PREPaRE curriculum developers/core trainers are leading national experts in school crisis prevention and response with both formal training and direct experience. They are members of the NASP School Safety and Crisis Response Committee.

Melissa A. Reeves, PhD, NCSP, LPC, is the immediate past president of NASP and a member of the School Safety and Crisis Response Committee. She is the primary author of PREPaRE Workshop 1: Crisis Prevention and Preparedness. Dr. Reeves received her doctorate from the University of Denver (Denver, CO), where she researched school-based mental health programming and interventions. She is a school psychologist, licensed special education teacher, and licensed professional counselor, and is currently employed as a Lecturer for Winthrop University (Rock Hill, SC). Dr. Reeves formerly worked for the Cherry Creek School District (Greenwood Village, CO) as a school psychologist and district coordinator of social/emotional/behavioral services. She has served as the Colorado Delegate to NASP and the Western Region Delegate Representative to the NASP Executive Council. Having participated in many different school crisis responses, 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 establishing a response to intervention model. She has testified before the U.S. Senate Ad Hoc Subcommittee for Disaster and Recovery regarding Children and Disasters: A Progress Report on Addressing Needs. She is the primary author of the book Comprehensive Planning for Safe Learning Environments: A School Professional's Guide to Integrating Physical and Psychological Safety, and is coauthor of  School Crisis Prevention and Intervention: The PREPaRE Model and Identifying, Assessing, and Treating PTSD at School. She has also contributed to numerous newsletter and journal articles. Dr. Reeves is a two-time recipient of both the NASP Presidential Award and the NASP Crisis Management Interest Group Award for Excellence, and was awarded the Special Friend of ISPA Award by the Illinois School Psychology Association.

Stephen E. Brock, PhD, NCSP, LEP, is a founding member of the PREPaRE Workgroup. He is the author of PREPaRE Workshop 2: Crisis Intervention and Recovery, and is also a member of the National Emergency Assistance Team. Dr. Brock received his doctorate from University of California, Davis, where he researched AD/HD, school crisis intervention, and school suicide prevention. Currently, he is a Professor and the School Psychology Program Coordinator at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). Before joining the CSUS faculty, Dr. Brock was the Lead School Psychologist for the Lodi Unified School District (Lodi, CA). He is a Past-President of NASP and has also served as the California Delegate to NASP, the Western Region Delegate Representative to the NASP Executive Council, Co-chair of the PREPaRE Workgroup, Coordinator of the NASP Crisis Management in the Schools Interest Group, and President of the California Association of School Psychologists. Having participated in many different school crisis responses, he travels both nationally and internationally training professionals in the areas of crisis intervention, suicide prevention, PTSD, autism, and AD/HD. He is the author of numerous crisis-related publications and lead editor of Best Practices in School Crisis Prevention and Intervention (2nd ed.), and primary author of School Crisis Prevention and Intervention: The PREPaRE Model (2nd ed.). He has previously served as an Associate Editor of The California School Psychologist and Guest Editor of the Journal of School Violence and School Psychology Forum. Currently, he is an Editor of the Developmental Psychopathology at School book series, a Contributing Editor to the NASP Communiqué, and on the editorial advisory boards of School Psychology Review, Journal of School Violence, and Contemporary School Psychology. Dr. Brock is a two-time recipient of both the NASP Presidential Award and the NASP Crisis Management Interest Group Award for Excellence, and was named an Outstanding School Psychologist by the California School Psychology Association.

Amanda B. Nickerson, PhD, NCSP, is the Coordinator of the Research and Evaluation Subcommittee of the NASP School Safety and Crisis Response Committee and an author of PREPaRE Workshop 1: Crisis Prevention and Preparedness. Dr. Nickerson received her doctorate in school psychology from the University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC), where she researched school crisis prevention and intervention, parent and peer attachment relationships, and assessment and intervention for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders. Currently, she is Professor and Director of the Jean M. Alberti Center for the Prevention of Bullying Abuse and School Violence in the Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY). A licensed psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist, Dr. Nickerson serves on the New York Association of School Psychologists' executive board as their bullying and school violence liaison. She has authored numerous journal articles and book chapters on school crisis prevention and intervention; violence and bullying prevention; and the role of schools, parents, and peers in promoting social-emotional strengths of children and adolescents. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Educational Research Association, the New York State Office of Child and Family Services, and the Society for the Study of School Psychology. Dr. Nickerson is the primary author of Assessing, Identifying, and Treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder at School, coauthor of School Crisis Prevention and Intervention: The PREPaRE Model, and coeditor of School Violence and School Safety: International Research and Practice (2nd ed.). She served as an associate editor of the Journal of School Violence and is on the editorial boards of several other journals, including School Psychology Review, School Psychology Quarterly, and the Journal of School Psychology. Dr. Nickerson is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 16), recipient of the NASP Presidential Award, the NASP Crisis Management Interest Group Award for Excellence, the University of South Carolina Outstanding Graduate Work in Research, and the University of South Carolina Dean's Award for Excellence in Graduate Study.

