Dr. Kathleen Regan Figley (Download Resume .PDF)

Dr. Kathleen (Kathy) Regan Figley has been active in the disaster services profession since 1991, specializing in human services programs and disaster trauma/stress management.  Dr. Figley specializes in trauma affecting the general public, first responders, and the military; compassion stress management; and crisis intervention services at the local level through EAP providers.

Dr. Figley is the President and Founder of Figley Institute, which offers traumatologist certification courses and workshops/presentations.  Since the early 90's served for extended periods with the State of Florida Emergency Management (1991-1995; 1999-2001), FEMA (1995-1998) and CEO of Green Cross Academy of Traumatology (2001-2007), a non-profit corporation specializing in trauma-related  humanitarian efforts.  She serves as Adjunct Faculty at St Petersburg College's National Terrorism Preparedness Institute and Florida Regional Community Policing Institute; and Duquesne University School of Leadership and Professional Advancement.  Starting in the Fall 2009, she will serve as Adjunct Faculty with Tulane University, School of Social Work.  Dr. Figley has served as a volunteer member of the Florida Crisis Consortium since 2006.  She is certified as a Field Traumatologist, Compassion Fatigue Educator, Certified Traumatologist and Compassion Fatigue Therapist.  She received Master Traumatologist certification in 1999.  In 1998 Dr. Figley was recognized as Green Cross Projects’ Traumatologist of the Year. 

Dr. Figley’s catastrophic disaster deployments number more than 30, the first of which was Hurricane Andrew.  Other major disasters include the Hurricane Katrina (Louisiana -2006), December 2004 Asian Tsunami (Sri Lanka), the September 11 World Trade Center attack (2001), Northridge Earthquake (1994), and the Mid-West Floods (Iowa - 1993). For her work she received recognition from the SEIU Local 32BJ President, Governor Bush, and awards from the National Council on Family Relations “Distinguished Services to Families Award” (2001), the American Society for Public Administration North Florida Chapter “Exemplary Service Award” (2002), Spirit of Women “Small Business Winner” (2003), and the Tallahassee Association of Marriage and Family Therapy “Heart for Family” Award (2005). In 2006, Dr. Figley was regognized an an honored member of Cambridge Who's Who.

In 1981 Dr. Figley received her B.S. in Psychology with a minor is Business from the University of Alabama in Birmingham and she received her M.S. in Counseling and Human Systems in 1983 at Florida State University. She received her Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Counseling from Graduate Theological Foundation, South Bend, Indiana in 2008.

Dr. Figley is a member of Florida Emergency Preparedness Association, American Society for Training and Development, Tallahassee Chapter of American Society for Training and Development (Vice President of Finance 2007-2008), American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Tallahassee Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (Board Member 2006-2008), International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and Association of Thought Field Therapy.

Dr. Charles R. Figley (download biographical sketch) (download CV)

Dr. Charles Figley is a psychologist, family therapist, and Paul Henry Kurzweg Distinguished Chair in Disaster Mental Health and Professor at Tulane University School of Social Work. He is the founder and director of the Tulane Traumatology Institute (formerly FSU Traumatology Institute). Among other achievements, the Institute initiated the Green Cross Projects, following the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and played an important role in humanitarian efforts in New York City immediately following the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks. He established the Green Cross Academy of Traumatology (formerly Green Cross Foundation, Green Cross Projects, and Academy of Traumatology) to support the emerging field of traumatology.

He is formerly Professor in the College of Social Work at the Florida State University (1989-2008), Professor of Family Therapy and Psychology at Purdue University (1974-1989). Professor Figley received both graduate degrees from the Pennsylvania State University and his undergraduate degree from the University of Hawaii , all in the area of human development. 

