Faculty & Staff
Bill Doherty
William J. Doherty, Ph.D., LMFT, LP
Professor emeritus, Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota
William J. Doherty, Ph.D. is a professor emeritus in the Department of Family Social Science and past-director of the Citizen Professional Center at the University of Minnesota. He led the Citizen Health Care and Families and Democracy Project, which developed the theory and practice of democratic public work by health and human services professionals. With his colleagues he has developed a model of grass roots organizing among parents and other citizens around cultural, community, and health issues. These projects have ranged from the cultural discontents of middle class families (over scheduling, out-of-control birthday parties) to challenges of urban single fathers, from health care overuse to the distrust between police and African American men. Bill is an academic leader in his field, a researcher and family therapist, author of 12 books, past president of the National Council on Family Relations, and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Family Therapy Academy. Visit the Doherty Relationship Institute for more information.
Tai Mendenhall
Tai J. Mendenhall, Ph.D., LMFT
Professor, Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota
Project Director, Citizen Professional Center
Dr. Tai Mendenhall is a Medical Family Therapist and Professor in the Couple and Family Therapy Program at the University of Minnesota (UMN) in the Department of Family Social Science. He is also the Director of the UMN’s Citizen Professional Center and Director of the UMN’s Medical Reserve Corps’ Mental Health Disaster-Response Teams. He works actively in the conduct of collaborative family healthcare and community-based participatory research (CBPR) focused on a variety of public health issues. Dr. Mendenhall co-leads the Citizen Health Care and Families and Democracy Projects, which aims to develop the theory and practice of democratic public work by health and human services professionals. His principal investigative interests include community interventions for chronic health-related (e.g., diabetes, chronic pain), mental health-related (e.g., depression), and unhealthy behavioral (e.g., smoking, sedentary lifestyle) arenas. Dr. Mendenhall is currently a co-investigator on two research projects that are positioned within the local American Indian community: (a) the Family Education Diabetes Series, or "FEDS", and (b), the East Metro American Indian Diabetes Initiative (EMAIDI). Visit Dr. Mendenhall's website for more details.