Dr. Lori Goss-Reaves is a licensed clinical social worker with over twenty-five years of experience. She began her career as a preschool social worker serving children with intellectual disabilities. After obtaining her master’s degree, Dr. Goss-Reaves worked as an outpatient therapist at a mental health center where she specialized in parent education. She also worked at a Family Services agency helping survivors of sexual abuse. Dr. Goss-Reaves continued her work with families in a home-based program that received referrals from the Department of Child Services and the Probation Department. Dr. Goss-Reaves spent the remainder of her clinical career in the school-based setting helping children with behavior challenges. She facilitated groups for parents and social skills/anger management groups for students from kindergarten through senior high school. Dr. Goss-Reaves is the daughter of a Navy Corpsman who was killed in action in Vietnam. She gathered the oral histories of four men who served with her father and is writing a book about loss and grief. She and her husband are the parents of five children. Their middle child has been dually diagnosed with severe autism and Down syndrome.

INTERESTS

Dr. Reaves completed her dissertation titled, “Supporting Parents Raising Children with Autism: A Participatory Action Research Approach” in 2013. She is currently a member of the Prevent Child Abuse Council of Grant County and is passionate about the welfare of vulnerable children. She has presented on various topics including child development, child discipline, stress, and loss/grief