Dr. Melissa Reeves, Ph.D., NCSP, LPC is a nationally certified school psychologist, licensed special education teacher, licensed professional counselor, and former district coordinator of social/emotional/behavioral services. She is past president of the National Association of School Psychologists (2016-17) and has over 20 years’ experience working in public schools and a private school, in addition to providing mental health services in day and residential treatment settings. She was an Associate Professor at Winthrop University and taught both undergraduate and graduate psychology courses, in addition to supervising graduate school psychology students in their field-based traineeship and internship placements. She also served on the university’s Critical Incident Management Team and the College of Arts and Science COVID-19 Recovery committee.
Currently, Dr. Reeves is a threat assessment & mental health specialist and senior advisor and speaker for Safe and Sound Schools, an organization founded by two parents who lost their children in the Sandy Hook tragedy. She is also a consultant and trainer for SIGMA Threat Management Associates, a Raptor Technologies Company, and delivers the USSS/NTAC model based “Behavioral and Digital Threat Assessment® (BDTA)” training for Safer Schools Together (SST). Dr. Reeves actively works and consults with K-12 schools regarding threat assessment cases and is engaged in helping state departments of education and school districts establish threat and suicide risk assessment procedures and emergency response protocols. Dr. Reeves is the lead author of the South Carolina Department of Education School-Based Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Best Practice Guidelines for South Carolina K-12 Schools and has also recently served as an expert witness in court cases involving targeted school attacks and threat and suicide risk assessments, particularly involving students receiving special education services.
In addition, Dr. Reeves is co-author of the nationally and internationally recognized National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) PREPaRE School Safety and Crisis Preparedness curriculum, the first comprehensive K-12 school crisis prevention and intervention curriculum. She is also a current member and former Chair of the NASP National School Safety and Crisis Response Committee which provides consultation and support to school districts across the country after large scale crisis events including school shootings and natural disasters. She was a founding member of the Colorado Society of School Psychologists State-Wide Crisis Response Team, which trained school districts across Colorado in crisis response and was also a crisis responder to support students after Columbine. In addition to responding to various crises over the years, she travels both nationally and internationally training professionals in the areas of crisis prevention and intervention, threat and suicide assessment, the impact of trauma and PTSD on academic achievement, and cognitive behavior interventions in the school setting. She has conducted more than 350 workshops and presentations and consults with schools on establishing a positive and safe school climate that focuses on prevention programs and positive discipline measures to decrease behavioral incidences while increasing academic achievement. She has also provided consultation and staff development training to United States Department of Defense Educational Activity Schools located on military installations.
Dr. Reeves has authored six books: School Crisis Prevention and Intervention: The PREPaRE Model (original and 2nd Edition); Trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences; Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management for K-12 Schools; Identifying, Assessing, and Treating PTSD at School; and Comprehensive Planning for Safe Learning Environments: A School Professional’s Guide to Integrating Physical and Psychological Safety: Prevention through Recovery. She has contributed multiple articles to the Communiqué, the nationally disseminated publication for the National Association of School Psychologists and has co-authored numerous book chapters and journal articles. In addition, she has testified in front of the U.S. Senate Ad Hoc Subcommittee for Disaster and Recovery regarding “Children and Disasters: A Progress Report on Addressing Needs.” As NASP President, Dr. Reeves appointed the NASP Social Justice Task Force, and two additional task forces to study distance education and virtual delivery of school psychology services.
Dr. Reeves has been awarded the National Association of School Psychologists Presidential Award in 2006, 2012, and 2018 and the NASP Crisis Interest Group Award for Excellence in 2007 and 2011. She was a 2007 national finalist for the Joseph E. Zins “Purpose” Award for Early Career Practitioners in Social Emotional Learning; in 2006 awarded Golden Heart Award, presented by Cherry Creek School District Parent Special Education Advisory Council; and received the University of Denver, College of Education Leadership in Learning Alumni Award in 2006. She has received numerous other awards throughout her career in addition to serving elected terms on the NASP Board of Directors as a NASP Delegate, Regional Representative, and NASP President. She is also member of the American Psychological Association, Colorado Society of School Psychologists, and Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP).