Katherine M. Hertlein, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development at the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. In this role, she provides strategic leadership for faculty affairs, faculty development, appointment and promotion processes, academic governance, professional development, and initiatives that support faculty success across the medical school and its clinical partner network.

Dr. Hertlein brings extensive experience as an academic leader, nationally recognized scholar, educator, clinician, and mentor. Her leadership focuses on building transparent and equitable faculty systems, strengthening faculty vitality, advancing interprofessional and inter-campus collaboration, and supporting faculty across the full academic life cycle. She works closely with department chairs, institutional leaders, committees, and clinical partners to align faculty affairs processes with the mission of the medical school and the evolving needs of academic medicine.

Prior to joining Wright State University, Dr. Hertlein served as Professor and Program Director of the Couple and Family Therapy Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she led academic programming, faculty and student development, accreditation-related activities, and graduate clinical training. She earned a BA in Psychology from Truman State University, an MS in Marriage and Family Therapy from Purdue University Calumet and a PhD in Human Development with a specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy from Virginia Tech.

Dr. Katherine M. Hertlein has an extensive and influential publication record spanning couple and family therapy, sexuality, technology, telebehavioral health, clinical training, and relational systems. Across her career, she has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, more than 50 book chapters, and 14 books, with scholarship that has helped define how clinicians, educators, and researchers understand the intersection of technology and intimate, couple, and family relationships. Her work includes the development of the first multitheoretical model explaining the impact of technology on couple and family life as well as major contributions to systemic therapy, sex therapy, telehealth, artificial intelligence in clinical practice, and relational ethics. She is a frequent keynote speaker at professional conferences and speaks nationally and internationally on technology, relationships, and systemic therapy. Her publications are widely used in graduate education, clinical training, supervision, and professional practice and reflect a career-long commitment to translating complex relational and technological changes into clinically meaningful frameworks for scholars and practitioners.

Dr. Hertlein has received numerous honors for excellence in research, teaching, mentorship, and clinical supervision. Her awards include the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award from Virginia Tech, Supervisor of the Year Award, Nevada System of Higher Education Regents’ Rising Researcher Award, the Barrick Scholar Award, the Barrick Distinguished Scholar Award from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the AAMFT Dissertation Award. In 2017, one of her texts received both the Integrative Approaches to Sex Therapy Award and the Book Award from the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT). She was also selected as a Fulbright Core Scholar for 2018–2019, serving as a Guest Lecturer and Guest Researcher at the University of Salzburg in Salzburg, Austria.

In addition to her scholarship and academic leadership, Dr. Hertlein serves on the board of the Telebehavioral Health Certification Institute and on the Fulbright Austria Alumni Advisory Board. She is also Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy. Her expertise on couple and family life, relational transitions, sexuality, and technology has been featured in major media outlets including Men’s Health, Psychology Today, The APA Monitor, The Atlantic, BBC, Newsweek, PBS.org, Healthline, Reuters, Cosmopolitan (UK), WorldTalk radio, Oprah Magazine, and The New York Times.