Russell Alan Barkley FAPA (born December 27, 1949) is a retired American clinical neuropsychologist who was a clinical professor of psychiatry at the VCU Medical Center until 2022 and president of Division 12 of the American Psychological Association (APA) and of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.

He was one of five children, born to US Air Force Colonel Donald Stuart Barkley (27 February 1916 – 15 June 1999) and Mildred Minerva née Terbush (10 September 1914 – 25 April 2008).

Barkley attributes his brother's history of dangerous and reckless behavior, including not wearing a seat belt and speeding at the time of his crash, to untreated ADHD.

[14][16] In 1977, Barkley began his professional career at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Milwaukee Children's Hospital, where in 1978, he founded the Neuropsychology Service and served as its chief until 1985.

[49] He has performed his forever last invited public lecture at the Centro Archimede Medical Centre, where he discussed ADHD, CDS and related topics, in Italy, September 30, 2023.

[56] In 1991, Barkley noted that "Psychostimulant medications (e.g., Ritalin) are highly effective treatments for the symptomatic management of children with ADHD as they can enhance significantly their attention span, impulse control, academic performance, and peer relationships".

We do not let the rest of the world set our standards of care when we do more research on childhood disorders--specifically ADHD--than other countries combined?".

[61] Barkley declares royalties or licences from Guilford Publications, the American Psychological Association, Professional Education Systems Institute, ContinuingEdCourses; and payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers’ bureaus, consultancy, manuscript writing, or educational events from AstraZeneca, Takeda, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Eli Lilly, and Ochsner Medical Center.