President & CEO American Institute for Preventive Medicine
About
What was your first step after undergraduate graduation & how did it impact your career path?
I taught in the U of M Psychology Department as an instructor, and I also worked for the Institute for Behavior Change doing psychotherapy. I then became an executive director for Project Outreach. The things that I learned at U of M as well as in those first jobs influenced me to develop behavior change programs to help people improve their lifestyles.
What are you doing today?
I am President and CEO of the American Institute for Preventive Medicine. The Institute is a leading developer and provider of health management programs and self-care publications. I founded the company in 1983.
How do you use your psychology undergraduate experience in your work?
The concepts I learned in my classes, particularly those in behavior modification, form the basis for our lifestyle change programs at the American Institute for Preventive Medicine.
What inspired you to enter that field/job/profession? What excites you most about the future of your profession?
It was an outgrowth of my doctoral work at U of M. My thesis was the design and implementation of a tobacco cessation program.
The development of more online wellness interventions that are scalable. Also, the potential for taking worksite wellness to other countries.
What advice do you have for students getting a degree in the UM Psychology Department or considering your profession?
Try to experience the type of psychology you want to get involved in before you commit to that field. I always thought that I wanted to be a therapist, but luckily, early on, I realized that it wasn’t for me. So I firmly believe in experiential education. Project Outreach afforded that type of experience. Rather than trying to learn the field through textbooks, try to learn through doing.
What was your favorite experience while studying in the UM Psychology Department?
The work that I did at Project Outreach, where I worked with patients at the Northville State Mental Health Hospital.
