During an extremely varied career, Stephen Schmitz, Ph.D., has directed curriculum development projects, substance abuse programs, and social service agencies in the U.S. and abroad. He has also worked as family therapist, parenting coach, case manager, health educator, mental health specialist, and chemical dependency counselor in various clinical and social venues.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Colorado State University, and his master’s degree from the University of Colorado. His Ph.D. is from the University of Florida, where he earned several fellowships and the College of Education’s prestigious Outstanding Dissertation Award. He was a University of Florida President’s 1993 Outstanding Student.

For more than 25 years, he has taught classes at schools such as the University of Florida, Spring International Language Center, the University of Guam, the Micronesian Language Institute, and Colegio Nueva Granada.

In addition, he has trained teachers, nurses, researchers, and social workers around the world. His academic research has appeared in such world-class international journals as Child Welfare and Journal of Education, as well as popular magazines like Mothering. His professional interests include adolescent outreach programs, parenting education, adolescent values, at-risk youth, and teenage chemical dependency.

Gradebusters: How Parents Can Turn Underachievers Around is his first book. His next book, Strike Back! How Parents Can Bust the Teen Drug Culture, will tell parents how to detect and handle their children’s problems with drugs and alcohol.

He currently lives with his partner, Patricia Walker, in a tiny loft apartment along the Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach, California.

He is now Executive Director of Shanti Orange County, an agency that provides counseling and social services to individuals with HIV.

Dr. Schmitz is available for talks at schools and before parent-teacher organizations.