About Us‎ > ‎

Dr. Ronald Stephens Biography




Dr. Ronald D. Stephens
was named executive director of the National School Safety Center in 1985. In this capacity, Dr. Stephens has served as consultant and frequent speaker for school districts, law enforcement agencies and professional organizations worldwide. He also serves as Professor Emeritus and "School Safety Chair" of Pepperdine University's Graduate School of Education and Psychology.

Dr. Stephens holds a California teaching credential, administrative credential and a certificate in school business management. His experience includes service as a teacher, assistant superintendent and school board member. His administrative experience includes serving as chief school business officer and as vice president of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. 

Dr. Stephens received his B.S. in business administration and an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University. He received his Ed.D. from the University of Southern California.





Selected Training and Technical Assistance Activities of Dr. Ronald D. Stephens 1984 to the Present

Lectures to Public Groups and Professional Organizations > 500
Guest Lecturer at Colleges and Universities > 50
Technical Assistance to School Districts Nationwide >250
Work with Native American Organizations = 6
International Lectures = 14
Community Service Boards and Advisory Groups = 8
Testimony before the United States Congress = 5
Expert Witness Consultation > 80
Training Films = 12
Television Appearance on Major Networks > 200
Radio Interviews > 100
Print Media Interviews in Major Newspapers & Magazines > 1000
Publications > 20

Lectures to Public Groups and Professional Organizations (More than 500)

Alabama Education Association
Alaska Association of School Boards
Alaska State Department of Education
American Federation of Teachers
American Legislative Exchange Council
American Society for Industrial Security
American Society of Criminology
Arizona School Boards Association
Association of California School Administrators
California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and Attendance
California Federation of Teachers
California School Boards Association
Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency
Council for Exceptional Children
Council of the Great City Schools
Crimestoppers International
Drug Enforcement Administration
Education Commission of the States
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Florida Association of School Administrators
Florida Gang Investigators Association
Georgia Association of Educational Leaders
Hawaii State Department of Education
Hawaii Correctional Association
Idaho Peace Officers Association
Illinois Crime Prevention Council
Indiana State Department of Education
Justice Institute of British Columbia
Kansas State Department of Education
Kansas Correctional Association
Koch Crime Institute
Kentucky School Boards Association
Michigan State Department of Education
Maryland State Department of Education
Missouri Association of School Administrators
Missouri State Teachers Association
National Association of Attorneys General
National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National Association of Independent Schools
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Conference of State Legislators
National Conference on Juvenile Justice
National Council on Alcoholism
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
National Crime Prevention Council
National Crime Prevention Institute
National Education Association
National Educational Service
National Governors Association
National Institute of Justice
National Organizational for Legal Problems in Education 
National Safety Council
National School Boards Association
New Hampshire School Administrators
New Jersey Association of School Administrators
New Jersey DARE Officers Association
New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association
New York Juvenile Detention Association
North Carolina Center for the Prevention of Violence
Oregon Juvenile Police Officers Association
Pennsylvania Juvenile Officers Association
Public Risk Management Association
Rhode Island Interlocal Risk Management Association
School Plant Management Association
School Social Workers Association of Georgia
South Carolina Association of School Administrators
South Pacific Security Conference
The Safety Society
Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Texas Association of School Boards
Texas Congress of Parents and Teachers
Texas Education Association
U.S. Department of Education
Washington Association of School Administrators
Washington State Department of Education
West Virginia Education Association
Virginia State Department of Education
Georgia State Department of Education

Guest Lecturer at Professional and Educational Institutions of Higher Learning

Azusa Pacific University
Carnegie Mellon University
Chadron State College
Clemson University
Defiance College, Ohio
Edinboro University
Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas
FBI National Academy
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Glynco, Georgia
Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, Wisconsin
Indiana State University, Department of Educational Administration
Lansing Community College, Criminal Justice Law Center, Lansing, Michigan
Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Academy
Mississippi State University
Portland State University
Southwest Texas State University
St. Cloud State University
Stetson University
Teachers College, Columbia University
Texas A & M University
University of Arkansas
University of Colorado
University of Georgia
University of Hawaii, Honolulu
University of Hawaii, Manoa
University of Houston
University of Louisville, National Crime Prevention Institute, Louisville, Kentucky
University of Minnesota
University of Nebraska, Omaha
University of New Mexico
University of North Carolina, Center for the Advancement of Teaching
University of Oklahoma
University of South Carolina
University of Southern Mississippi
University of Toledo
University of Wisconsin
University of Wyoming
University of Texas, Austin, Texas
Virginia Commonwealth University
Western Kentucky University
Eastern Carolina University
Montana State University

Consultation and Technical Assistance (School Districts)

