Dr. Victoria Calder was born and raised willy-nilly in Fort Worth Texas. She
spent her early years eating dirt, exploring fields, swimming, running wild, and
reading constantly. Her favorite childhood books included Little Women, The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew series, and Critique of Judgement. Victoria earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University ofTexas at Austin in 1984. She is dual-licensed in Texas as a clinical psychologist and school psychologist, specializing in threat assessment, disaster behavioral health, and the psychology of terrorism.

Victoria has sailed and eaten lobster for many years in the West Indies, Caribbean, Greece, and wild blue yonder. She enjoys scuba diving, oil painting, and exploring the backroads from Canton to Cairo. Victoria and her husband love traveling to favorite stops in France and the southern United States.

Victoria retired in 2015 from her position as Executive Director of the Texas School Safety Center—a state agency and research center at Texas State University, funded by the Texas legislature to oversee safety and security for Texas schools. While leading the Center, she authored technical publications, including portions of the Texas Homeland Security Strategic Plan and legislative reports. Victoria served on the Texas Homeland Security Council and was invited to the White House several times to receive awards and participate in security-related events.

Currently, Victoria contracts as an instructor at the National Emergency Management Institute in Maryland, and across the United States for the United States Department of Education. She is a keynote speaker at national and international conferences and serves at disasters with the Red Cross Mental Health Disaster
Response Team.

Victoria is writing her first novel, a suspense, and plans to complete it in 2019. She is grateful for critique from members of the Granbury Writer’s Bloc. Her keyword for 2019 is “Serenity.”