Martin E. Ford, Ph.D.
Dr. Ford's work focuses on the motivational processes contributing to the development of optimal functioning in children, adolescents, and adults.
As a professor and academic administrator at Stanford University he created Motivational Systems Theory (Motivating Humans: Goals, Emotions, and Personal Agency Beliefs, Sage, 1992), an integrative theory of motivation designed to facilitate research and applied work in education, counseling, and business. He has also published extensively on topics related to personality, social intelligence, and positive aspects of human development.
Dr. Ford received his PhD from the University of Minnesota's prestigious Institute of Child Development and his Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State's College of Human Development, where his father, Donald Ford, served as founding Dean and later created the Living Systems Framework that serves as the "parent" framework for Motivational Systems Theory. In 1987 Dr. Ford co-edited a volume with his father designed to illustrate the utility of a living systems approach for scholars and practitioners (Humans as Self-Constructing Living Systems: Putting the Framework to Work, Erlbaum).
During his 13 years in the Stanford School of Education Ford received the American Psychological Association Division 15 Early Contribution Award (1983) and Division 7's McCandless Young Scientist Award (1987). In 1993 he moved to George Mason University to help facilitate the growth of its College of Education and Human Development, where he applies motivational principles on a daily basis in his role as Senior Associate Dean. Mason recently recognized Ford's leadership contributions to the university by naming him the recipient of the 2007 David W. Rossell Quill Award.
C. W. Nichols, Ph.D.
Dr. Nichols' work follows two opposite but interrelated paths. One path concentrates on the provision of psychotherapy to individuals in distress. The other focuses on the development of assessment methods designed to identify core determinants of motivation and satisfaction.
Dr. Nichols is a licensed psychologist who, since 1991, has worked as a clinical psychologist in a Veterans Affairs Medical Center and as a faculty member in a clinical psychology training program consortium with the Medical College of Georgia, where he trains and supervises psychology residents. During his tenure there he has co-led clinical treatment teams, led training seminars, received awards for outstanding performance, and been rated highly as a supervisor by residents.
His assessment path began during his master's studies in career development. Working with Carol Gelatt at John F. Kennedy University, he self-published two instruments that were used regularly at the university's career counseling center.
He then moved to doctoral training in counseling psychology at Stanford University. Working with John Krumboltz he developed the Assessment of Core Goals (published by Consulting Psychologists Press) and conducted research validating the ACG's inquiry process. He also collaborated with Martin Ford on the development of the Ford & Nichols Taxonomy of Human Goals and the Assessment of Personal Goals, the measure designed to estimate the strength of the 24 goals included in that taxonomy.