Son of Thomas M and Esther (McPherson) in Pittsburgh. BA in Mathematics Brown U, 1980.
MS Civil Engineering, 1986, MA Architecture 1990 U California, Berkeley. Presently a Sructural Engineer in Berkeley, CA, Co-developer of the use of stacked hay bales as walls and sructural elements.
Married Christina Tarr in 1988, father of Nora and Madeline Tarr-Donahue, 1989 and 1992.