Don Gordon completed his undergraduate education at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he studied animal behavior and earned bachelor's degrees in biology and English literature. He received his master's degree in occupational therapy at USC in 1994 and earned his PhD in occupational science at USC in 2002. His doctoral work involved a close analysis of the scientific foundations of occupational therapy practice.

Dr. Gordon is currently the lead occupational therapist of the inpatient psychiatric unit at the Keck Medical Center of USC. He has been practicing in both psychiatry and physical disabilities throughout most of his career, and has instructed a wide array of classes in the USC Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. He has also been a life advisor at the California Wellbeing Insitute, complementing his ongoing professional interests in the neuroscience of human behavior, positive psychology, and prevention and wellness.