Carol C. Nadelson

Carol Cooperman Nadelson (born October 13, 1936) is an American psychiatrist. In 1984, she was elected the first female president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

Early life and education Cooperman Nadelson was born on October 13, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents Herman and Diana Cooperman. Her father worked for the United States Post Office while her mother was a secretary before child-rearing. Growing up, Cooperman Nadelson said her mother's clear resentment of being a housewife inspired her to pursue a career outside of the home. Upon graduating from high school, she enrolled as a pre-med student at Brooklyn College where she was usually the only female student in her advanced level courses. In spite of this, she became the first woman president of the college's Bio-Med Society, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated magna cum laude. However, after marrying her boyfriend David Shander in 1958, who attended University of Rochester Medical Center, Once she started her residency, however, she and her husband divorced. before being promoted to the rank of assistant professor. While serving in this role, she became a founding member of the Association for Academic Psychiatry and was appointed as a consultant to the Psychiatric Education Branch of the NIMH. In 1985, the American Medical Women's Association awarded her the Elizabeth Blackwell Medal for her outstanding contributions to women in medicine. A few years later, she was also awarded the Charles Force Hutchinson and Marjorie Smith Hutchinson Medal from the University of Rochester.

Personal life Cooperman Nadelson and her husband Ted had two children together before his death in 2003.