Dr. David V. Trandel-Biographical Sketch
Hello, everyone! Here is some information about me to help you get to know me a little better. We moved to the Cumberland Plateau in eastern Tennessee ten years ago. The area, Fairfield Glade, has 11 lakes and five golf courses within its borders. The area is pretty, all hills, trees, and mountain views. We have deer that come every day to try and feast on whatever flowers and certain plants we try to grow. In this yard, we have chipmunks, rabbits, a badger somewhere, and birds, of course. (I haven't seen any copperheads or rattlers yet, thank goodness) While the Glade is around 40 years old, our house is new with all the amenities versus our old home described below.....and no work! Heck, we have central air, a garage door opener, and automatic ice maker. LOL The area doesn't have the nearby conveniences of West Dundee, but it is quiet, clean-aired, and pitch-black at night. It's a huge change from Chicagoland! I grew up and resided in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. With my wife, Elizabeth, we lived in an early 1800s river town, West Dundee , and our house was old for the area, circa 1850.  It was an early Victorian American Gothic Revival that I worked on for 20 years.  Thank goodness it was about done(as if)!  We had a Wildlife Habitat certificate for creating an environment conducive to birds and animals to live.  There was a pond with koi and goldfish which a pair of ducks used for years as their personal mating ground and spa (I wonder how the koi liked that), many birds, chipmunks, squirrels, itinerant raccoons  and possums, and neighbor cats (our Himalayan, Lhasa, died and was replaced by an adorable Bichon puppy, Tigger).  We had a great neighborhood, as well as several fine restaurants, a microbrewery, and concert venue within three blocks of our home.
I attended the University of Illinois-Urbana as an undergraduate, attaining a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1972.  I wasn’t cut out to be an engineer, so over the years I have experienced a diverse mix of careers.  I did some engineering, designed and sold solar energy systems, was a painting contractor, maintained HVAC systems for a 20 school elementary district, repaired commercial washers and dryers, owned a 7-11 store, tended bar, was a general contractor for years, have been a landlord for 20+ years, and day-traded stocks (when the tech boom was going). 
For fun I like to travel, read, play golf (I know, I’m a masochist), walk and hike, play duplicate bridge, brew beer, invest, socialize, and solve the daily Sudoku and weekly New York Times crossword puzzle.
Around 1978 I decided to return to school and study psychology.  I studied for the GRE, attended a community college to take all the psych courses, and enrolled in Roosevelt University’s clinical psychology master’s program.  I had received 30 hours of graduate credit (everything but the internship) when I was accepted into the University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School’s Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology.  I attained the Ph.D. in 1986, having studied behavioral medicine, neuropsychology, and child clinical.
Since that time I have been in private practice, both in groups and solo.  Over the years I have participated in outpatient and inpatient therapy and psychological testing of patients of all ages, facilitated workshops and seminars. Taught and trained students and hospital staff, mentored graduate students, managed satellite offices, consulted in medical malpractice litigation, and I’ve been teaching online for over sixteen years.
My passion to educate and help others, as well as my broad and diverse life experience will help assure that you have an enjoyable and successful online learning experience!