Denver Public Schools
New York City Public Schools
Los Angeles Unified School District
New Orleans Parish Public Schools
Atlanta Public Schools
Oakland Public Schools
District of Columbia Public Schools, Washington, D.C.
Fulton County Public Schools, Atlanta, Georgia
Columbia Public Schools, Columbia, South Carolina
Brevard County Public Schools
Tupelo Public Schools, Tupelo, Mississippi
Duncanville Independent School District, Duncanville, TX
Baldwin Park Public Schools, Baldwin Park, CA
Windsor Public Schools, Windsor, Connecticut
Fairbanks North Star Public Schools, Fairbanks, Alaska
Forsyth County Public Schools
Gustine Unified School District
Spring Branch Independent School District
Longview Independent School District
Dallas Independent School District, Dallas, Texas
Milwaukee Public Schools, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Fort Smith Arkansas Public Schools
Four J School District, Eugene, Oregon
Sunnyside School District, Sunnyside, Washington
Redding Public Schools, Redding, California
Fresno Unified School District, Fresno, California
Natrona County School District, Natrona, Wyoming
Millard Public Schools, Omaha, Nebraska
Russell Independent School District, Rowel, New Mexico
Adrian Public Schools, Adrian, Michigan
Waxahachie Independent School District, Waxahachie, Texas
Omaha Public Schools, Omaha, Nebraska
Texarkana Independent School District, Texarkana, Texas
Cypress-Fairbanks Independent Schools District, Houston, Texas
Lincoln Public Schools, Lincoln, Nebraska
Guilford Public Schools 
Armona Unified School District, Armona, California
Charlotte County Public Schools, Port Charlotte, Florida
Lenawee County Public Schools, Adrian Michigan
Norwich Public Schools, Norwich, Connecticut
Santa Ana Unified School District, Santa Ana, California
Oakland Public Schools, Oakland, California
Pitt County Public Schools, Greenville, North Carolina
Amarillo Independent School District
Corsicana Public Schools, Corsicana, Texas
Greenwood Public Schools, Greenwood, South Carolina
Round Rock Independent School District, Austin, Texas
McAllen Independent School District, McAllen, Texas
Harlingen Independent School District, Harlingen, Texas
Waco Independent School District, Waco, Texas
Jefferson County Public Schools, Littleton, Colorado
Pearl Public Schools, Pear, Mississippi
St. Charles Parish Public Schools, Luling, Louisiana
San Angelo Independent School District, San Angelo, Texas
Seminole County Public Schools, Sanford, Florida
Port Huron Public Schools, Port Huron, Michigan
Colonial Intermediate Unit #20 Public Schools, Easton, Pennsylvania
Howell Public Schools, Howell, Michigan
Tacoma Public Schools, Tacoma, Washington
Carson City School District, Carson City, NV
Sparta Township Public Schools, Sparta, New Jersey
Berks County Intermediate Public Schools, Reading, Pennsylvania
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, Chicago, Illinois
Southern Prarie Educational Agency Schools, Ottumwa, Iowa
Region VIII Educational Service Center, El Paso, Texas
Homewood Flossmoor School District, Flossmoor, Illinois
Georgetown County School District, Georgetown, South Carolina
Deschutes County Public Schools, Redmond, Oregon
Bethel Public Schools, Bethel, Alaska
Johnson County Public Schools, Smithfield, North Carolina
Union School District #498, Waterville, Kansas
Forney Independent School District, Forney, Texas
Phoenix Country Day School, Paradise Valley, Arizona
Bastrop Independent School District, Bastrop, Texas
Philadelphia Public Schools, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oklahoma City Public Schools, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Broward County Public Schools, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Marshall County Schools, Benton, Kentucky
Marjorie Stone Douglas High School, Parkland, Florida

Work With Native American Organizations/Communities

The Navajo Nation, Ganado, Arizona
Matanaska-Susitina Borough, Palmer, Alaska
Lower Kuskowkwim School District, Bethel, Alaska
Red Lake School District & the Chippewa Nation, Red Lake, Minnesota
Tulalip Indian Tribe, Washington State
Hoh Indian Tribe, Marysville, Washington

International Work

Justice Institute of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
International Conference on Urban Safety, Paris, France
South Pacific Educational Security Conference, Christchurch, New Zealand
Seycove Secondary Community School District, North Vancouver, British Columbia
The American Embassy, Nassau, Bahamas
School District #34, Abbotsford Public Schools, Abbotsford, British Columbia
Republic of Puerto Rico
University of Adelaide, New South Wales, Australia
Australian Security Industry Association, Sydney, Australia
Williams Lake Public Schools, Williams Lake, British Columbia
International Conference on Safe Schools, Toronto Canada
International Conference on Aggression, Amsterdam, Netherlands
International Association of Chiefs of Police, Guam
Community Safety Conference, Tel Aviv, Israel (Keynote Address)
Republic of South Korea
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Public Service and Assistance to National & Federal Agencies

Education Task Force, American Legislative Exchange Council
National Board Member, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (MCAP)
Los Angeles Task Force on Better Education-Appointed by Assemblywoman Lafollette
Council of the Great City Schools, National Urban Education Task Force
Education Task Force, American Society for Industrial Security
California Teacher Credentialing Commission, School Violence Advisory Panel
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Advisory Board
Students Against Violence Everywhere, Board Member

Testimony before the United States Congress

7/19/91 House of Representatives, Judiciary Committee
3/13/93 House of Representatives, Committee on Education and Civil Rights
4/28/98 House of Representatives, Committee on Education and the Workforce
Understanding Violent Children.
8/98 House of Representatives, Education Caucus Committee, School Violence Prevention
9/1/98 United States Senate, Judiciary Committee, Washington, D.C. Fixing a Broken System: Preventing Crime Through Intervention.

