social Research, conducting studies of rioting in Detroit, mental health in Detroit Schools, decision-making in resource management agencies, and future forecasting the nations water resources, including predicting potential terrorist threats.

1972-73 W. Washington State University taught environmental studies
and environmental psychology. Studied social implications of Trans-Alaskan Pipeline.

1973-1976 University of Oregon Chairman Leisure and Cultural
Services, School of Community Service and Public Affairs, Director CSPA
Independent Studies program.

In 1975, he produced a National Endowment for the Humanities-sponsored symposium on the spiritual aspects of sports that included a 5,000-person Professional Track Association Track meet. Michael Wiese's documentary, "Extraordinary Powers," is based on this conference.

1978-1979 University of Washington, College of Forest Resources, taught Recreation Research Methods.

From 1974-1982 he maintained a practice as a psychotherapist, working with a number of national and world-class athletes. From 1979-1982 he directed a holistic health clinic in Seattles Pioneer Square, and produced a number of lectures and workshops featuring a wide-range of health practitioners. During this time he also lectured at the medical schools of the University of Washington and University of Puget Sound.

He taught socio-cultural anthropology at the California Institute of Integaral Studies in the late 1980's. He presently is a Research Adjunct at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology.

The Swan family tree immediately runs through Scotland and ultimately traces to the Saami (Lapps) of northern Scandinavia. The Swans were originally the Sweyns, who were known as keepers of the animals. Perhaps this is why in the 1970's James began studying native cultures American Indian, Inuit, and Asian.

Integrating his interests in psychology, native cultures and entertainment, between 1988-1993 James and his wife, Roberta, produced five landmark Spirit of Place symposiums in the US and Japan, seeking to explore the modern significance of ancient wisdom about the unique qualities of place. These programs attracted 10,000 participants, featured 375 speakers, including Thomas Banyacya and Don Elduardo Calderone and featured performances by Paul Horn, Anna Halprin, R. Carlos Nakai, Steven Halpern, and the Japanese rock band Earth Spirit, as well as participation from members of 20 American Indian tribes, Eskimos, African, Australian and Asian
traditional cultures.

In 1991 he launched a national program to promote buffalo restoration on Indian lands including concerts by Maria Muldaur and R. Carlos Nakai and producing a half-hour public television documentary "Buffalo Restoration On Indian Lands" featuring Tantoo Cardinal and Kimberly Norris Guerro that aired on public television stations in the US and Canada.

From 1990-93 he performed as "Recycleman," the rock and roll recycling clown, alone and with an all-star band (Muruga Booker (Stevie Wonder) on drums, James Gurley (Big Brother) on lead guitar, and Jack Prendergast (Buddy Rich) on keyboards; opening for Pride and Joy and Gary Lewis and the Playboys. Before the band recycled in 1994, they appeared on ABC World News and United Airlines In-Flight News, and were featured in a childrens music video produced by Scott Foresman.

James' screen acting career began as an extra in the movie "Tucker: The Man and His Dream(1988) when he was placed in a scene with Martin Landau who encouraged him to pursue acting. In addition to work in over 20 films and 3 dramatic TV series, James has appeared in over 40 commercials, industrials and print ads. In 2003, his song, "The Solution to Pollution", won Best Country Song in the ZAP Pollution Solution national contest.

He has appeared as a featured guest on the Donahue Show and Good Morning America sows, and was a writer/consultant and on-camera expert on the Sightings and Ancient Mysteries series.

The author seven popular non-fiction books that have sold well over
100,000 copies worldwide, two of which have been Book-of-The-Month Club selections-- Sacred Places and The Sacred Art of Hunting. (See Books for more details) He has also published over 300 articles in popular magazines, and is a Contributing Editor for ESPNOutdoors.com.

James enjoys many outdoor sports and has appeared on several outdoor TV shows, most recently The World of Beretta.. He has been a writer for the Outdoor TV shows "Bushnell's Secrets of the Wild," and currently is the writer for "Engel's Outdoor Experience," which won a Golden Moose award in 2002. In 2003 he wrote and hosted "Sports Afield TV.

In 2002 he and his son, Andrew, founded Snow Goose Productions, as a
full-service video and film production company. See web link for details. He also is a Director of Uncommon Dialogues Films, www.udfilms.com, which is Patrick Kilpatricks production company.

custom horizontal line

Honors and Special Recognition:


custom horizontal line

Public Speaking:

Since 1960, numerous appearances in the US, Canada, and Japan, speaking to audiences up to 4,000 on ecology, psychology, mass communications and native cultures. I have also been a master of ceremonies for numerous conferences, conventions and expositions.

A Partial List of Organizations that Have Sponsored Lectures or Workshops by James A. Swan


custom horizontal line