Dr. Stout is a licensed clinical psychologist and brings a diverse background perfectly tailored to making the Center for Global Initiatives into a reality. He is a Clinical Full Professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, a Fellow in the School of Public Health Leadership Institute, and is a Core Faculty at the International Center on Responses to Catastrophes at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He also holds an academic appointment in the Northwestern University Feinberg Medical School, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences’ Mental Health Services and Policy Program, and was a Visiting Professor in the Department of Health Systems Management at Rush University. He served as a Non-Governmental Organization Special Representative to the United Nations. He was appointed by the Secretary of the US Department of Commerce to the Board of Examiners for the Baldrige National Quality Award. He holds the distinction of being one of only 100 world-wide leaders appointed to the World Economic Forum’s Global Leaders of Tomorrow 2000 – joining the ranks of Tony Blair, Jody Foster, Bill Gates, R. J. Rowling, and Lance Armstrong, and he was an Invited Faculty at the Annual Meeting in Davos. He was invited by the Club de Madrid and Safe-Democracy to serve on the Madrid-11 Countering Terrorism Task Force.
Dr. Stout is a Fellow in three Divisions of the American Psychological Association, past-President of the Illinois Psychological Association, and is a Distinguished Practitioner in the National Academies of Practice. He was appointed as a Special (Citizen) Ambassador and Delegation Leader to South Africa and Eastern Europe by the Eisenhower Foundation. He is the Series Editor of Contemporary Psychology (Praeger) with and “Getting Started” (Wiley & Sons). He most recently produced the critically acclaimed three volume set The New Humanitarians. Dr. Stout has published or presented over 300 papers and is finishing his 35th book. He has written extensively on psychology, medicine, technology, and humanitarian issues. His works have been translated into 8 languages. He has lectured across the nation and internationally in 19 countries, and visited 6 continents and over 75 countries. He was noted as being “one of the most frequently cited psychologists in the scientific literature” in a study by Hartwick College. He is the 2004 winner of the American Psychological Association’s International Humanitarian Award, 2006 recipient of the Illinois Psychological Association’s Humanitarian Award, 2008 recipient of the Psychologists for Social Responsibility Award, and the was the 2009 International Psychologist of the Year, awarded by APA’s Division 52, International Psychology.
He has served as Chief of Psychology, Director of Research, and Senior VP of an integrated behavioral healthcare system during a 15 year tenure. He served as Illinois’ first Chief of Psychological Services for the Department of Human Services/Division of Mental Health–having made him the highest ranking psychologist in the State of Illinois and a committed reformer of psychology within the governmental setting. He also served as Chief Clinical Information Officer for the State’s Division of Mental Health in 2004–a Cabinet-level position. He is the first psychologist to have an invited appointment to the Lake County Board of Health. The breadth of his work ranges from having served as a judge for Dean Kamen’s FIRST Robotics competitions, to serving on the Young Leaders Forum of the Chicago Community Trust. He founded the CenterforGlobalInitiatives.org and SummitsforOthers.org, both focused on global health projects. His humanitarian activities include going on international missions with the Flying Doctors of America to Vietnam, Rwanda, Peru, and the Amazon; War Child in Russia; having worked with the Kovler Center (for Refugee Survivors of Torture), Amnesty International, RWJ Foundation, the Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, and Psychologists for Social Responsibility. He founded a kindergarten for AIDS orphaned children in Tanzania and continues as a consultant. He also was a delegate at the State of the World Forum in Belfast. He is a signatory to the UN’s 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He is the inventor of the “52 Ways to Change the World” card deck. He is listed in Fast Co.’s Global Fast 50 nominees and in Richard Saul Wurman’s “Who’s Really Who, 1000: The Most Creative Individuals in America.” He currently serves on the Illinois Disaster Mental Health Coalition, the Medical Reserve Corp, and he is a member of the APA Disaster Response Network.
Dr. Stout was educated at Purdue, The University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business, and Forest Institute, gaining over twenty-four awards and four scholarships; including, the Purdue Distinguished Academic Performance Award, the Purdue Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award, and Valedictorian of his doctoral class. He obtained post-doctoral experience at Harvard Medical School as a Fellow in neuro-developmental behavioral pediatrics. He was awarded “Distinguished Alumni of the Year from Purdue University” in 1991, Federal Advocacy awards from AAP (1997) and APA (1998), APA’s Heiser Award (1999), and IPA’s Distinguished Psychologist of the Year (1999) in addition to over 35 other post-doctoral awards.
He also produced award winning Public Service Announcements. He has been interviewed on many radio, cable, local, and national television programs (e.g., CNBC, CNN, WGN, NBC, PBS, NPR, Medical Rounds, Chicago Tonight, CL-TV, Oprah, Eye On Harvard, Christina, Bertise Berry, et al), and by numerous publications (Time, Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, Women’s Day, Modern Healthcare, Associated Press, Child Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, Windy City Sports, NorthShore Magazine, Monitor on Psychology, ...). He coined the term “Emmortality” and numerous registered service-marks. He was an American Delegate and presenter at the 1st International Conference on Unconventional Computing. A unique and distinct honor was his being named one of ten Volunteer’s of the Year by Pioneer Press in 1999, for his global efforts, and both the Senate and House similarly recognized his work by proclamation of “Dr. Chris E. Stout Week.”
His current interests are in the multidisciplinary aspects of global psychology and healthcare, complex systems, and battling mediocrity. He’s an ultra-marathon runner, diver, and avid (albeit amateur) alpinist, having thus far summited three of the world’s seven summits, Mt Rainier, and Mt. Whitney (tallest in 49 states), and founded SummitsForOthers.org. His greatest joy comes from being with his best friend and wife, Dr. Karen Beckstrand and their two children, Grayson and Annika.
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Dr. Chris E. Stout,
APA International Humanitarian Award Winner
Citation: "For his tireless pioneering of cross-disciplinary projects world-wide, in healthcare, medical education and sciences, human rights, poverty, conflict, policy, sustainable development, diplomacy, and terrorism, all of which result in a tapestry with psychology serving as the integrating thread, we honor Dr. Chris Edward Stout. He is a rare individual who takes risks, stimulates new ideas, and enlarges possibilities in areas of great need but few resources. He is able to masterfully navigate between the domains of policy development while also rolling-up his sleeves to provide in-the-trenches care. His drive and vigor are disguised by his quick humor and ever-present kindness. He is provocative in his ideas and evocative in spirit. His creative solutions and inclusiveness crosses conceptual boundaries as well physical borders. No one is more deserving of this highest recognition than our esteemed colleague, Dr. Chris Edward Stout, whose work and impact spans the globe."
Words of Support for Dr. Stout’s Work
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