Fran Ferder, F.S.P.A., is a native of Salem, Oregon, and a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. She has had more than thirty years of ministerial and professional experience as a college professor, director of student counseling, psychotherapist, psychological consultant for various religious communities and dioceses, and a research director for a major social ministry study. Ferder holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from Loyola University, Chicago, and a doctorate in ministry from Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis. She is currently an adjunct professor at the School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University.
Together with Father John Heagle, Ferder founded and directed Therapy and Renewal Associates (TARA), a counseling and renewal center in Seattle, Washington. She is an internationally recognized leader of workshops and conferences, and author of several articles, tapes, and books on spirituality, ministry, and human relationships.
