Gretchen Cusick, PhD is the Senior Research Director of the Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research & Science (CORNERS), where she helps direct the Center’s scientific and research engagements in partnership with neighborhoods, community organizations, and public systems. She is a research and policy leader with more than two decades of experience conducting and translating research to inform policy and practice in juvenile justice and child welfare. Cusick partners closely with public agencies, juvenile legal systems, and community-based organizations to implement and evaluate violence prevention strategies and efforts to support community safety and well-being. Her approach emphasizes producing evidence that is actionable, locally relevant, and responsive to community priorities.

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Prior to arriving at Northwestern, Cusick was a Senior Research Fellow at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, where she led program evaluations, participatory action research, and implementation initiatives across multiple states and localities. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Miami University and her Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University.