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AVAILABLE TO BOOK EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH THE SAFE AND SOUND SPEAKERS BUREAU
On Monday, March 21, 2005, Missy’s life was forever changed when a former student shot his way into her classroom at Red Lake High School, where he killed a co-worker and five of her students before taking his own life. Since that day more than 20 years ago, Missy has been on a meaningful journey from victim to survivor, finding her voice and purpose as an advocate and speaker. Having witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of school violence on her students and community, she now dedicates her work to helping schools build safer, more supportive educational environments. In her presentations, Dodds emphasizes the importance of comprehensive safety strategies, including mental health resources, emergency preparedness, and community engagement. Her unique perspective as both a survivor and a champion for change makes her an impactful speaker, offering valuable insights on how to create proactive, resilient school cultures that prioritize student safety and foster bright futures.
WHY
Book
Missy
FOR YOUR EVENT?
“Thankful for Missy Dodds’ willingness to share her traumatic experience at the hands of a targeted mass shooter and her journey of healing in its aftermath. Her message was well received by the audience and her personal experience clearly had an impact on the attendees on the importance of behavioral threat assessment in the prevention of future mass attacks.”
—Nicole Tuomi Jones, Ph.D., LP, CTM, Psychologist, Behavioral Threat Assessment Unit, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation
WHO
Books
Missy
?
Missy Dodds’ unique blend of raw honesty and deep compassion make her a popular speaker among a wide range of audiences and organizations, including:
National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO)
Indiana Department of Education
North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation
Texas State University - Texas School Safety Center
Texas Department of Public Safety
Arkansas Safe Schools Association
Delta Kappa Gamma
West40 Intermediate Service Center (ISC)
Vivent Health
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SPEAKER
Topics Include
Safety & Security
Culture, Climate & Community
Recovery & Resilience After Trauma
Turning Pain into Purpose
Lessons Learned from Tragedy
Signature
PRESENTATIONS
Click on the titles to learn more about each signature presentation and fill out the form below to book for your next event.
Choosing to Survive: Lessons from Red Lake
1-2 Hour Keynote
In this session, Missy shares both her personal journey of navigating life after a school shooting and her quest to understand how a school shooting can even happen. Through the pain, guilt and hard decisions, she is open and honest about her struggles, successes and how she now defines acceptance. Missy also shares how she found her “missing piece”—the answer to what she believes could have prevented the events on March 21, 2005.
Missy’s presentation is suited for all educators, school-based law enforcement, school-based mental health providers, and community stakeholders.
Testimonials
Ms. Dodds was engaging, entertaining, and well-received by the audience. She made valid points that were useful for the threat assessment training, and shared her own story to highlight that targeted mass attacks have impacts on survivors as well. She also did a good job of stressing the value of threat assessment as a tool to prevent violence.
—Earl Sam, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation
Speaker
BIOGRAPHY
On Monday, March 21, 2005, Missy Dodds’ life was forever changed. A former student shot his way into her classroom at Red Lake High School in Northwest Minnesota. He killed a teacher and five of her students before taking his own life. Since that day, Missy has worked hard on her healing journey. This journey has taken her down many roads: learning to live with PTSD, the difference between being a victim and being a survivor and learning to allow her own children to experience and love school as much as she did. These paths have led Missy to becoming a school safety and mental health advocate. While Missy no longer teaches high school math, she is passionate about sharing what she has learned to help schools, parents and communities understand the importance of a comprehensive approach to school safety and recovery.
Missy’s court case, Dodds vs Red Lake School District Workman’s Comp, helped to change the law in Minnesota to include PTSD as a viable workman’s comp claim. In 2015, Missy shared her story of recovery in the award-winning documentary, Red Lake, produced by Billy Luther. In 2018, Missy joined Safe and Sound Schools as a National Parent Ambassador and now serves as a regular speaker and outreach and training specialist for the national school safety non-profit. In 2022, Missy received the Outstanding Service Award from the Mu Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma for her work in school safety. She also serves as a parent representative for her local school district’s Emergency Operation Planning Committee and on her local Boys and Girls Club’s Program and Safety Committee.
Born and raised in Arkansas, she lives in Northwest Minnesota with her husband and three children. Missy holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Central Arkansas and a Master of Science in Mathematics Education from Bemidji State University.