Journeys to Professional Excellence

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.

"Journeys to Professional Excellence is a wonderful collection of diverse narratives. Readers will find themselves drawn into these stories and will leave with a better understanding of what it means to be a practicing counselor."

• Acknowledgments1. Courage, Innovation, and Risk-Taking in Professional Journeys - Robert K. Conyne and Frederic P. Bemak2. The Road to Mattering: Challenging the Status Quo, Promoting Wellness and Fairness - Isaac Prilleltensky3. Peace to Our Ghosts - Jean Maria Arrigo4. Taking the Scenic Route: A Professional Journey - Sharon L. Bowman5. Travels With a Contrarian Person, Psychologist, Activist: Becoming “Radicalized” by Injustice, Violence, and Stasis - Anthony J. Marsella6. Journey to the West - Jean Lau Chin7. Journey to Advance Equity: A Never-Ending Road - Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy8. Prepared Serendipity Mixed With Naïve but Eager Curiosity - Arthur M. Horne9. My Journey as a Chinese Immigrant Counseling Psychologist - Y. Barry Chung10. Public Policy’s Highly Personalized Nature - Patrick H. DeLeon and Omni Cassidy11. Buscando Mi Propio Camino: A Journey of Professional Identity and Honesty - Edil Torres-Rivera12. A Journey From a Single-Wide Trailer to the White House - Dorothy L. Espelage13. My Professional Journey - Melba J. T. Vasquez14. Common Themes of Courage, Innovation, and Risk-Taking - Frederic P. Bemak and Robert K. ConyneAbout the EditorsAbout the Contributors