Christina Conolly, PsyD, NCSP, is the co-chairperson of the National School Safety and Crisis Response Committee and an author of PREPaRE Workshop 1: Crisis Prevention and Preparedness. Dr. Conolly received her doctorate in the Combined-Integrated Clinical and School Psychology program at James Madison University, where she researched eating disorders. Currently she is the Director for the Division of Psychological Services for the Montgomery County Public Schools (Rockville, MD). She currently supervises over 100 school psychologists and the Bilingual Assessment Team. Dr. Conolly also supervises the district's suicide prevention curriculum implementation efforts. She was the former secretary for the Illinois School Psychologist Association and the former Coordinator for the Crisis Management in School Interest Group. She was the former Director of Crisis Intervention and Safety for the Waukegan Public Schools (Waukegan, IL), and was responsible for managing the five missions of emergency management (Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery) for her school district. In this capacity she supervised the suicide and bullying prevention programs, the district mental health response team, physical restraints, isolated timeouts, district and school crisis plan development, incident action planning for large-scale school events, staff training, and consultation with school buildings and community agencies. Dr. Conolly is a coauthor of School Crisis Prevention and Intervention: The PREPaRE Model (2nd ed.) and has authored and coauthored several articles and book chapters on school crisis prevention and intervention. Dr. Conolly is a recipient of the NASP Presidential Award, the James Madison University Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award, and the James Madison University Psychology Graduate Student Award for Outstanding Service.

Franci Crepeau-Hobson, PhD, NCSP, is a member of the SSCRC and is an Associate Professor and Director of the School Psychology Program at the University of Colorado (Denver, CO). Dr. Crepeau-Hobson completed her doctoral studies at the University of Northern Colorado. She formerly worked as a practitioner in the Denver metro area and is a licensed psychologist, licensed school psychologist, and a member of the Colorado Society of School Psychologists Statewide Crisis Response Team. This team provides comprehensive school-based prevention, intervention, and postvention crisis resources and services to school districts in and around Colorado. Dr. Crepeau-Hobson is also a member of the Colorado Crisis Education and Response Network (COCERN), a coordinated response network of trained resources whose mission is to address the immediate behavioral health needs of communities affected by disasters and other crises. She has authored and coauthored a number of articles in the areas of crisis response and youth suicide and has presented on these and other topics locally and nationally. 

Benjamin S. Fernandez, MS. Ed, is a School Safety and Crisis Response Committee chair. Mr. Fernandez completed his graduate studies in School Psychology at Bucknell University (Lewisburg, PA) and has worked as a school psychologist in Pennsylvania and Virginia with almost 20 years of experience as a practitioner. Currently, he works for Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) (Virginia) as a lead school psychologist providing a range of diagnostic, prevention, and psychological services as well as coordinating the school psychology specialist-level internship program. In addition to these duties, he is a PREPaRE WS1 and WS2 trainer and is responsible for training all LCPS school psychologists, school psychologist interns, and school social workers. He serves as one of six crisis team leaders and manages the coordination of crisis teams and the implementation of crisis intervention services by maintaining and updating the LCPS Crisis Team manual and team assignments. Additionally, he has contributed to articles and books related to youth suicide, PREPaRE, and school safety and crisis. Mr. Fernandez conducts workshops on PREPaRE and trainings on school safety and crisis response on the local, state, and national levels. He has testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on a panel for Examining Mental Health:  Treatment Options and Trends. In 2010, he was named School Psychologist of the Year by the Virginia Academy of School Psychologists and in 2012, he was named School Psychologist of the Year by the NASP. In 2015, Mr. Fernandez received a National Association of School Psychologists Presidential Award.

