Cobb County Behavioral Health Coordination Meeting
Keynote Speakers
Melissa Alterio
Executive Director for Cobb County Department of Emergency Communications
Melissa is a 34-year veteran currently serving as Executive Director for Cobb County Department of Emergency Communications (DEC E911) in Metro Atlanta, GA - the 160-person ECC is the 2nd largest center in the state. She is also an Adjunct Instructor with APCO International for the last several years and an independent 911 consultant. Her passion is transforming organizational culture, leadership mentoring, and empowering dispatchers to invest in their professional development.
Melissa is a recognized 9-1-1 Subject Matter Expert who has presented at various national dispatch conferences around the country, speaking on a variety of leadership principles, and consulting on several industry-related topics. Melissa is a graduate of Marist College (NY) with a BS in Psychology and has completed her MS in Criminal Justice/Public Safety Leadership from Mercer University. She has received the professional designations of both Registered Public-Safety Leader (RPL) and Certified Public Safety Executive (CPE).
Melissa also serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO), has recently been appointed to the IACP National Consortium for Preventing Law Enforcement Suicide, and serves as Board Advisor to the Women in Leadership Program at Georgia College & State University. In addition, Melissa serves as Chair of the APCO Health & Wellness Committee who meet to create standards and instructional material to increase the mental and physical well-being of 9-1-1 professionals.
In 2021, Melissa was named as the Georgia APCO / NENA 911 Director of the Year, 2023’s NICE Public Safety Director of the Year, and just last month was named as one of 15 Women of Achievement TRIBUTE nominees with LiveSafe Resources. Melissa is currently serving as Chair of the Cobb County Chamber Public Safety Appreciation Program for 2024.
Dawn Peel
Director, Office of Crisis Coordination, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
Dawn Peel became a Licensed Professional Counselor in 2008 and a Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor in 2013. Dawn received her undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 1996 and her graduate degree from Canisius College in 1998. She has worked in the behavioral health field for over twenty-seven years with diverse roles in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Dawn has worked for DBHDD for twelve years and currently serves as the Director, Office of Crisis Coordination. Previously, she served as the Behavioral Health Regional Services Director for the Region Two Field Office. Dawn is responsible for enterprise oversight of the DBHDD state funded crisis system and collaborating with internal and external partners for the implementation of 988.
Emergency Response Panelists
Matthew Dames
Cobb PATH
Matthew Dames is employed by Highland Rivers Behavioral Health and is currently assigned to the Partnership for Assistance Treatment & Health (Path) Team as a Crisis Response Counselor for the past four years. He was previously employed by the Cobb County Community Service Board for twenty years. He has experience primary working with the severely and persistently mentally ill in outpatient and day program settings providing individual therapy, group therapy, substance abuse treatment and intake assessments. He has a Bachelor’s of Science Degree from North Georgia College & State University in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. He has a Master’s of Arts from the State University of West Georgia in Psychology. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Georgia and Nationally Certified Counselor since 2007. He is a Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor since 2018 and provides clinical supervision to clinicians within Highland Rivers working on getting their license.
Officer Jacob King
Cobb PATH
Officer Jacob King has served with the Cobb County Police Department for ten years, and is currently assigned to the Partnership for Assistance Treatment & Health (PATH) Team. He has previously worked as Probation Officer for the State of Georgia, and a Corrections Officer in Arizona, and Nebraska. Officer King is a veteran of the United States Army, and has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska Omaha in Criminology with a minor in Political Science. In his current assignment Officer King works as a member of a mental health crisis response unit. Officer King has over 2,000 hours of State certified law enforcement training and currently holds certifications as a Field Training Officer, general instructor, and Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Officer. Additionally, Officer King has attended training courses on crisis negotiation, behavioral health threat assessment, and advanced psychology for law enforcement.
Daniel Morgan
911 Training Coordinator
Daniel has been with Cobb County 911 since 2010. He is currently an Operations Supervisor and an active member with our departments Fire Communication Specialists, Tactical Dispatch Team, and Peer Support Team.
Jamie Mumford
911 Training Coordinator
Jamie Mumford has been an employee with Cobb County 911 for eleven years. She is a graduate of Georgia State University with a Bachelor’s in Political Science. She is currently the Training and Quality Assurance Coordinator for Cobb County 911 and has a passion for training, mental health resilience, and leadership development.
Lieutenant Keith Tatum
Cobb C.A.R.E.S.
Lieutenant Keith Tatum has been with Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services for 25 years. He transferred to Cobb Fire CARES in 2022 and has since doubled the size and impact of the program. He is a certified Community Paramedic (CP-C) and Crisis Intervention Team Coordinator. He also serves as chairman of the Metro Atlanta EMS Conference.