About Speaker

Joelle Hushen is the founder and president of the National Institute of Crime Prevention (NICP) and co-founder of the U.S. CPTED Association (USCA), where she supports the advancement of crime prevention through environmental design through training, certification and professional collaboration. Her work focuses on how environments influence human behavior, safety and well-being.

Before entering the CPTED field, Hushen spent a decade as a scientific research manager at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, leading NASA- and National Institutes of Health-funded research in biotechnology and neuroregenerative therapies. That experience continues to shape her systems-based, evidence-informed approach to the built environment.

For more than two decades, Hushen has worked with professionals across public safety, planning, architecture, security and community development to apply CPTED principles in a wide range of settings. Through NICP’s CPTED Professional Designation (CPD) and national training programs, she has supported thousands of practitioners in understanding the relationship between design, behavior and safety.

Hushen's work emphasizes practical application of CPTED principles while reinforcing the importance of collaboration across disciplines to create safer, more resilient communities.