Haldane, Bernard

Throughout his lengthy career, Bernard Haldane (1911-2002), who founded the Dependable Strengths Articulation (DSA) process, was widely recognized as an innovator in the field of career development.

Born in England, Haldane originally trained in medicine, but decided to pursue a different career path after immigrating to the United States. Following World War II, Haldane became a career counselor, helping returning military officers make the transition back into civilian life. Haldane's success with veterans convinced him that his methods also would be beneficial to individuals and organizations. To this end, he created the Executive Job Counselors Service (EJCS) as an umbrella organization for his new career counseling and placement business. In 1947, he formed Bernard Haldane Associates (BHA), a job counseling firm. In 1966, Haldane met Jean Kind, whom he married in 1967. That same year, he moved his headquarters to Washington, D.C. from New York City. In Washington, Haldane oversaw BHA operations, while Jean worked at the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. In 1974, Haldane formally retired from BHA and sold the company to individuals within the organization. In 1977, the Haldanes relocated to Seattle, Washington. During his retirement, Haldane expanded his research and writing to focus on young adults, deprived youth and church ministry. He developed the DSA process, a method of career counseling based on the strengths of the persons being counseled. In 1987, after meeting Jerald Forster, a professor at the University of Washington's College of Education, the two formed a research and learning collaboration known as the Dependable Strengths Project, which was based at the College of Education. In 1997, Bernard and Jean Haldane began to explore how the DSA process might be applied in other parts of the world. The couple travelled to six countries, including South Africa, where, as part of an ongoing project, the Dependable Strengths Foundation was established as a non-profit organization in 2003. The Center for Dependable Strengths, another legacy of Haldane's work, is currently based at Highline Community College in Des Moines, Washington.

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