School security and safety

Simon Mallett

Chief Operating Officer
@Sigma7 RSM

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Simon is Chief Operating Officer of Sigma7 RSM and led the company’s entry into the US Higher Education and K12 sector in 2018. An extensively experienced risk and threat management practitioner, Simon remains a retained senior crisis management consultant to major corporations, and maintains strategic oversight of Sigma7 RSM’s work in the education sector. Simon personally led and delivered the development of the highly regarded Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management training and technical assistance for state agencies in Virginia and Pennsylvania (the Virginia Department for Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD)) – both of which were commissioned by the agencies following state legislation.

He also led and delivered the development of mandatory training in Virginia for all School Security Officers and Higher Education Campus Security Officers. Simon has developed bespoke security risk assessments and interagency coordination plans for school districts in North Carolina, and has consulted on school safety and security widely, including in Texas and Washington DC. A former Army officer, Simon’s worldwide travel and cross-sector roles provide him with an ability to view challenges from wide, diverse perspectives.

Chris Stone

Director of School Safety & Security Programs
@Sigma7 RSM

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Chris has served Sigma7/RSM as the Director of School Safety and Security Programs since April 2023. Prior to his work with Sigma7, he served as a school administrator for 19 years. Chris is recognized as an established leader who works closely with his internal and external stakeholders to ensure high-quality outcomes. His most recent assignment at RSM has been to be the project manager for the PCCD School Safety and Security Training and Technical Assistance program.

He is responsible for the timely development and delivery of training programs commissioned through a 4.3 million dollar grant from the Pennsylvania Commission of Crime and Delinquency that is delivered to school employees and safety and security coordinators across the Commonwealth.  As part of this role, he oversees a team of SMEs, collaborates and coordinates activities to ensure the success of projects for Sigma7 clients.

Kim Weaver

Training and Client Support K-12
@Sigma7 RSM

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Kimberly transitioned from HR to Sigma 7/ RSM, a global leader in risk management, business continuity, and consulting services. She has worked extensively with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, where she assists with providing both in-person and technical training and support for K-12 schools with a variety of topics. This includes developing and coordinating emergency safety drills, behavioral topics, and threat assessment training for school administrators and employees across the state.

In this role, Kimberly is dedicated to ensuring that Pennsylvania school staff are well-prepared to respond to emergency situations and foster a safe and secure learning environment for students.

 

Dr. Melissa Nelson

FOCUS: Behavioral Threat Assessment and Education Policy

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Dr. Melissa M. Nelson, a Sigma7/RSM School Safety and Security Subject Matter Expert since 2023, has spent 30+ years developing a wealth of experience and expertise where education mental health, and legal systems intersect. This is the source of her deep passion for serving educational leaders, teachers, families, and communities who care for children with the most complex emotional, behavioral, and cognitive needs.

Prior to her work in education, Dr. Nelson spent over a decade as a mental health clinician, teacher-counselor, and 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. Tori Stone

Focus: School Counseling, Anxiety and Mental Health Literacy

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Tori Stone, PhD, LPC, has twenty-five years of experience as a school counselor, counselor educator, and national presenter. As an Associate Professor and the Clinical Coordinator of the Counseling program at George Mason University, Dr. Stone trains both School and Clinical Mental Health Counseling students in counseling skills and theories, creative counseling interventions and practical, theory-based approaches to work with children, teens, and adults. Dr. Stone has delivered more than 300 presentations at the local, state, and national level on Anxiety and Depression, Trauma Informed Education, Brain Development and the Nervous System, Creativity in Counseling, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, and many other related topics. Dr. Stone has worked for Sigma7/RSM as a subject matter expert since 2020 working on both K_12 Threat Assessment and mental/behavioral health training development and delivery.

Sherry Peters

Focus: Trauma Informed Care and Substance Use Awareness

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Sherry Peters has 45 years of experience working in multiple roles.  Sherry has worked for Sigma7/RSM since 2020 as a subject matter expert and trainer in the areas of mental/behavioral health topics and K_12 Behavioral Threat Assessment.  She also works elsewhere as an Instructor in Youth Mental Health First Aid, a senior consultant with the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), an associate and trainer with Coach Approach Partners, LLC, and a member of the Pennsylvania Community of Practice on Trauma.  In the summer of 2019, Sherry served on the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) Threat Assessment Workgroup as well as the PCCD Trauma-Informed Approaches Workgroup.

Sherry retired from Pennsylvania state government in the fall of 2018 where she served for two and a half years as the Bureau Director for Policy, Planning and Program Development in the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) in Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services.  She had taken a five-and-a-half-year break from an 18-year career in OMHSAS Children’s Bureau to work in a university setting.   She served as an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development’s National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health between 2010 and 2016 and continued to serve as adjunct faculty on a variety of projects until 2023.

Dr. Susan Tarasevich

Focus: Student Assistance Programs and Addiction Support

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A trusted collaborator in professional development for over thirty years, she has worked for Sigma7/RSM since 2020 as part of an expert design and training delivery team for the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) Act 55 School Safety and Security Coordinator and School Staff training program and the K_12 Behavioral Threat Assessment model training program. Susan has worked with other frontrunners to create engaging, compelling education in the areas of behavioral health, trauma, bullying, suicide and self-injury, and substance use issues through both in-person and online delivery to educators throughout the Commonwealth.

A lead trainer in the Pennsylvania Student Assistance Program with Addiction Medicine Services of UPMC-Western Behavioral Health, and an independent facilitator for the Pennsylvania Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Network, she brings rich experience and creative ideas to her work.

