Dr. David E. Sniffen

Dr. David E. Sniffen, 61, of Sparta, NJ, died suddenly on April 27, 2017. David grew up in Livingston, NJ. He received his undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Denver and his masters and PhD in Psychology from the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science, New School for Social Research in New York City. He completed four years of post-doctoral clinical training in Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy. David worked for 20 years providing inpatient and outpatient therapy in hospital and private-practice settings. For the past five years David worked as a Senior Social Science Intelligence Analyst. Most recently David worked for the Combined Joint Task Force, Operation Inherent Resolve in Kuwait. Dr. Sniffen was assigned to the Human Terrain Team during Enduring Freedom, Task Force White Eagle, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan providing key leader engagement personality assessments. Dr. Sniffen worked at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for the Global Cultural Knowledge Network where he was a Senior Civilian Human Terrain Advisor in Kabul providing advanced insider threat detection training. He had been a guest speaker at the New Jersey Psychology Association, Rutgers University and Long Island University. Among his many awards were Department of Defense Global War on Terrorism Medal; and Department of the Army Commanders Award for Civilian Service Medal. Dr. Sniffen authored The Embodiment of Common Sense: Ecological Determinants and Archetypal Sentient Perceptual Categories for the Expressive, Physiognomic and Dynamic Qualities of Visual Forms; and The Dynamics and Value of “Trust” in the Military, which was published in the Small Wars Journal.
David is survived by his beloved wife of 22 years Pamela Dunlap Sniffen; his loving daughters Delaney, Phoebe and Lisa; granddaughters Sage and Skylar; and brothers Richard and Peter, sister Nancy, as well as many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents Caleb and Louise Sniffen. Friends are invited to celebrate Davids’ life at 3pm Saturday, May 6, 2017 at First Presbyterian Church of Sparta, 32 Main Street, Sparta, NJ. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund; <URL destination="http://www.fallenheroesfund.org ">www.fallenheroesfund.org