Melissa Nelson

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.