A long road to the top

Edward Wilson may well be the only local CEO who has spent a night in a Sudanese prison.

Wilson is the new president of the Earthwatch Institute, one of the world's largest private funders of scientific field research. The Maynard-based organization is marking its 35th anniversary.

Wilson's African adventure occurred while on break from studies at Kings College in London in his native Britain. He visited Sudan with a friend, whose father worked for Shell Oil in Khartoum, during the famine of 1982.

Planning at the time to become a journalist, Wilson snapped photos at a refugee camp that the government was establishing on barren ground. ``I had the burning righteousness to expose to the world that foreign aid was being used as a tool of the government and perpetuating the famine," he said.

Within hours, the two friends were picked up by secret police, separated, and tossed into prison.

``It was pretty scary," said Wilson.

While he was being interrogated the next morning, Wilson heard English voices coming from outside the building.

``I ran past the guard and began shouting my name out the window, and that I was being held," he said.

It turned out to be a smart move. The voices were of British Embassy staff members, who had been looking for Wilson and his buddy. The diplomats were leaving the prison after being told by police that they had no record of an Edward Wilson being held there.

The college students were released and given 24 hours to leave the country.

Today, Wilson presides over a staff of 150 in Maynard's landmark Clock Tower Place. The 19th-century wool mill is now a clearing house for environmental research projects conducted worldwide. Earthwatch receives some 300 applications from scientists looking for research fund s and volunteers. The organization recruits people willing to pay for the privilege of working as a research assistant in the field. Their payments -- about $2,000 for an average two-week trip -- help cover the costs of the research.

Through its offices in the United States, England, Japan, and Australia, Earthwatch annually recruits 4,000 volunteers to take part in 140 projects in 55 countries. They include opportunities to study global warming at such farflung locations as the Arctic and Australia's rain forest.

``It's one of the most brilliant forms of nonprofit development ever created in terms of raising funds," Wilson said.

Wilson has expanded Earthwatch's efforts by establishing a media unit that produces interactive educational material and documentaries. This winter the Discovery Channel will air ``A Year on Earth," which follows teenagers on expeditions across the world, including Brazil and Sri Lanka. One of the teens is Tyler Robinson from Lincoln.

The son of a career military officer, Wilson had seen much of the world by the time he was 7. At that point, his parents decided he needed stability and enrolled him in boarding school in Britain.

After earning a bachelor's degree in geography with a specialization in African studies and Third World development, Wilson followed his father into the service. He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served five years in the British Army as a counterterrorism specialist.

But Wilson's real love was the environment, the seeds having been planted during a year off from college that he spent with Ian Player, founder of the Wilderness Leadership School in Natal , South Africa. After leaving the military, he worked at game preserves and eco tourism operations in Africa.

Vacationing in the United States, he was introduced to Earthwatch founder Brian Rosborough through a friend of his parents. He was so enthralled that when he learned there were no paying jobs available, he volunteered in the mailroom. He proceeded to rise through the ranks and went on numerous expeditions. One of his favorites took him to Inner Mongolia, where he studied the expanding Gobi desert.

Wilson was transferred to the main office in Maynard as a vice president in the late '90s and was named president and CEO in November. Now 39, he lives in Concord with his wife, Imogen, and two children.

Perhaps Wilson's interest in government policy, the environment, and human rights explains the answer to this cocktail party question: If he could have a drink with two influential figures, who would they be?

``First I'd like to meet George Bush, as I really, really want to find out what if anything goes on in that mind," said Wilson. ``It would be illuminating and fascinating at the same time. If I recovered from that, I'd love to have a drink with Nelson Mandela."

That, he said, would provide him enough balance between the spectrums.

``I'd like to save Mandela for last so I'd leave on a high, or at least with some optimism."

To learn more about Earthwatch, log on to its website, www.earthwatch.org.

THE SINGING CPA: Margery Piercey has always enjoyed performing in front of a crowd. On Aug. 15, the singing CPA put up her biggest number yet: roughly 36,000, for her performance of the national anthem at Fenway Park.

``I'd always wanted to combine my passion for singing with my love of the hometown teams," said the 44-year-old Sudbury resident and principal of Wolf & Co., a certified public accounting and business consulting firm.

Growing up in Arlington, she was the fourth of five daughters and the first to join her father in becoming a real sports fan. Depending on the season, they would cheer on the Sox, Patriots, or Celtics.

Piercey owes her Fenway gig to Cheryl McCloud, Wolf's marketing manager. Since learning of Piercey's passion for singing and the Sox, McCloud has been bombarding the fan services office at Fenway with phone calls, e-mails, and CDs touting the vocal talents of her boss.

``She gives so much to everyone else that I wanted to give something back to her," McCloud said.

Piercey's performance took place on the company's night at Fenway; 100 of the firm's 150 employees were there to cheer her on.

``It was a nerve- racking experience, but wonderful," said Piercey, adding that she won ``cool mom" points with her teenagers.

As a teen in the late '70s, she had dreams of singing the anthem at a Celts, Sox, or Pats game. In January 2005, she sang in front of 14,000 Celtics fans. At the time she was president of the Massachusetts Society of CPAs, which pitched her voice for Young CPA Night at the Garden.

Piercey has been performing publicly since she was in kindergarten. She was a singing bunny in a school play; belted out ``Climb Every Mountain" for her sixth-grade graduation; and spent years in various church choirs. Now she sings at funerals and weddings. Last month, she sang for her sister's wedding, accompanied on guitar by her son, Graham, a freshman at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High.

Shrewsbury area residents may know her from her appearances at the annual gala of the Tara Bean Brain Tumor Foundation. Tara, who died at the age of 10 in 2002, was a fourth-grader from Shrewsbury and daughter of Piercey's best friend. The foundation raises funds and awareness for pediatric brain tumor research and treatment.

With the Celtics and Red Sox scratched off her list, should fans be keeping an eye on the 50 -yard line at Gillette Stadium this fall?

``Some have commented that the anthem trifecta would be a performance for the Patriots," she said, ``but I won't be pursuing it -- though I'll be glued to the set on Sundays when the season begins."

For information on the Tara Bean Foundation, log on to www.tarabeanfoundation.com.

AROUND THE TOWNS: If you see a ``Conquer Cancer" license plate, think of the late Michael Zuker of Newton. The Registry of Motor Vehicles unveiled the specialty plate last week, following a campaign by Zuker's widow, Susan. She and sons Matthew and Jonathan founded the Conquer Cancer Coalition, which will be the recipient of proceeds from the special plates, after Michael Zuker died of lung cancer two years ago. . . . Dunkin' Donuts franchise owners in New England raised $1 million for the Jimmy Fund at the ninth annual Dunkin' Donuts George Mandell Memorial Golf Tournament. The recipients of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute research grants include local physicians Nancy Lin of Wellesley and Jennifer Brown, Ian Krop, and Ron Drapkin, all of Newton. Cancer survivor Larry Streeter of Natick participated in the event.

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