Our Faculty

Our Faculty

Our long-time commitment to ongoing research and development is at the core of Kuder's experience, innovation, and what sets us apart in the industry. Backed by a world-renowned faculty, we continue to pioneer innovative solutions for the educational and career assessment marketplace.

• Phil Harrington — President
• JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey, Ed.D. — Executive Vice President of Development
• Spencer Niles. Ed.D. — Vice President of Research
• Donald G. Zytowski, Ed.D. — Senior Director of Research

Phil Harrington
President

Phil Harrington established Kuder, Inc. in 1997 to provide integrated assessment, career guidance, and education planning tools to students and adults. Assembling a faculty of leading experts in career development theory, Mr. Harrington directed extensive research among 100,000 key stakeholders throughout the United States to develop the first research-based, comprehensive career development system of its kind, the Kuder^® Career Planning System (KCPS). Under Mr. Harrington's leadership, Kuder has become one of the most respected and innovative companies in the industry, serving as a leading voice and resource for issues surrounding education and career planning.

Prior to founding Kuder, Mr. Harrington enjoyed a long and successful career with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and spent seven years at the helm of Midwest Financial Services, Ltd., a company he founded and grew from a start-up operation to a $10 million business.

A sought-after speaker at industry events, Mr. Harrington has conducted lectures, workshops, and seminars for the American Counseling Association; the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium; the National Career Development Association; and the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration, among many others. In 2008, he led the 100 Year Celebration of Career Guidance & Education to promote broad-based awareness for the prominent role of career and technical education in creating America's workforce. In that same year, Mr. Harrington received the Association for Career and Technical Education's prestigious Friend of Guidance Award for his instrumental role in the growth and development of guidance and career development.

An active member of the professional community, Mr. Harrington serves on the Board of Leaders for the Association for Career and Technical Education and the Mercy Medical Center’s Foundation Board of Directors.

To emphasize the importance of ongoing career planning and encourage continuing career exploration, Mr. Harrington established The Harrington Foundation in 2005. The foundation's mission is to make education planning and self-assessment possible by increasing awareness of career options and making available career development resources to underserved populations.

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JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey Ed.D.
Executive Vice President of Development

Dr. JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey serves as executive vice president of development for Kuder. Since joining the company in 2005, she has worked extensively with state departments of education and labor in the conceptualization and implementation of education and career planning web sites that serve as a virtual center for students and adults.

In her long and distinguished career in the field of career development and education, she has held the positions of high school counselor; director of guidance; university professor; career counselor; developer of the ACT^® product DISCOVER^® and executive director of the ACT Educational Technology Center; and consultant to the National Institute of Corrections. Dr. Harris-Bowlsbey has also served as a career development consultant for Nippon Manpower Ltd. in Tokyo, Japan.

Dr. Harris-Bowlsbey has authored numerous journal articles, books, and career planning curricula, including Take Hold of Your Future, now in its sixth edition. She co-authored Career Interventions in the 21st Century, a textbook for the training of counselors, and led the redevelopment and expansion of Facilitating Career Development, a curriculum for training Career Development Facilitators.

An active member of the professional community, Dr. Harris-Bowlsbey has served on the board of trustees of the American Counseling Association Governing Council and the editorial board of Career Development Quarterly. She served as chair of the American Counseling Association Inter-Professional and International Committee. A past president of the National Career Development Association, she is also a recipient of its Eminent Career Award. Dr. Harris-Bowlsbey is a member of the National Career Development Association and the International Association of Educational and Vocational Guidance.

As a tribute to her landmark achievements, the board of the Career Development Leadership Alliance created the annual JoAnn Harris-Bowlsbey Award for Excellence in the Field of Technology in Career Development in 2004.

Dr. Harris-Bowlsbey is a former adjunct professor of counselor education at Loyola College in Maryland. She holds a bachelor's degree from Wheaton College, a master's degree from University of Wisconsin, and a doctorate in counselor education from Northern Illinois University.

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Spencer Niles, Ed.D., LPC, NCC
Vice President of Research

As Vice President of Research, Dr. Spencer Niles directs Kuder’s research program and coordinates Kuder’s Research Review Board (KRRB), which is comprised of leading career development and psychometric experts. Niles is a Distinguished Professor and Department Head for Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education, and serves as Director of the Center for the Study of Career Development and Public Policy at The Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining the faculty at Penn State, he served for 13 years on the faculty at the University of Virginia, during which time he was appointed Professor and Assistant Dean for the Curry School of Education.

As program chair for Counselor Education at Penn State, he directed the program’s first successful effort toward CACREP accreditation and created Penn State’s highly rated doctoral program in Counselor Education.

Dr. Niles is the recipient of the National Career Development Association’s (NCDA) Eminent Career Award, a NCDA Fellow, an American Counseling Association (ACA) Fellow, ACA’s David Brooks Distinguished Mentor Award, the ACA Extended Research Award, and the University of British Columbia Noted Scholar Award. He served as President for the National Career Development Association and Editor for The Career Development Quarterly. He is the Editor of the Journal of Counseling & Development and serves on six editorial boards for national and international journals. He has authored or co-authored approximately 120 publications and delivered over 125 presentations on career development theory and practice. He has lectured in over 15 countries and is an Honorary Member of the Japanese Career Development Association, Honorary Member of the Italian Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance, and a Lifetime Honorary Member of the Ohio Career Development Association.

Dr. Niles holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania; a master’s degree in counselor education from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; a master’s of divinity studies from Colgate Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, New York; and a doctorate in counselor education from The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Niles completed postdoctoral studies in management development at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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Donald G. Zytowski, Ed.D.
Senior Director of Research

As senior director of research for Kuder, Inc. since 1997, Dr. Donald G. Zytowski has facilitated internal and third-party research, including development of new assessments and content for the vast database of career biographies in Kuder^® Career Search.

Dr. Zytowski is a well-established counseling psychologist with numerous publications in the area of vocational psychology, addressing the issue of measurement in career assessment. Continuing from 1990 to this day, Dr. Zytowski is also self-employed as a consultant for counseling and assessment, and has been consulted for projects developed by the U.S. Department of Defense; CTB/McGraw Hill; ACT; Veteran's Administration Hospitals in Iowa; the Bureau of Indian and Northern Affairs; and Science Research Associates. Prior to Kuder, Dr. Zytowski was a counseling psychologist for Iowa State University (1965-1990).

He has experience in education as a psychology instructor at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1979), Iowa State University (1965-1990), and University of Alberta (1965). He has acted as director for Student Counseling Services at Washington University (1960-1965) and assistant director of Student Counseling Services at Iowa State University (1969-1974).

Dr. Zytowski earned his doctorate and master's degrees in education at Washington University, and his bachelor's degree in education from Harris Teachers College.

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