Dr. Don Elijah Eckhart is an educator, theologian, and the author of Jesus the Everlasting Hope of Humankind: Biblical Theology Prompted by Visions and Dreams from the Holy Spirit (2018). He is best known today for his work in theology, but that was not where his career began. He started out in economics and political science, graduating magna cum laude from Capital University in 1972, and went on to earn a Master of Public Administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania two years later.

That training led to thirty years of public service. From 1974 to 1978 he worked as a budget and administration officer for Flint, Michigan. He then served Dayton, Ohio as a senior staff analyst and manager of policy and financial analysis until 1982, and Montgomery County, Ohio as budget manager through 1985. For the next two decades he was a budget analyst and division chief for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission and Legislative Budget Office. He closed out his public service career as a manager training instructor affiliated with both The Ohio State University and Ohio University.

After retiring from government work, Don went back to school. This time he studied theology. He completed a Master of Christian Theology at Ashland Theological Seminary in 2013, and a Doctorate from the same seminary in 2020. His book and articles bring together decades of Scripture study, work in the classical biblical languages, and reflection on the visions and dreams he believes were given by the Holy Spirit.