Technical Assistance to Government Agencies

National Institute of Justice
United States Department of Education
United States Attorney, District of Montana
United States Attorney, Louisville, Kentucky
United States Attorney, Beaumont, Texas
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Quantico, VA
General Accounting Office
Governor of Colorado
Governor of New York
Governor of Oklahoma

Representative Expert Witness Testimony and Consultation

Ensley v. Los Angeles Unified School District
Hintz v. Moses Lake School District
Allen v. Ottumwa, Ottumwa, Iowa
Joe James v. John Carneal & McCracken County Public Schools, Paducah, Kentucky
Kaye Long v. Pearl High School, Pearl, Mississippi
Sandoval v. Holy Family Grade School
Grayson v. Jefferson County School District 
Slack v. Omaha Public Schools 
Kidd v. Simpson 
Bryan v. San Diego Unified School District 
T.H. v. Nova Southeastern University 
Palacios etal. V. Golden Eagle etal, Bethel, Alaska
Lopez v. Ventura Unified School District 
CR Doe v. the Bishop of Orange, Santa Ana, California
Red Lake School District, Red Lake, Minnesota 
Jane Doe v. City of New York 
Molina v. LAUSD
Hause v. Capistrano Unified School District 
Barracks v. Orleans Parish School Board

Training Films

University of Oklahoma Gangs in Our Schools: Identification, Response and Prevention Strategies. Staff Development Video Telecasts
University of Georgia, Athens, GA Classroom Management
National Educational Service Three part series on Safe School Planning
Education Development Center, Live Talk Summit on Youth Violence Prevention
Carnegie Mellon University, National Consortium on Violence Research, �Violence in the Schools� 
Kids Safety of America Three part series on Managing School Violence
University of South Carolina Safe School Strategies
Law Enforcement Television Network, School/Law Enforcement Partnerships
What If? The Role of Schools in Terrorism Prevention
MySafeSchools.org

Television Appearances (More than 200 appearances) Selected Examples

Good Morning America 
Fox News with Chris Wallace
The Today Show with Bryant Gumbel (Two separate appearances)
The Today Show with Matt Lauer (Two separate appearances)
CBS News with Dan Rather
ABC News with Peter Jennings
NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw
Jim Lehrer News Hour
The Today Show with Catie Couric 
Oprah 
Good Morning America with Lisa McCrea
Larry King Live with Attorney General Janet Reno
CNN, Sonia Live
Queen Latifa Show
MSNBC with Brian Williams
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace 
NBC Extra
Prime Time Live with Diane Sawyer 
Charles Grodin Show (Two separate appearances)
Geraldo
KWHY Daytime Dialogue
Headlines on Trial with Arthur Miller (Harvard Law Schools Professor)
Fuji TV, Japan
Asahi National Broadcasting, Japan
MTV 
48-Hours
CBS This Morning
PBS Newshour
Court TV

Radio Interviews (More than 100)

National Public Radio, All Things Considered regarding Springfield, OR shooting
German Radio Network, Herman Denecko Show
Australian Broadcasting Company, (ABC) James Valentine Show
British Broadcasting Company (BBC), Colin Peacock
Wall Street Journal Radio
KCBS, San Francisco
WWJ News AM 950, Detroit, Michigan
WDBO Radio, Orlando
KNEWS AM 570, Salt Lake City
WBAL Radio, Baltimore, Maryland
KMOX, St. Louis, Missouri
CNN News Radio
KEWS, Portland, Oregon, Bill Gallegher Show
Voice of America, Gary Flakus
KARM, Little Rock, Arkansas
KING, Seattle Washington
KLBJ, Austin, Texas
The Ollie North Show
Talk Radio 1089, London, England, The Peter Deely Show 
Zimmer Radio Group (35 stations) in Southern Illinois
WORD Radio, Greenville, NC
KNX News, Los Angeles
AM 970 New York, New Jersey & CT
Voice of Russia

Print Media (More than 1000)

New York Times
Los Angeles Times
Baltimore Sun
Hartford Courrant
St. Louis Post Dispatch
Detroit Free Press
Honolulu Star Advertiser
Wall Street Journal
The Readers Digest
Ladies Home Journal
Good Housekeeping
U.S. News and Work Report
Newsweek
Newsday
USA Today
Orlando Sentinel
The Oregonian
Sacramento Bee
Cincinnati Enquirer
Omaha World Herald
Chicago Tribune
Education Week
Atlanta Constitution
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Arlington Star Telegram
Weekly Reader
Wichita Eagle
Virginia Pilot
London Times
Parenting Magazine
Philadelphia Inquirer
Houston Chronicle
Charleston Gazette

Research Programs

Centers for Disease Control, Division of Intentional Injury, Atlanta, Georgia
"School Associated Violent Deaths Report"
Center to Prevent Handgun Violence
"Straight Talk About Risks Curriculum"
U.S. Department of Education, School Associated Violent Deaths