Acting Director, Defense Suicide Prevention Office
Dr. Alicia Matteson is fiercely dedicated to creating synergies across agencies and communities to protect lives from suicide and to promote health and well-being across populations. To that end, Dr. Matteson currently serves as the Department of War Suicide Prevention Office (DSPO) Acting Director. In this position, she is responsible for the creation and integration of strategy that encompasses legislation, policy, oversight, and advocacy of U.S. Department of War (DoW) suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention system in support of more than 2.1M Total Force Service members and over 2.5M military family members worldwide.
Dr. Matteson brings over 36 years of service spanning the federal government and military service. Prior to her current role, Dr. Matteson was DSPO’s Senior Advisor for Psychological Health, served on the national committee that developed and published the 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (NSSP), co-authored the 2024 NSSP Federal Action Plan, and established and currently co-chairs the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and DoW’s Joint Transition Task Force in support of Service members transitioning into the civilian sector.
Dr. Matteson served over 28 years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) as a licensed clinical psychologist, educator, and leader in Mental Health and Medical Operations. She served two overseas Command tours as well as held staff positions as the USAF Suicide Prevention Program Manager and as the Senior Military Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Additionally, Dr. Matteson served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), as well as the Dean of Academics at USAFA’s Preparatory School.
Dr. Matteson is a combat veteran having deployed as an embedded Combat Stress Control provider with Army Infantry units in Iraq, as well as having served on multiple Joint Recovery Personnel Agency reintegration teams as a certified Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Psychologist.
Dr. Matteson holds a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Florida, a Master’s Degree from the University of Colorado in Counseling, a Bachelor’s Degree from the United States Air Force Academy in Human Behavior and Leadership, and is a Harvard Senior Executive Fellow.