Office of School Safety – Meet Our Team

Trish Kilpin was appointed as Director in the Office of School Safety in February of 2022. Prior to serving in this position, she was a school social worker for over 30 years. Trish earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was named the Wisconsin School Social Worker's Association's School Social Worker of the Year in 1997, and Wisconsin Teacher of the Year in 2021. She is a certified National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) PREPaRE 1 and 2 Trainer, a Sources of Strength Trainer, a National Threat Evaluation and Reporting Office (NTER) Master Trainer, and an Association for Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) Certified Threat Manager.

Susan Whitstone, Deputy Director of the Office of School Safety and with the Office of School Safety since 2018.  She has nearly 25 years’ experience in the Criminal Justice arena to include over 7 years teaching tertiary education.  Susan started her criminal justice career in Green Bay at the Green Bay Correctional Institution as a student at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.  At the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay she received the honored Chancellor’s Medallion and high honors.  After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Public Administration, she quickly promoted to Lieutenant with the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department.  During her tenure with Waukesha she received her Master’s Degree at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Criminal Justice Administration.  Susan is a master threat assessment trainer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, trained by the I Love You Guys Foundation in standard response protocol and standard reunification method and led the development of the statewide school threat reporting system- Speak Up Speak Out Wisconsin.

Jacob Dorff currently serves as the Office of School Safety (OSS) Grant Specialist. Before joining OSS in May 2022, his work experience included time spent in Risk Management, public sector finance, and nonprofit operations. Jacob earned his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Master's in Public Administration from the University of South-Florida.

Susan Williams began working at the Office of School Safety as a Threat Assessment Coordinator following 31 years as a school psychologist. Susan received her Bachelor of Science and master’s degree in education from the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse. In 2017 and 2020, she became certified by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) as a Trainer of Trainers for the PREPaRE 1 and PREPaRE 2 crisis prevention and response curriculum. She has been a leading member of both district and building level crisis, safety, and threat assessment teams. Susan has had the privilege of training teams of administrators, pupil service teams and other school staff from rural, suburban, and urban settings around school safety topics.

Paul Spoerl serves as Program and Policy Analyst-Advanced for the Office of School Safety. Before joining OSS he served as a Program Analyst and Budget Analyst with the Wisconsin National Guard in various directorates and worked in Law Enforcement. He is still currently a member of the Wisconsin National Guard, graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice from UW-Oshkosh and the Law Enforcement academy at NWTC. Some of his prior training and courses include Active Shooter Training, Advanced Situational Awareness, Safety classes and Officer Candidate School. Paul enjoys spending time with his family, spending time outdoors and sports.

Cheryl Johnson is the Crisis Response and Recovery Specialist with the Office of School Safety. Prior to her role with OSS, she worked in 4K-12 public education as a School Social Worker for 19 years. Cheryl received both her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Master of Science degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She has served on both school district and building level crisis and threat assessment teams. She is a certified trainer for Youth Mental Health First Aid and is trained in PREPaRE 2 Crisis Intervention and Recovery. Cheryl is passionate about providing trauma sensitive care and preparing professionals to respond to crisis situations by implementing best practice interventions that lead to recovery.