Journeys to Professional Excellence: Stories of Courage, Innovation, and Risk-Taking in the Lives of Noted Psychologists and Counselors edited by Frederic P. Bemak and Robert K. Conyne explores the professional journeys of well-known psychologists and counselors, examining factors that contributed to their successes and struggles in the field. Powerful narratives cover the challenges and joys related to ethnic identity; moving from poverty; finding significance; dealing with immigrant status; exploring public policy; challenging the status quo; experiencing serendipity and exploring one’s way; moving into new professional roles; and taking risks. These stories will ignite passion in future psychologists and counselors by helping them reflect on the relationship between their own personal and professional identities.
Fred Bemak is a Professor and Academic Program Coordinator of the Counseling and Development Program and Director and co-founder of the Diversity Research and Action Center at George Mason University. He is also the founder and Director of Counselors Without Borders. He began his career working in Upward Bound, where he later became the Director, providing a foundation for his lifetime work in cross-cultural psychology. He has held administrative faculty positions at Johns Hopkins University and Ohio State University. Fred has over 100 publications in professional journals and book chapters, and has co-authored 5 books. He has provided extensive consultation and training with governments and organizations throughout the United States and internationally in over 55 countries. Fred has received 3 Fulbright Scholarships to work in Brazil, Scotland, and Turkey, been a World Rehabilitation Fund International Exchange of Experts Fellow in India, and received a Kellogg International Fellow award to work and study throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and held visiting faculty appointments at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, University of Queensland in Australia, Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, and the National Taiwan Normal University in Taiwan. He is an invited speaker at numerous national and international forums and has received a number of awards including the American Counseling Association Kitty Cole Human Rights Award and the American Counseling Association Gilbert and Kathleen Wrenn Award for a Humanitarian and Caring Person. He is past-president of Counselors for Social Justice and a Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the American Counseling Association as well as the recipient of an Honorary Professorship at Amity University in India.
Robert K. Conyne, Ph.D., William A. Allen Boeing Endowed Chair & Distinguished Professor, Seattle University, 2013-14 and Professor Emeritus from the University of Cincinnati, is a licensed psychologist, clinical counselor, and fellow of the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) and the American Psychological Association. He has amassed 42 years of professional experience as a university professor and department head, counselor, administrator, consultant, and trainer, and, most recently, as a consultant to military personnel and their families at U.S. installations both at home and overseas. Bob has received many awards, including Eminent Career Award from the ASGW; Lifetime Achievement Award in Prevention, Society of Counseling Psychology of the APA; Distinguished Alumni Award of Distinction from Purdue University; and has been designated a Soros International Scholar. He was the 2009 president of the APA′s Division of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy, and in 1996 was president of the Association for Specialists in Group Work. With over 200 scholarly publications and presentations including 14 books in his areas of expertise (group work, prevention, and ecological counseling), along with broad international consultation in these areas, Bob is recognized as an expert in working with people and systems. With colleague (and wife), Lynn S. Rapin, Ph.D., he also helps people plan and prepare psychologically for their upcoming retirement, using the holistic approach they developed, "Charting Your Personal Future." His most recent publication is the
Prevention Practice Kit, co-edited with Arthur M. Horne, Ph.D., immediately preceded by the Handbook of
Group Counseling (edited, Oxford University Press, 2011). Forthcoming is the
Group Work Practice Kit (edited, Sage). In all these edited books, Bob also authored contributions.
