Melanie Stephenson, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 20 years of experience in both domestic and international settings. Her career spans child protective services, emergency mental health, private practice, and K–12 educational environments across Tennessee and Virginia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Social Work from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she is currently pursuing a Doctor of Social Work (DSW) in Clinical Practice and Leadership.
As Threat Assessment Supervisor for Loudoun County Public Schools in Northern Virginia, Melanie leads and trains more than 100 school-based teams in the implementation of behavioral threat assessment and management best practices. Her work focuses on empowering multidisciplinary teams to identify, assess, and intervene with students exhibiting concerning behaviors, prioritizing safety while fostering connection and support.

Melanie’s doctoral research examines the behavioral, relational, and psychosocial factors and pathways that lead youth toward violent extremist ideologies, with the goal of strengthening K–12 behavioral threat assessment practices through earlier identification and more effective intervention strategies.