Dick Kilburg received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1972. He attended a post graduate program in mental health administration at the Community Psychiatry Laboratory at Harvard University and obtained a masters degree in professional writing from Towson University in 1992. He has held positions in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pittsburgh as an Assistant Professor, as the Director of the Champlain Valley Mental Health Council, a community mental health center in Burlington Vermont, the American Psychological Associations offices of Professional Affairs and Public Affairs, and been in private practice as a clinician and consultant.

Currently, he is the Senior Director of the Office of Human Services, a multi program service component of Human Resources that meets the developmental needs of the faculty and staff of the Johns Hopkins University located in Baltimore, Maryland. He has published widely in the fields of management, professional impairment, and executive coaching. His three previous books, with the American Psychological Association, were Professionals in Distress: Issues, Syndromes, and Solutions in Psychology, How to Manage Your Career in Psychology, and Executive Coaching: Developing Managerial Wisdom in a World of Chaos. His most recent book, Executive Wisdom: Coaching and the Emergence of Virtuous Leaders was published by the American Psychological Association in May of 2006. He was the founding President of the Society of Psychologists in Management, and he is a Fellow of Division 13, the Consulting Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association. He is the recipient of the 2002 Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in Management Award given by the Society of Psychologists in Management and the 2005 Harry and Miriam Levinson Award given by the American Psychological Foundation. He has one son, Benjamin, and currently lives in Towson, Maryland.