Dr. Carmen Knudson-Martin has served as professor and program director of the PhD program in marital and family therapy in the Department of Counseling and Family Sciences at Loma Linda University from August of 2000 to August of 2014. For 14 years, Dr. Knudson-Martin gave of her best energies to help start and build up a marital and family therapy program that has stood out in the United States of America and Canada. With other faculty members working diligently together with her, we can now boast of having a program that is second-to-none in California and across this continent. Carmen came to Loma Linda from Valdosta State University in Georgia where she served as program director of their masters program in marital and family therapy. Prior to that, she served in the same capacity at Montana State University. She is a therapist indeed and has a passion for clinical applications in doctoral education.

To meet Carmen is to quickly become aware of her passion for exploring the social contexts of individuals and families. She thinks social justice and makes significant application of these areas in her work. She is known in her field as the "gender lady." Her work on couples, gender, and power has infused itself into the professional literature. She has published over 50 articles in these related areas in professional journals, presented at numerous professional conferences, published a book on the subject, and continues to engage several research groups with graduate students in that area. Four years ago, Carmen, with Dr. Douglas Huenergardt, started a research group developing a model of family therapy referred to as Socio-Emotional Relationship Therapy (SERT). With several students sharpening skills in family intervention by participating in that clinical research group, several papers, dissertations, and presentations have been birthed.

As a program director, Carmen has served diligently. She is a competent builder and has her hand on the pulse of marital and family therapy education. She is a member of several professional organizations, served as editor and on the editorial board of professional journals in her field, received numerous awards for her work, and continues to make her mark on the field she loves dearly. She was elected as president of the American of the American Association for Marital and Family Therapy, California Division, and served her term of office with distinction. At the present time, she serves on the board of directors of the American Family Therapy Academy, as vice-president of the Family Process Institute.

A few months ago, Carmen announced that she had accepted a position as the program director of the Marital, Couple, and Family Therapy master's program at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Accepting that position would end her 9-year weekly commute to her home and husband, John Knudson-Martin, in Portland. One person remarked that "giving up directing a highly recognized doctoral program to move closer to home feels like a small price to pay when many Californians would hate a 20-mile drive on the 91 Freeway in Southern California."

We are pleased that Carmen came to our department in the School of Behavioral Health at Loma Linda University. She accomplished much and her impact will be felt for a very long time. We wish her the best in her new ventures.

- Dr. Curtis Fox

Dr. Carlene Fider landed in the desert region of San Bernardino, California one fall day in 2004. She was bound for Loma Linda University to begin a new journey in her academic and professional preparation with the view of making a difference in the lives of individuals and families. Previous to this experience, she attended Northern Caribbean University in Jamaica and studied psychology at the undergraduate level. Later, she served as a student recruiter for that institution before migrating to the United States of America. Carlene, born in Jamaica, West Indies, reported that she was inspired by the opportunities to work with students who were preparing for service and ministry in the world and in the church.

With overwhelming passion, Carlene matriculated to Loma Linda University to study for a Master of Science degree in Marital and Family Therapy. In that pursuit, she was no ordinary student. She thought and wrote critically in her field. She brought empathy to the therapy room and connected with her clients in ways that rendered her a healing presence in that context. In September of 2006, Carlene Fider had secured her place in the PhD program in family studies in the Department of Counseling and Family Sciences. Adding to her clinical knowledge base, she wanted to study close relationships and be involved in research efforts in that area. This training was designed to prepare her for a focused study and research investigation of family relationships from a non-clinical perspective, specifically in family life education. And, the family studies program at Loma Linda University was a sure pipeline to a preparation for certification as a family life educator by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). While doing doctoral studies, Carlene was engaged most positively in her training experience. Focused in her classroom encounters, doing parent-education with Project CUIDAR in San Bernardino and the Parenting Apart program with the Riverside family court as part of her internship experience, being diligent in a research group that was studying physician families, and assisting in the teaching of a number of graduate courses, Carlene feasted on the nutritiously stacked storehouse of knowledge and experience in her field.

In 2011, Carlene emerged from the grueling demands of graduate education at Loma Linda University as Dr. Carlene O. Fider. Pulled by her strong desire to learn and grow, Dr. Fider accepted a post-doctoral position in the Department of Counseling and Family Sciences. In that capacity, she engaged herself in a number of activities that added to her personal and professional preparation for greater usefulness in her field. She continued her research activities in the area of physician families, and sought further training opportunities in the areas of grant writing and parent education. She taught a number of graduate courses in the department, including research tools and methodology, marriage and the family, family life education, family resource management and others. Dr. Fider has been a steady and stabilizing presence in the Department of Counseling and Family Sciences since 2004. She was never ordinary. She rose to the top. Small in stature and powerful in nature, gentle in spirit and fearless in the pursuit of knowledge, generous in her sharing and voracious in her desire to learn and grow, the life of Carlene Fider demonstrates what a solid academician should look like. She is faithful, respectful, charming, challenging, loved, and highly regarded by her peers and associates.

The newest faculty member in the Department of Social Work and Social Ecology, Monte D. Butler, PhD, MSW, is a Professor specializing in public/non-profit administration, Medicare policy, gerontology, and program evaluation. He will be teaching Social Work Administration, Organizations and Systems, and Research Methods in our MSW Program, and Organizational Theory and Policy in our Doctoral Program.

Dr. Butler earned his BS at Pacific Union College and received his MSW and PhD from the University of Utah. He has previously served as Assistant Director of the Adventist Community Team Services (ACTS) for the Loma Linda University Church, Program Consultant and Treatment Supervisor for the Utah State Division of Aging and Adult Services, and Professor of Social Work for Pacific Union College (including stints as Social Work Program Field Coordinator, Social Work Program Director, and Department of Psychology and Social Work Chair). His research focus is the billing of Medicare beneficiaries beyond the Medicare "limiting charge." Dr. Butler is also an avid cyclist, resistance trainer, and motor-sport spectator.

-Dr. Kim Freeman