He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in applied/experimental psychology from Montana State University, completed a four-­year internship in the Division of Behavioral Psychology at the John F. Kennedy Institute at Johns Hopkins, and earned a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology at Virginia Tech. While at Virginia Tech, Kalsher collaborated with Scott Geller, a pioneer in the field of behavior-­based safety, to carry out community-­based studies aimed at effecting important changes in safety-­related behaviors, including motivating safety belt use and deterring drunk driving.