Industrial & Organizational Psychologist
Dr. Pat Engelhardt pursued higher education at Capella University, where she earned a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology in 2016. She is recognized by the Florida Department of Health as a registered mental health counselor since 2005.
Her over 40-year career, from active-duty military service, government service, entrepreneurial roles, to achieving her doctorate researching predictors of hostile work environments has come full circle – to the political environment today. Dr. Engelhardt’s long career has informed her need to continue research into hostile work environments, justified in part by the increase of incivility and hostile communities, today. She knows what hate crimes feel like in the workplace. She knows what the lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion feels like in daily living and in the pursuit of a professional career.
Touting a varied and professional career, Dr. Engelhardt served a full career in the U.S. military. One of her greatest memories, which directly informed her doctorate investigation, was serving under the command of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf at U.S. Central Command before, during, and after the first Gulf War. General Schwarzkopf’s leadership skills informed her doctorate study, which investigated leadership competencies and predictors of hostile work environments.
After military service, she was the president and chief executive officer of her own company, Engelhardt Productions, from 1992 to 1998. She was a psychotherapist for BayCare Health Systems from 2003 to 2006, a county clinic manager and psychotherapist for Apalachee Center for Psychiatric Care from 2006 to 2008; and, the Mental Health Centers of Florida between 2020 and 2021. She instructed undergraduate General Psychology at South Florida State College from 2012 to 2017. From 2017 to 2020 she was in government service as a management and program analyst for the Department of Defense.
Dedicated to service in civic advocacy, she is the founder of the Coalition of Forces for Veterans, Connecting the Red, White, and Blue, which she began in 2016. Pat previously served as a founding board member for The Tender Loving Care Complex, Inc. from 1995 to 2015; and, served on the Board of Directors for the Guardian Ad Litem program, the American Red Cross, the Juvenile Justice Council, the Restorative Juvenile Justice program, and recently served as Board officer for a $6M Homeowner’s Association. She has been a member of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychologists and the American Psychological Association for much of her career.
Pat defines her career as one she survived, having many obstacles relating to the lack of diversity and inclusion in organizational policies. She learned many lessons and gained much wisdom, which she hopes to publish soon. Pat would like to redevelop Engelhardt Productions with an active website that links psychological research with self-help articles of her own – and a means to connect with, discuss, and effect positive changes with organizational clients. In addition, she hopes to complete her personal manuscript. Her book will be a series encompassing her life experiences, integrating her research about predicting unhealthy work. Through publishing her work she hopes to inform the future about the roller-coaster of life, personally and organizationally and the resiliency needed to thrive.
Circle, T. I. (n.d.). Patricia Engelhardt — Industrial Organizational Psychologist. The Inner Circle. https://incirclexec.com/patricia-engelhardt/