Barbara Van Dahlen

Biography

Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D., named to TIME's 2012 list of the 100 most influential people in the world, is the president of Give an Hour™, a nonprofit she founded in 2005 to provide free mental health services to the military and veteran community. A licensed clinical psychologist practicing in Washington, D.C., she received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland in 1991, her M.A. in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland in 1987, and her B.A., summa cum laude, from California State College in 1982. Give an Hour's nearly 7,000 mental health professionals have given more than 277,000 hours of care valued at over $27M. In 2017, Give an Hour began expanding its model – and is now providing free care to other populations in need. Give an Hour also leads the Campaign to Change Direction®, a global initiative focused on changing the culture of mental health, which launched in March 2015 with former US First Lady Michelle Obama as keynote speaker. Dr. Van Dahlen has received numerous awards, including the American Psychological Association’s Presidential Citation and the Richard Cornuelle Award for Social Entrepreneurship of the Manhattan Institute in 2013. In 2014 she was honored by the Chief of Staff of the United States Army as an outstanding civilian who has made significant voluntary contributions to our military and the United States Army. She also received the 2016 American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Lifesavers Gala Public Service Award and was appointed in January 2016 to serve on the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, & Nutrition.