Dr. James Gardner (1945 - ) is a Clinical Psychologist, academic, activist, and politician. He was born in Queens, New York, the youngest of two sons. His parents were born in the U.S. but came from Italian, Irish, American Indian, Russian, and Cossack backgrounds. He received a BA from City College of New York (1965), an MA from Hunter College (1966), and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University (1972).
He held teaching positions in Clinical Psychology at Ohio State, Queensland University (Australia), University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), Cal State Fullerton, and Pepperdine University. He was the Director of Clinical and Community Psychology at the University of Queensland and Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Legal Rights
In 1973 at Ohio State University, he worked with an interdisciplinary group and sued the U.S. Department of Labor for violating involuntary servitude laws (Souder v Brennan). The result was the release of over 100,000 institutionalized patients who had been working without pay to keep the institutions running, including the release of Nelson Souder, Gardner’s patient where he worked at Orient State Institute.
When he moved to Australia, he launched a campaign to improve conditions in mental hospitals there, writing two books (“Inside the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “The Disposable People”). These efforts resulted in changes in the admission policies and improvements in conditions.
Social Activism
His long-time social activism began in 1964 following the murder of his friend Andrew Goodman in Mississippi. He worked with Hosea Williams in the Poor People’s March in 1968.
At Ohio State, in 1969, he established the first free clinic in Columbus Ohio. In 1970 he helped set up an extensive group home program for mentally retarded patients and worked to improve conditions in the mental hospitals. His work was featured in a front-page article in the journal Mental Retardation. For his efforts he was given the “Outstanding Young Man” award from the Columbus Jaycees, personally handed to him by Ohio Governor Gilligan.
In Australia, he worked with single fathers, Aborigines, and schools for the mentally retarded. He was awarded the Volunteer of the Year award by the Queensland Mental Health Association. With his colleague Dr. Arthur Veno, he trained senior members of the Queensland Police Department, sensitizing them to the needs of challenging populations.
In South Africa, working with his colleague Professor Len Holdstock, they worked extensively with the indigenous healers, setting up the first Southern Africa Conference on Indigenous Healing that brought together the prominent healers from various tribes and countries. This event was charged with political overtures given the times, as the healers were a force to be reckoned with, but until this time had been dis-organized and divided.
As a result of his work with the healers, he was invited to consult with the Psychology Department at the University of Zambia, and upon arriving in that country (which was at war with the Rhodesians) he was arrested as a suspected spy, imprisoned, and tortured for three weeks before being released.
South Africa was under the Apartheid system at the time (1977). Against the wishes of many, Gardner admitted the first Black students into graduate study. When it came time for them to enter their residency, the whites-only centers refused to accept Black students, so Gardner set up a training program for his students at a distant mental hospital for Blacks. The two students graduated in 1980, the first time any Black person was able to work as a Psychologist.
Returning to the U.S. in 1980, he helped organize the Southern California Coalition for Animal Welfare that successfully lobbied for a new state-of-the-art animal shelter. In 2005 he spent a month in New Orleans rescuing animals in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and helped develop new guidelines for animal care during emergencies. In 2008 he created a “Seniors for Seniors” program to assist senior citizens adopting senior pets and set up a pet food bank to help people keep their pets during economic hardships. The County awarded him a Certificate of Merit for his efforts.
Beginning in 1990 Gardner and his wife Anne helped build the nascent Breast Cancer Solutions into a major group assisting women with limited means who developed breast cancer to have a stable living situation while they underwent treatment.
Work with Disabled People
Dr. Gardner became working with the developmentally disabled in 1966 at Pennhurst State School (Pennsylvania). In 1968 he worked at Columbus State School (Ohio) under Dr. Luke Watson. Together they created innovative approaches to working with the disabled and how to teach staff. Their work reached more than 10,000 people through a series of highly successful workshops and seminars. During this period, Dr. Gardner was part of a team at the American Hospital Association that helped develop the accreditation standards for institutions for the disabled.
During his time at Fairview State Hospital (California) he developed software that assessed the social abilities of disabled individuals (California Adaptive Behavior Scale) which became a standard tool in several states. With Anne Breuer he also developed software for managing behavioral problems and for quality assurance. Through publications, workshops, and conferences he reached more than 1,000 professionals, and their software was used in settings that housed tens of thousands of people.
Publications
Dr. Gardner is the author of "Jesus Who? Myth vs. Reality in the Search for the Historical Jesus" (2006) and "Mary Who? Searching for the Historical Mary Magdalene" (2008). In addition, he is the author of "Training Nonprofessionals in Behavior Modification", "PC or not PC", "The Effects of Quality Assurance", "Inside the Cuckoo's Nest", and "The Disposable People", as well as more than 100 articles that appeared in professional journals, including an historical analysis of Nazi Cinema.
During Covid-19 he published travel guides to lost and forgotten mysterious places in Hawaii, Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego and nonfiction books about ghosts in Manhattan, New Orleans, Hawaii, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Alaska, and the Mexican Riviera. As well he published "The World's Top 200 Ghosts."
In 2021 he turned his attention to Politics and wrote several books about the Jan 6 riot/insurrection, one focused on the insurrection itself and the others on the individual rioters. He also hosted a FB group "Trump Nations" dedicated to fact-based discussion of current political issues.
In 2023 he turned his interests to the trivia format and wrote several trivia book games on the Insurrection, Donald Trump, American Political History, and First Ladies.
Dr. Gardner donates the proceeds from his seven books on the Insurrection to the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund, and the three books on First Ladies to the Soroiptimists Internation of Saddleback Valley.
Other
In addition to his academic, social activism, and clinical experiences, Dr. Gardner was elected to the City Council of Lake Forest (California) and served as Mayor in 2018. Under his leadership, the city became the only large city in the U.S. with no deficits, and they introduced the nation’s first online interactive council meetings. His election was the first time someone who was not a top spender won a seat.
At various times, Gardner was elected President of the Homeowner Associations in Newport Beach, Santa Ana, and Lake Forest.
In the private sector, he founded a software development company (Planet Press) and an internet marketing company (Internet Marketing Center of California). In addition, he served as a Management Consultant to Fortune 500 companies.
For his efforts he has been recognized by the Columbus (Ohio) Jaycees, The Queensland (Australia) Mental Health Association, and the Orange County (California) Board of Supervisors. He was elected the youngest Fellow ever to the American Association on Mental Deficiency and was also a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society.
Dr. Gardner divides his time between California and Brazil, where he helps manage a 3,000-acre rain forest in the State of Bahia. Here they grow the endangered Pau Brazil tree which is the only source of high-quality bows for musical instruments.
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