Prior to forming Facilities Management Peer Advisors in 2020, Don Guckert served as the Associate Vice President for Facilities Management at the University of Iowa where he was responsible for campus master planning, space management, capital project planning, design and construction, utilities production and distribution, energy conservation, facilities maintenance, custodial services, landscape operations, capital renewal, and the Office of Sustainability.  In 1986 Don began his career in higher education by serving as the Director of Planning, Design & Construction for the University of Missouri.

After retiring from the University of Iowa, Don started up APPA Advisors and served as its vice president for four years until stepping down in September of 2025 after successfully completing 40 organization peer reviews, including several repeat commissions. He has more higher educational reviews to his credit than any other peer reviewer actively providing professional services. He draws on the most experienced and respected organizational review practitioners in the facilities profession to serve on his teams for organizational reviews.

In his more than three decades in higher education Don has maintained an active involvement in facilities management professional associations, including serving as APPA’s President. He also served as the Dean of Planning, Design & Construction for APPA’s Institute for Facilities Management for 25 years and has authored more than a dozen articles for professional publications. He is a sought after educator and conference speaker on a number of topics, including his personal experience, as featured in The New York Times, in battling higher education’s most costly natural disaster. Don has been recognized as a long standing subject matter expert on planning, design and construction organizations, organizational strategic planning, facilities finance, and AI and other emerging technologies reshaping the profession.