The Northwest Educational Service District 189 (NWESD) is excited to introduce our all-women-led School Safety Center (SSC)! Pictured above from left to right the team of Erum Mohiuddin, Erin Wood, Natalie Gustafson, and Caylie Edlund collaborate to offer comprehensive and trauma-informed training, support, and guidance to school leaders implementing physical and psychological safety measures. Their contributions are crucial to the success of our region’s efforts to enhance school safety.
The NWESD SSC partners with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the other Educational Service Districts around the state to advance safety programs and increase services throughout the Northwest. Areas of services provided include behavioral health navigation, comprehensive school safety, crisis response, threat assessment, and more.
Natalie Gustafson is the Assistant Director of Behavioral Health and Prevention Services (BHPS) and operates as the Behavioral Health Navigator. As a licensed mental health professional, she brings trauma-informed leadership to our region’s suicide prevention strategies and networking with local youth and family care agencies to provide direct support for schools.
Erin Wood is the Safety Center Program Manager for the NWESD and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. She specializes in trauma-informed prevention and intervention strategies for healthy youth, schools, and communities. As the Safety Center Program Manager, she supervises all School Safety Center roles and works to guide and enhance all school safety-related services provided to schools through the NWESD.
Erum Mohiuddin is the Comprehensive School Safety Coordinator (CSSC). She has experience as an educator spanning over 20 years. As an Administrator, Erum created programming to bolster students’ academic programs and support educational staff. She is also a founder and co-creator of the first charter high school in Whatcom County, where she was the Director of Operations and Principal. This school supported underserved and marginalized students. The Comprehensive School Safety Coordinator provides guidance and consultation for district leadership in the areas of emergency operations planning, and the provision of physical and psychological safety strategies.
Caylie Edlund is the Threat Assessment Coordinator. She has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and experiences working with Juvenile Justice, Youth Mentoring Services, and various other community programs throughout Washington State and British Columbia. The Student Threat Assessment program offers districts training, support, and facilitation of the multilevel Salem-Keizer Cascade model, to reduce and prevent school-based threats and violence.
The School Safety Center is made up of women seeking to provide thoughtful, intentional safety measures for educators, students, and communities in a multitude of different circumstances. By way of collaboration with other departments and services within the NWESD and the educational community, the SSC seeks to provide equitable pathways for everyone toward a more healthful, secure, and successful future.
