For over 30 years, Dr. Melissa M. Nelson has worked in the space where K-12 education, behavioral health services, law enforcement, and legal systems intersect. She has served in a variety of roles in urban, suburban, and rural education systems, including as an elementary and special education teacher and elementary and secondary administrator. Prior to her work in education, Dr. Nelson spent over a decade as a mental health clinician and victim advocate in various psychiatric, mental health, and legal settings. These settings in Pittsburgh, PA, included Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic’s Emergency Room, the Allegheny County Emergency Services Mobile Crisis Unit, the Center for Victims of Violent Crime, and the Pressley Ridge School for the Deaf.
Dr. Nelson serves as a national expert in K-12 Standard of Care civil litigation matters for Park Dietz & Associates Forensic Experts and Consultants and is a consultant on K-12 Threat Assessment Cases for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Pennsylvania Field Offices. Dr. Nelson was the K-12 systems subject matter expert for the Southwestern PA Threat Assessment Hub, a grant-based program supported by the US Department of Homeland Security, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She collaborated on a team of national subject matter experts involved with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Public-Private Analytic Exchange Program (AEP), which focused on creating a prevention toolkit for community organizations to address Violent Extremism.
As an Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Nelson teaches aspiring superintendents, central office leaders, and building-level leaders doctoral and masters-level coursework focused on school safety and security, school behavioral and physical health, and school law. As a seasoned educator who understands the operational realities of working within K-12 systems, her ability to relate to school system key stakeholders provides the foundation for the collaborative work necessary to develop Behavior Threat Assessment and Management Teams, Suicide Screening and Postvention Response Systems, and Emergency Preparedness Plans in K-12 settings.
In her daily work, Dr. Nelson serves as a K-12 School Safety and Security subject matter expert, focusing her consultation and training on supporting educators with building skills, efficacy, and a belief that they are the most powerful protective factor for keeping schools safe and secure.
- PreK-12 School Safety and Security Systems and Practices
- PreK-12 School Crisis Leadership Development and Practices
- PreK-12 School Behavioral and Physical Health Systems and Practices
- PreK-12 School Law
- PreK-12 Educator Literacy regarding School Safety and Security Practices
- PreK-12 School Crisis Leadership
- PreK-12 Educator Literacy regarding Child/Adolescent Anxiety, Depression, and Early Psychosis
Academic Publications
Wycoff, K., Foleno, F., Bohn, G., Tarasevich, S., Nelson, M., & Peters, S. (In Press). School-community collaborations and trauma-informed educational approaches. In H. Edl Ormiston (Ed.), Trauma-informed multi-tiered systems of support: A guide for school practitioners. Oxford University Press.
News Outlets
- Kidsburgh – “From normal worries to warning signs: What families need to know about kids’ mental health” (September 25, 2025)
- USA Today – “How has teaching about 9/11 changed since 2001? We asked educators” (September 11, 2025)
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – “Active shooter organizer’s drills now routine in Pittsburgh-area classrooms” (August 31, 2025)
- ProPublica – “A Tennessee school expelled a 12-year-old for a social post. Experts say it didn’t properly assess if he made a threat.” (May 27, 2025)
- WTAJ News – “Expert explains delayed reporting in Centre County school attack plan.” (May 2025)
- ProPublica – “First Came the Warning Signs. Then a Teen Opened Fire on a Nashville School.” (February 8, 2025)
- Pittsburgh Parent Magazine, “What should parents do if there is a lockdown emergency at their child’s school?” (August 2024)
- Pittsburgh Parent Magazine, “School Shootings: How can we keep children safe?” (August 2023)
Podcast Series
Midwestern Intermediate Unit 4 Podcast Series “Lessons Learned: School Climate Series” (2025)
- Climate Shift: Transforming Schools for the Future
- Mental Health Literacy: Common Language and Understanding
- From Awareness to Action: Implementing Trauma-Informed Practices
- Breaking the Cycle: Revisiting Bullying Prevention
- Empowering Educators: A Whole-School Approach to Mental Health
- From Isolation to Intervention: Helping Students with Psychosis
- “Beginning with the End in Mind: Leading Safe and Secure Cultures and Climates During Turbulent Times,” 2025, National Association of Pupil Services Annual Conference Opening Keynote
- “Navigating the current Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management landscape in K12: What we’ve learned and how we can improve our systems,” K-12 Schools and Campus Safety Symposium, 2025, The Bureau Consortium and Safe and Sound Schools, Featured Speaker
- “Headline Conversations: NYC Park Avenue, CDC HQ, and Annunciation School Incidents,” 2025, The Bureau Consortium, Featured Panelist
- “Suicide Awareness and Prevention: The SRO as a Critical Support,” 2025, PA School Resource Officer (PASRO) Annual State Conference, Featured Speaker
- “School Safety and Security Workshop: Learn from Leaders,” 2025, Sigma7/RSM, Featured Speaker
- “Ready. Aim. Fire. 40 Minutes to Prepare Yourself to Lead Safe and Secure Climates and Cultures,” 2025, 22nd Annual Jean E. Winsand Workshop for Women in School Leadership, Featured Speaker