February 23: Chelsea Malcolm

Chelsea Malcom is embedded with the Cookeville Police Department. She responds to calls with officers who encounter individuals with mental health or substance abuse conditions. Chelsea helps to de-escalate situations and divert persons who need mental health treatment from jail. Chelsea had a different career path until her cousin committed suicide. With a degree in criminology, she was a talented collegiate softball player, She was interested in being a law enforcement officer. Chelsea worked as a dispatch officer until her cousin's suicide. Then, she knew she wanted to work in mental health. She had already heard so many individuals in crisis in dispatch, then her cousin committed suicide. This propelled her into a career in mental health. Chelsea is out in the public every day with individuals who have been engaged with law enforcement. She utilizes her skills to de-escalate the situations and find help for those who may not be committing a crime but have mental health disorders. In her free time, Chelsea coaches young African-American youth in softball and fosters unhoused animals.