Scholarly Activities

Professor Figley has written more than 200 scholarly works including 20 books. Most of his work has focused on stress. His work in the area of family stress includes his books. They are Stress and the Family, Volume I: Coping with Normative Transitions (1983, Brunner/Mazel), Stress and the Family, Volume II: Coping with Catastrophe (Brunner/Mazel, 1983), Helping Traumatized Families (1989, Jossey-Bass), Treating Stress in Families (Brunner/Mazel, 1989), and Burnout in Families (Boca Raton: St. Lucie Press, 1997). His many studies focus on political and other types of celebrity family stress and how families cope with the invasion of privacy and other sources of stress. Among other things, he organized a task force to help the US State Department and the families of those held hostage.

Also, he has focused on individual stress reactions, especially traumatic stress, starting with his research on Vietnam combat veterans and their families and has helped established the field of Traumatology, the study and treatment of human reactions to highly stressful situations. His books have included the following in the area of traumatology: Stress Disorders Among Vietnam Veterans (Brunner/Mazel, 1978), Strangers at Home: Vietnam Veterans Since the War (NY: Praeger, 1980 ; Brunner/Mazel 1990 ); Trauma and Its Wake: The Study and Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (Brunner/Mazel, 1985), Trauma and Its Wake, Volume II: Theory, Research, and Intervention (Brunner/Mazel, 1986), Beyond Trauma: Cultural and Societal Dynamics (Plenum , 1995, co-edited with Rolf Kleber and Berthold Gersons), and Brief Treatments for the Traumatized (Greenwood Press, 2002). Two books focusing on the interface between death/loss and trauma, Death and Trauma ( Philadelphia : Brunner/Mazel with Brian Bride and Nicholas Mazza, released in 1997, and his Traumatology of Grieving (Brunner/Mazel , 1999). His latest book, Mapping the Wake of Trauma: Autobiographical Essays by the Pioneers of Trauma Research . (Routledge) is scheduled for publication in 2005.

Another area of research is the secondary traumatic stress effects of living with or working with the traumatized as a professional in terms of compassion fatigue, burnout, and self care. This includes his Compassion Fatigue: Coping with Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder in Those Who Treat the Traumatized (Brunner/Mazel, 1995) and the more recent Treating Compassion Fatigue (Brunner-Routledge, 2002).

For additional infromation about Dr. Figley, download his Biographical Sketch, which includes Awards and Special Achievements, Humanatarian Activities, and Community Service. 

Dr. Michael G. Rank (download credentials)

Michael G. Rank, Ph.D. is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of South Florida (USF), School of Social Work. He received his doctorate in Social Work Education from the University of South Carolina, his master’s degree in Social Work from Bryn Mawr College, and his BA in Sociology from Bloomsburg University. He is a Vietnam veteran, having served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army between 1969-1970.

He spent ten years as a state parole agent in Pennsylvania; directed Family Advocacy and Children Have a Potential (CHAP) programs for the United States Air Force; was a Team Leader for a Veterans Administration Vet Center program; and was a Director of Employee Assistance Programs for Family Service America. He has designed and implemented domestic violence
programs for perpetrators and victims, and has conducted many critical incident stress debriefings following bank robberies, most notably for Bank of America (formerly Nations Bank) and the United States Postal Service.

His research interests include bioterrorism, compassion fatigue, posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic stress, academic leadership and reaccreditation, and incarcerated fathers. He has completed an investigation of the experiences of survivors of traumatic stress in three countries: Nicaragua; the Dominican Republic, and selected counties in South Florida which was funded by the Office of Naval Research through the USF Center for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. He has recently received grants from the Department of the Army to create a bioterrorism training protocol for mental health preparedness; the Scott Charitable Trust to study compassion fatigue in Veterinarians; and the Florida Department of Community Affairs to provide traumatic stress training to mental health professionals.

He has presented numerous workshops, trainings, and seminars about the psychological effects of biological and chemical disasters, critical incident stress debriefing, traumatic stress, posttraumatic stress disorder, compassion fatigue, fatherhood, and academic leadership. His publications include articles about bioterrorism, traumatic stress, critical incident stress
debriefing, academic leadership & accreditation, fatherhood, and resistance to change.