Mimi Pierce with her dog, Sophie.

This past fall, the Department had the pleasure of visiting with alumna Mimi Pierce, and hearing about her recent venture into the world of nonprofits. A longtime advocate for the arts and education, Pierce is spearheading the development of the Nordso Foundation, an organization dedicated to the cleanup of plastic waste from the Salish Sea.

In honor of her late son, Martin King, the foundation hopes to educate the youth on the ecological effects of plastics on sea life, and the importance of keeping our environment clean and healthy for future generations. The Foundation plans to use Martin’s boat, the Nordso, a 26-foot trawler, as a tool to build on the excitement for the community, and to go out and begin the complex job of cleaning up the Salish Sea.

Although the foundation is still in its early beginnings, Pierce says she is excited for what’s to come, and cannot wait to get this tribute to her son up and running. Starting a foundation is difficult, “sometimes one step forward and two steps back,” said Pierce. But every day brings new possibilities, and Pierce is more than willing to lead the way. “There aren’t too many 88 year old people I know who want to start a foundation,” she laughs.

Pierce hales from Seattle, and is a retired real estate agent. She grew up an avid skier, writer and was top of her class in high school.  During her time as a student in the Department of Communication, she served as the Business Manager for The Daily. In her sophomore year, she left school to join the Marines. She served for one year in World War II before returning to UW to complete her degree. From her first marriage, she had two sons a year apart, George King and Martin King. She later completed her Masters in Teaching from UW and worked as a teacher of grammar at Mercer Island High School.  After some time as a teacher, she moved on to work in real estate and did very well over her 7 year career in this field.  She also was an avid sailor and the skipper of her own 27-foot sailboat. Today, she is very active and involved in the arts community, serving on boards or committees of PONCHO, Pratt, and Cornish. She also loves to play bridge, cook, and take her dog, Sophie, for walks. Rather, “she’s taking me for a walk!”