Mr. Forbess was the Associate Director of Training at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University. He began his career as a provider, supervisor, and manager in community mental health centers in Texas and Maine. He received his Masters of Science Degree in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1978 and joined the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation as a Senior Training Associate in 1985. Since that time he has provided training and technical assistance to a wide range of mental health agencies throughout the United States and Canada in order to implement psychiatric rehabilitation, person-centered service planning, and other services guided by values considered central to facilitating a person’s recovery from mental illness. He developed and assisted with the development of training technologies, manuals, guides, and program curricula and has co-authored published articles and book chapters on psychiatric rehabilitation and case management.

Dr. Farkas contributed to the establishment of the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. She has been the Co-Principal Investigator of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center since 1994 and a professor in Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Boston University. She has authored and co-authored over 100 articles in professional journals, four textbooks, a dozen book chapters, and nine multi-media training package; and is on a myriad of editorial review boards and advisory boards. Dr. Farkas has been working in various capacities in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery that have enabled her to promote the use of effective strategies and programs with diverse populations around the globe. She has been the Vice President of the World Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation (WAPR) and the President of the National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (NARRTC and nd the Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center in Psychiatric Rehabilitation. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to the field including a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of “…her outstanding contributions to the pre-eminence and practice of psychosocial rehabilitation.”

Dr. Russinova is the Director of Research at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the Boston University Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. She has directed several research projects exploring diverse aspects of recovery from psychiatric disabilities, including examining the patterns and determinants of vocational recovery, the role of spirituality and alternative therapies, and the measurement of mental health practitioners’ recovery-promoting competence. She has also pioneered a novel approach of using Photovoice methodology as part of psychosocial interventions targeting the reduction of personal stigma, community participation and vocational empowerment.

Mr. Bloch is Senior Research Coordinator at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Boston University. As an almost 20-year member of the Research Division, he assists Principal Investigators with study management tasks that include a wide range of responsibilities. Mr. Bloch has helped develop curricula that have served as the primary intervention for a number of studies. Specific areas of interest include prejudice and discrimination related to mental illness, vocational recovery, empowerment of marginalized populations, and the photovoice participatory action methodology. Mr. Bloch considers principles of human rights, civil liberties, and social justice to be the foundational basis for his work in the field.