Dr. Robert Orndorff presides over JAZ Consulting, a consulting and publishing company he founded in 2003. Dr. Robert Orndorff is currently the Senior Director of Career Services and Affiliate Assistant Professor of Counselor Education at Penn State. During the past 30 years, Bob worked as a Career Development Specialist and Career Coach in Higher Education and Private Industry. Bob received a doctoral degree in counselor education (specializing in management and career development) from Penn State University.

 

Dr. Orndorff has written and published numerous books and articles in Career Development, Character Education, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. Bob has been published in a national journal, the Journal of Counseling and Development, a national magazine, ASCA School Counselor, in national online publications (Career Convergence, CareerPlanit, College Parents of America) and quoted in both the U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek. Bob was the sole author of The Unofficial Guide to Finding the Perfect Job, published in 2000 by IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., and re-published by Petersons as The Insiders Guide to Finding the Perfect Job. The 300-page job-search book was written for a wide audience, ranging from high school students to re-careering experienced adults. In addition, Bob wrote a featured job search article in Job Choices 2001, 2002, and 2003, a magazine published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers and distributed annually to most colleges and universities in America.

 

Bob wrote and self-published a book in 2003 called, Becoming the Best Me, featuring career and character essentials highly sought after by 21st Century recruiters. He then wrote the 2nd edition of Becoming the Best Me in 2004 and the 3rd edition in 2009, both published by JIST Publishing. In 2005, Bob co-authored a children's book, My Career Adventure: Careers Are Everywhere, incorporating character education concepts. In 2006, Bob co-authored The Character Development Scale – an assessment instrument for middle school and high school students to evaluate their character traits. Bob co-authored a book, The PITA Principle: How to work with and avoid becoming a Pain In The Ass, which was published in August 2008 and widely distributed within the Business section of major bookstores across the country.

 

Bob is also a frequent presenter and keynote speaker at regional and national conferences.  In 2006, Bob was the Keynote Speaker for the Mid-west Regional Character Education Conference. In the Fall of 2006, Bob was asked to be one of the keynote speakers along with Richard Bolles (Author of What Color is your Parachute?) at the Job Search Success Conference in Indianapolis. Bob conducted day-long trainings for Army personnel in the Pentagon and Educational leaders and administrators for IU 7 (Westmoreland Schools) and IU 10 (Centre County & surrounding areas).

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In addition to working in higher education, Bob is a career consultant in the education and business industries. Bob and his brother Erik, a superintendent, co-directed a leadership camp during the summers of 2005, 2006, and 2007 which honored 60 high school students across Pennsylvania who exemplify strong character. The Orndorff brothers are currently working as consultants for River Rock Academy, incorporating a social skills (character education) and life skills (career development) curriculum.  In the State College community, Bob is active as a little league basketball and baseball coach and a thought-piece columnist on Fathering for the Centre Daily Times. Bob and his wife, Chris, and children Jessie, Addie, and Zach reside in State College, Pennsylvania.