Shane Jimerson, PhD, NCSP, is a founding member of the PREPaRE Workgroup and an author of PREPaRE Workshop 1: Crisis Prevention and Preparedness. Dr. Jimerson completed his doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota (TOWN, MN). Currently, he is a Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, President of the International School Psychology Association, Previous President of Division 16 (school psychology) of the American Psychological Association, and Editor of the School Psychology Quarterly journal. Dr. Jimerson is the author of more than 300 books and journal articles, including coauthor of School Crisis Prevention and Intervention: The PREPaRE Model, coauthor of Identifying, Assessing, and Treating PTSD at School, coauthor of Identifying, Assessing, and Treating Conduct Disorder at School, coauthor of The Mourning Child Grief Support Group Curriculum Series, coauthor of Identifying, Assessing, and Treating PTSD at School, coeditor of Best Practices in School Crisis Prevention and Intervention (2nd ed.), lead editor of The Handbook of School Violence and School Safety: International Research and Practice (2nd ed.), and lead editor of The Handbook of Bullying in Schools: An International Perspective. Dr. Jimerson is a recipient of the NASP Presidential Award, the NASP Crisis Management Interest Group Award for Excellence, the Best Research Article of the Year Award from the Society for the Study of School Psychology, the Outstanding Article of the Year Award from the National Association of School Psychologists, the Early Career Award in Human Development from AERA, the Lightner Witmer Early Career Contributions Award from Division 16 (School Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, the Outstanding International Psychologist Award from Division 52 (International Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, is an elected member of the Society for the Study of School Psychology, and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, Divisions 16 and 52.

Brian R. Lazzaro, MEd, is currently on leave from the PREPaRE Workgroup (as he finishes his doctoral studies) and an author of PREPaRE Workshop 1: Crisis Prevention and Preparedness. Mr. Lazzaro plans to complete his doctoral studies at Loyola University, Chicago in December 2012, and is currently researching the effectiveness of the PREPaRE Crisis Intervention and Recovery workshop. This past year, Mr. Lazzaro has been the Coordinator for the NASP Crisis Management in the Schools Interest Group. Currently, he is a school psychologist serving at-risk youth in Township High School District 211 (Palatine, IL). Mr. Lazzaro has taught school crisis prevention and intervention strategies as an adjunct professor at Loyola University, Chicago for several years. He is a member of the Arlington Heights School Safety Advisory Taskforce and the School & Community Assistance Team in Illinois. He has had numerous experiences responding to and providing support to those affected by school crises.

Rosario C. Pesce, PhD, NCSP, is a member of the School Safety and Crisis Response Committee and an author of School Crisis Prevention and Intervention: The PREPaRE Model (2nd ed.) and PREPaRE Workshop 1: Crisis Prevention and Preparedness: Comprehensive School Safety Planning (2nd ed.).  Dr. Pesce received his doctorate from Loyola University, Chicago where he researched adolescent egocentrism. Currently, he works as a school psychologist, clinical psychologist, and Coordinator of Clinical Training at Loyola University, Chicago where he is a Clinical Assistant Professor. He is retired from the J. Sterling Morton High Schools where he served as Student Assistance Program Coordinator and later Support Services Personnel Content Area Coordinator. Dr. Pesce was appointed to the Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership and serves on the School Age Policies and Practices Committee. He was on the writing team for the Illinois State Board of Education's social-emotional learning standards. He is involved in community initiatives focused on safety and violence prevention. He has published on school gang prevention and school/community mental health services and has coauthored book chapters on school crisis prevention and intervention. Dr. Pesce was President of the Illinois School Psychologists Association and two-time recipient of the President's Award. Dr. Pesce was named Illinois Peace Leader by the Illinois Center for Violence Prevention and NASP School Psychologist of the Year.

Scott Woitaszewski, PhD, NCSP, received his doctorate from the School Psychology Program at Ball State University (Muncie, IN) in 2001 and has experience as a practicing school psychologist in the state of Minnesota. Currently he is on the faculty of the Department of Counseling & School Psychology at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls where he serves as the Program Director of the School Psychology Program. As a member of NASP's School Safety and Crisis Response Committee, Dr. Woitaszewski has conducted numerous PREPaRE workshops around the United States, has published on the topic of school crisis work, and has assisted with the creation of several school crisis resources for educators. At UW-River Falls, Dr. Woitaszewski teaches graduate courses on school crisis prevention and intervention, behavioral assessment and intervention, cognitive assessment, and research and statistics. Dr. Woitaszewski received the UW-River Falls College of Education and Professional Studies Outstanding Faculty award in 2007 and the Outstanding Research Award in 2011 for his work on collaboration between school-based mental health professionals.