Bio

Nancy K. Schlossberg spent most of her career as a professor of counseling psychology.  She taught at Howard University, Wayne State, and 26 years at the University of Maryland, College Park.  Nancy K. Schlossberg is the author of ten books. She is co-president of TransitionWorks, a consulting firm; professor emerita at the College of Education, University of Maryland, College Park; and served as president of the National Career Development Association. She has been honored for her work by the American Psychological Association and the American Counseling Association. A frequent guest on radio and TV, Dr. Schlossberg’s work was showcased on page one of USA Today, and quoted in the New York Times, the St. Petersburg Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer.

She and her book, “Retire Smart, Retire Happy”, were the focus of a 90-minute PBS special, “Retire Smart, Retire Happy.” Her second book on retirement, “Revitalizing Retirement” develops more fully the importance of paying attention to one’s psychological portfolio. Her latest book, “Too Young to be Old: Love, Learn, Work, and Play As you Age” also published by the American Psychological Association describes the many transitions we face as we age.  Her second edition of “Overwhemed: Coping with Life’s Ups and Downs” has been translated in Japanese and is used widely in training.


NEWS Update

September 25, 2009:  University of Maryland dedicated the newly named Counseling and Personnel Services’ (EDCP) conference room and library in my honor. I was excited to be joined by family, friends and colleagues at the dedication ceremony, when the new room was unveiled bearing a plaque with my name! To read more, please take a look at the article published by the University of Maryland under the Articles & Interview section.

 

Bio continued..

After graduating from Barnard College, I studied at Teachers College, Columbia University where I obtained a doctorate in counseling.  I was fortunate to work in wonderful organizations including Pratt Institute, then Howard University, followed by ten years at Wayne State University, then first woman executive at the American Council on Education and then twenty-five years at the University of Maryland, College Park where I taught counselor education and counseling psychology. I am now a Professor Emerita from the University but, as my daughter suggests “The only thing retired about you is your paycheck.”

I have written ten books: academic books when I was a professor and now self-help trade books—all about transitions.  My last two books looked at the retirement transition, but I have studied the transition of college students moving into the world of work, clerical workers balancing work and family, men and women whose jobs were eliminated, retirees, and non-event transitions like not having what you expected—the job, the relationship, the career.

My mission is to help others negotiate their inevitable transitions through life.

My dear friends Robert and Mickey Knox presented me with this wonderful photo montage “A Writer’s Life.”