ABOUT 

Hi, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Bob Friedman (Coach Bob I was frequently called when coaching Temple Terrace Little League baseball and soccer). In 1993, our family (Kate; David & my wife, Cathy) moved to Temple Terrace from Northdale attracted to the beautiful trees, the river, the sense of community and the convenience to the University of South Florida. Our daughter Kate has been serving as a paramedic for over 24 years in Lakeland, FL. She started her training in Temple Terrace. Our youngest son Micah was born and raised in Temple Terrace and is a graduate of the King High School IB program. Micah is attending a graduate program in Massachusetts. In Tampa, we have grandchildren and great grandchildren.

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I grew up in Brooklyn, graduated from Brooklyn College, enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve during the Vietnam War, and then moved to Tallahassee in 1965. I attended Florida State University and received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1970. After working in New York and Maryland, I moved to Tampa in 1976 where I joined the faculty at the Florida Mental Health Institute, now a part of the University of South Florida. Most of my career has been spent in state and national policy analysis and consultation, research, and administration. 

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I was a department chair at USF starting in 1984 until 2006 when I became Interim Dean of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute. I served as chair of the Department of Child and Family Studies and did consulting or research in most states across the country. In 2010, I retired from USF as a Profession Emeritus and continued consulting on a limited basis. 

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My research and teaching had a special focus on how in increase the effectiveness of organizations and communities, which is of relevance to my interest in joining the Temple Terrace City Council.

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Here are some of the accomplishments of my career of which I am most proud:

• Served as the Director of the federally funded Research and Training Center for Children’s Mental Health for 25 years, one of only two such centers in the country.

• Served on the Planning Board for the first ever Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health, published in 1999.

• Testified on several occasions before U.S. Congressional committees, and legislative committees in Florida and other states.

• Through donations from colleagues around the country, USF established the “Bob Friedman Endowed Scholarship in Children’s Mental Health.”

• Mentored students at various levels.

• Co-authored a monograph on “Systems of Care” which became a model for states and local communities to use around the country.

• For thirty-two years, our USF department sponsored a national conference on children’s mental health research.

• Helped to establish a collaborative across academic disciplines for the study of children’s mental health, motivated by the belief of being more effective when everyone works together.

• Helped to establish a virtual national organization dedicated to the safety and protection of children in residential treatment facilities.