Michelle Vincent Calhoun

Michelle Calhoun currently serves as SSA’s National Workplace Violence Program Manager, overseeing the management and continued education of 12 national Crisis Advisory Teams, managing Headquarters cases, and providing consultation for cases nationwide. As SSA’s program is now considered to be one of the best models in government, multiple Federal agencies have reached out to Calhoun for perspective and consultation on program building. Passionate about interagency collaboration on the topic, she is now partnered with colleagues from Office of Personnel Management and others across the Federal sector working to develop a Federal Community of Practice on Violence Risk Prevention.
Calhoun was the lead researcher, organizer and main author of the Social Security Administration’s national workplace violence prevention policy and program. Calhoun also guided a cross-agency workgroup in evaluating and finalizing SSA’s policy structure and developed the agency’s procedures for conducting assessments focused on internal violence risk among the organization’s 65,000 employees and contractors. Calhoun also created training and marketing materials for program awareness and outreach, coordinated initial training for the program’s established multidisciplinary Crisis Advisory Teams, and developed design requirements for SSA’s Violence Evaluation and Reporting System (SSAvers). She is the recipient of a distinguished 2016 Commissioner’s Citation for her efforts.
Calhoun earned her B.A. in English Language and Literature from Penn State University, Schreyer Honors College (University Park, PA) with a focus on early American literature, philosophy, law, and administration of justice and her M.A. in English Literature from University of Maryland (College Park, MD) with a focus on early American literature, religion, and culture. Calhoun is a certified Mediator, a member of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) and a member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP), currently serving as the ATAP DC Chapter Board Secretary.