Laurie Owen is the Director of Law Enforcement and Public Safety Partnerships at the National Network for Safe Communities. Laurie serves as NNSC’s national lead on how law enforcement and justice system partners engage in violence reduction. In this role, she provides technical assistance, training, and strategic guidance to agencies across the country, ensuring their approaches are effective, evidence-based, and aligned with community priorities.
Her work extends beyond Group Violence Intervention to the broader landscape of public safety partnerships. Laurie will guide law enforcement leaders, probation officers, prosecutors, and other system actors on building trust with communities, operationalizing enforcement strategies that minimize harm, and advancing reforms that contribute to lasting safety.
In Laurie’s time at NNSC, she has spent much of her experience managing complex sites, overseeing problem analysis, as well as, developing site strategy and implementation plans. She also provides supervision to the team, and strategizes with the team to address the changing dynamics of violence in our cities. She has developed several trainings for law enforcement around intelligence gathering and sanctioning, and is passionate about enhancing legitimacy, procedural justice, and transparency for police.
When Laurie is not working hard at NNSC, you will find her coaching soccer, enjoying the outdoors, creating natural skincare, and watching many of her kid’s games as their biggest fan.
She holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Cincinnati in Criminal Justice and a Master’s in Social Work from Fordham University. She is co-author of the book, She Heals, about recovering from trauma.
