CPDI Colleagues

Robert C. Chope, Ph.D.

Robert has been founder and pioneer in the establishment, development, and delivery of formal academic training programs; founder of a 23-year career counseling practice; has written and published in professional journals and in book form; and has been member and presenter for CCDA and a number of other career counseling professional associations. Robert founded the career studies program at San Francisco State University, one of the first 2 accredited programs in the country. He has served as the solo coordinator for the specialization from 1980 to present day.

• Taught Career Decision Making, the first undergraduate course at SFSU.
• Taught and guided over 400 career counseling students from 1980 to present.
• Brought in leaders in career counseling to participate as instructors in the SFSU program (Mark Pope, Jeff Prince, Sheila Weisblatt, Lance Choy, Penny Johnson, Marcy Mahoney, Elaine Burns).
• Pioneered designated clinical sections exclusive for career counseling students to increase the identity with the career field.
• Set up all career counseling internships with college career centers (SFSC, UC, Stanford, JFK, and virtually all community colleges; and non-profit organizations (40+, Alumni Resources, Private Industry Council, Wells Fargo Bank, Community Career Education Center, Career Action Center).
• Served as project director of the Homelessness Project and supervised the creators of Roving Resume Writers, a group of students that wrote resumes for homeless at various local homeless shelters.
• Authored Dancing Naked, Breaking Through the Emotional Limits that Keep You from the Job You Want (New Harbinger Publications, Inc., 2000).
• Wrote over 30 papers that have been published in various professional journals (Career Planning and Adult Development Journal, Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, Journal of College Student Personnel, College of Education Journal- SFSU).

He founded Career and Personal Development Institute (CPDI) in 1979, a career counseling practice in downtown San Francisco. This practice was established to provide a place from which individual practitioners could set up and develop their own private practice.

CPDI has served as a model of a collaborative career counseling practice, and has served 22 career professionals over the years.

Robert is a member of NCDA, CCEA, NECA (National Employment Counselors Association) and CCEA (California Career Education Association), and has been a member of CCDA for many years of his career. He has delivered presentations at annual conferences of the CCDA, NCDA, the California Career Conference, the International Career Development Conference, and the Mid-Atlantic Career Counseling Association (keynote speaker - October of 2001).