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Joanne Gillis-Donovan, Ph.D., R.N. Dr. Gillis-Donovan came to her position at Melmark in 1996 with 30 years of experience in Health Care, Clinical Psychology/ Family Therapy and Organizational Development. She also has a sister with mental retardation and therefore lives the experience of our Melmark families. These backgrounds have been uniquely suited to the needs of Melmark then and now. Dr. Gillis-Donovan received her Ph.D in Clinical Psychology from Temple University in 1977, her Master degree in Child Psychiatric Nursing in 1972 from New York University and her Bachelors degree in Nursing in 1966 from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She also studied that biological basis of child psychiatry at the University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. After graduation with her degree in nursing, she spent the next four years managing children’s intensive care units in the Army Nurse Corp and Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City. During this period her interest shifted from acute pediatrics to Child and Family Psychiatry, prompting her to obtain her advanced degrees in this field. During her advanced training years she became increasingly interested in Systems Theory, both Family and Organizational. She worked with leaders in the field of family therapy, and went on herself to become a national leader, being appointed as a charter member of the American Academy of Family Therapy in 1982. She has been in the active practice of family therapy for 35 years. Also, in these training years she began a five-year position as a Research Associate at the Wharton Applied Research Center, a proprietary training center of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The WARC trained MBA/PH.D graduate students in the application of market research and finance principles by offering them the opportunity to consult with actual companies who contracted with the Center for such services. Dr. Gillis-Donovan directed these consultation projects. During these years, she was also instrumental in laying the foundation for what became The Wharton Family Business Institute. In 1979, she moved from the Wharton School to the Graduate school of Nursing at Penn. There, as Clinical Assistant and then Clinical Associate Professor, she wrote, developed and directed the Master’s program in Child and Family Mental Health. Within this appointment, she has taught the course in Family and Organizational Systems for 28 years. Throughout her career, she has worked in the field of child abuse and neglect, lecturing nationally, training volunteer attorneys as child advocates and writing the City of Philadelphia’s guidelines on Permanency Planning in Foster Care. In 1983 she gave the keynote address launching Mayor Bill Green’s innovative child abuse prevention program Philadelphia Unites for the Love of Children. In 1977, she founded an organizational development company, and for the next 20 years consulted to a wide variety of businesses, both publicly and privately held. Using her health care background and her knowledge of family and organizational systems, she was able to consult effectively with organizations from Health Care to the Motion Picture Industry on both the Production (Columbia Pictures, Warner Brothers, and Universal Studios) and Exhibition (AMC) sides. She has had a special interest in family-held business, large and small. Prior to coming to Melmark, Dr. Gillis-Donovan spent 1/3 of her time in the private practice of family therapy, 1/3 of her time teaching at Penn and 1/3 of her time consulting to organizations. She is fond of saying: “At Melmark, I use every aspect of my background every minute of every day which is about as rewarding as life can get.” |
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