Dr. Kirby Wycoff

Focus: Trauma Informed Education and Education Policy

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Dr. Kirby Wycoff is a dynamic and innovative leader whose professional work is situated at the intersection of mental health, public health, education, and trauma. She is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist who has over fifteen years of experience in the mental health field and is a leader in understanding the intersection of mental health, public health, and trauma. She currently serves as an Associate Professor and the Director of the Doctor of Health Sciences in the Department of Health Sciences and Clinical Practice in the College of Health Professions at Thomas Jefferson University.

She has a passion for advancing knowledge through applied, transdisciplinary, community engaged research. Dr. Wycoff has a proven track record of success in both team-oriented and self-directed environments and is able to multi-task and set priorities to maximize potential. She thrives in navigating complex environments by utilizing excellent communication, planning, analytical, team collaboration, organizational and interpersonal skills.

Mary Garrett Itin

Focus: Student Services, Student Advocacy and Policy

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Mary Garrett Itin is a licensed social worker, leadership coach, trainer, facilitator, and consultant with over 30- years- experience. Mary Garrett has had the great honor of working in almost every child-serving system including child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health/behavioral health, education, and developmental disabilities. These experiences along with her early work as a community organizer and in legislative policy/advocacy have greatly influenced the way she approaches individual, organizational, and systems work.

 

Dr. Terri Erbacher

Focus: Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Postvention

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Terri A. Erbacher, PhD has 25 years of experience practicing as a school psychologist, taught for over 13 years as a clinical associate professor at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and founded her private practice, Erbacher Consulting Associates, in 2014. Dr. Erbacher is an author, distinguished speaker, consultant, and guest expert in the media, including NPR. Dr. Erbacher is an international presenter providing training, coaching and consultation with schools on areas of expertise including school crisis response, social media and mental health, trauma, threat assessment as well as suicide prevention, assessment, intervention, and postvention.

 

Dr. Erbacher and has held many board roles across Pennsylvania, including the executive committee of the Pennsylvania Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative, past president of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, past clinical advisor for Survivors of Suicide, Inc., and past crisis committee chair for the Association of School Psychologists in Pennsylvania.

Mason Wooldridge

Focus: Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Operations Planning

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Mason Wooldridge has worked in every facet of the school safety world for both public and private K-12 educational environments. Mason has worked for Sigma7/RSM since 2023 as a subject matter expert developing and delivering trainings in multiple subject areas for Act 55 mandates, as well as working privately within the world of school safety throughout the Commonwealth. Mason is a member of his county’s Safe Schools Committee and is currently working with Luzerne County’s Juvenile Justice System to create diversionary programming for offending youth.

In 2012, Mason launched a project in unison with the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association to build the safest school in America.  Once the ‘Safest School in America’ was complete and displayed to the world on September 11, 2014, Mason became the first school safety consultant for the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association.  In this role, he worked to build support statewide for the passage of a first-of-its-kind safe schools legislation which passed unanimously in 2016.

Dr. Aaron Skrbin

Focus: School Preparedness and Emergency Response Planning

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Dr. Aaron Skrbin serves as the school representative to the Allegheny County EOC serves on several Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency school safety subcommittees, co-chairs the PAIU School Safety and Security Coordinators Job-Alike Group, is the 2^nd Vice President of the Pa Association of School Resource Officers (PASRO), is a founding consultant of the National Association of School Safety Directors and works with numerous schools and intermediate units across Pennsylvania. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from Duquesne University, a Masters of Public Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a Doctor of Education from Liberty University.

Joe Delucca

Focus: School Administration and Crisis Response

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With over 28 years working in the field of Education, Joe DeLucca is currently the Director of Administrative Services for the Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18, in Kingston PA.  In his current role, Joe oversees all operations, buildings and grounds, transportation and school safety and security and is the PDE school safety lead for IU 18.  Joe has worked with the school districts of the LIU 18 since 2010 and is often called upon as subject matter expert in the areas of school safety and teen suicide.  He created the Luzerne County Safe Schools Committee in 2011, where he serves as president.

Joe holds several certifications in school safety and crisis response.  He holds his trainer certifications in Active Shooter, CPTED and NOVA.  Joe is certified in SAP, Psychological First Aid, NIMS and Youth Mental Health First Aid.

Eric Richardson

Focus: Communication and Coordination with Law Enforcement

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With over 24 years of proactive and forward-thinking Law Enforcement experience, including 14 years as a progressive detailed-oriented supervisor. Compressive understanding of management, operational policy, and best practices for de-escalation, behavioral threat assessment, emergency operations planning, and armed assailant response. Eric is trained and certified in multi-disciplinary Law Enforcement divisions and administration responsibilities, including Patrol Sergeant, School Resource Officer, Detective Sergeant and Assistant Chief of Police.

Eric is a certified instructor in civilian response to violent critical incidents using the A.L.I.C.E. concepts. Using these concepts to empower the organization and school districts to protect individuals and help mitigate risks.

Edward T. Leonard

Focus: Physical Assessments and Emergency Preparedness Planning

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Edward T. “Ned” Leonard brings a unique and varied set of training and experience to the area of school safety. Ned has worked for Sigma7/RSM since 2023 where he has contributed to the development of school security training in Pennsylvania in the areas of threat assessment and physical security. In addition, Leonard also presented training on the required components of Emergency Preparedness Plans in PA School Districts. Leonard is also employed as an adjunct professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Scranton, Scranton, PA and a part-time substitute teacher in the Abington Heights School District, Clarks Summit, PA.

Leonard retired from the federal government in 2020 where he served as a federal probation officer in the Middle District of Pennsylvania for 5 years. Prior to his employment with U.S. Probation, Leonard was employed by the U.S. Secret Service for 15 years as a criminal investigator, protective agent, and firearms instructor. In addition, Leonard received extensive training in threat assessment and personally investigated numerous individuals to determine their level of dangerousness after they made threats against the President of the United States.