SYNTONY RESEARCH & CONSULTING

Dr. Tom Felke serves as the Founder and Principal of Syntony Research & Consulting. He also serves as the BSW Program Director and Professor in the Department of Social Work within the Marieb College of Health & Human Services at Florida Gulf Coast University. He has served as Associate Dean for Academics, Chair of the Department of Social Work, Interim Chair of the Department of Health Sciences, and as Founding Director of the Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging.

 

A son of the great city of Philadelphia, he left the city he loves to receive his Bachelors of Arts degree in Elementary and Special Education from Providence College. Afterwards he completed research  at New York University and Yale University while working at the Coney Island Boys and Girls Club in New York. Turning to social work, he began his career working with Catholic Charites of Southern Connecticut as a Child & Family Services Manager while also completing his Master of Social Work degree with concentrations in administration, policy, and international issues at the University of Connecticut. He also earned his Ph.D. in social work from the University of Connecticut after completing his dissertation research in Armenia on the situation of ethnic Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan. Dr. Felke spent most of this time also employed at the Connecticut Department of Social Services as an Organization & Skill Development Manager.

Arriving at FGCU in 2011, Dr. Felke now focuses his teaching and research on macro social work, the application of technology to social work practice and evaluation, and international social work issues. A major focus of this work is the use of geographic information systems (GIS) for program evaluation and research efforts. He has conducted several studies using GIS technologies and published articles on these efforts. He has also authored two book chapters on the use of technology in the social work curriculum. The focus of these research projects has been on the needs of seniors, affordable housing, and food insecurity. He is active as a member of several boards and committees in Southwest Florida as well as for national social work organizations.