We are passionate about preventing and mitigating violence in healthcare.

Leveraging Healthcare Security and Psychology Expertise to Enhance Your Safety

Healthcare Security Institute Founder David Corbin and Chief Psychology Consultant Shelby Ortega, Ph.D. bring a unique mix of healthcare security and psychology expertise directly to you through our innovative training programs.

As professional educators with extensive teaching and program development experience, we have designed these training programs to be engaging and immediately valuable to help keep you safe work.

As practitioners currently working in our respective fields, we understand the current threats and vulnerabilities regarding violence in healthcare. Our shared goal is to prevent violence in healthcare- one person at a time - through world-class education, resources, and tools.

Please see our biographies below for more information about our backgrounds.

Who We Are

David Corbin, MS, CPP, CHPA

Founder, The Healthcare Security Institute

David Corbin has over 20 years of experience in various aspects of private security. Currently, he is the Director of Campus Security Operations for a renowned genomic and biomedical research institute. He was formerly the Director of Police, Security & Parking at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA, where he led a team of over 140 security and law enforcement professionals. David also previously served as the Director of Facilities, Engineering, Public Safety, and Parking at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and as the Director of Police, Security, Safety and Parking at the Faulkner Hospital in and has held managerial positions within both the Healthcare and Retail security sectors over the course of his career.

David is the past Chair of both the Boston Chapter of ASIS International and the Education Committee for the Boston Chapter of the International Association for Healthcare Safety and Security (IAHSS). He has been published in the IAHSS Journal of Healthcare Protection Management and is a chapter author for the IAHSS Basic Training Manual for Healthcare Security Officers. David consults nationally on healthcare security and serves as an expert witness for litigation involving security.

David has given presentations at the ASIS International Annual Seminar, at several IAHSS Boston Chapter One Day Seminars, and at the Massachusetts Hospital Association (MHA) Safety Summit. David and his Police, Security, Safety & Parking Department at Faulkner Hospital won the prestigious Lindberg Bell Award in 2011 for establishing and maintaining an outstanding security program. Further, he and his Public Safety Department at Newton-Wellesley Hospital were given the Department of Distinction Award after all department staff were certified through the IAHSS progressive training program. David is also the 2016 recipient of the IAHSS Philip A. Gaffney Faculty Chair Award for his writings and work towards the furtherance of professionalism in the healthcare security field.

David is an Adjunct Professor at the Northeastern University School of Criminology and Criminal Justice in the undergraduate program. He is a Certified Protection Professional (CPP), a Certified Healthcare Protection Administrator (CHPA), a certified Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Specialist and a graduate of the Gavin de Becker & Associates Advanced Threat Assessment and Management Academy.

David holds a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University in Boston, MA and a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI.

Shelby Ortega, Ph.D.

Chief Psychology Consultant, The Healthcare Security Institute

Dr. Ortega is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and educator with nearly two decades of experience in her field. She has extensive training and expertise in multicultural mental health, identity development, adult attachment relationships, emotional skillfulness, and intimacy. Presently, Dr. Ortega serves as a Teaching Associate in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and as a Clinical Psychologist in her Metro-Boston and North Shore Private Practices.

Dr. Ortega earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Clark University and her Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Boston College. She is a former Harvard Medical School Fellow where she completed two postgraduate fellowships focused on the integration of psychoanalytic theory, research and practice, with community public health principles and settings. Subsequently, Dr. Ortega was nationally recognized by the American Psychoanalytic Association as a Fellow for her clinical scholarship and commitment to community mental health research and practice.

As a scholar, Dr. Ortega founded and served as the Inaugural Program Director for the Counseling Psychology Graduate Program at Regis College. This uniquely focused Program is dedicated to a philosophy of multicultural psychology and its practice considerations in the training of masters level mental health clinicians. Dr. Ortega currently serves on the Advisory Boards for Regis College’s Undergraduate and Graduate Programs within the Psychology Department where her commitment to social justice and policy continues to inform their philosophies and instruction.

As a practitioner, Dr. Ortega has provided clinical services and supervision to diverse and underserved populations in a variety of medical, educational, and training sites including Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston University Medical Center, and Cambridge Health Alliance. Dr. Ortega’s approach is distinguished by her dedication to a therapeutic and educational frame that is inclusive of social and cultural context, and therefore, promotes discussions of issues related to oppression, privilege, and of course, intersectionality of complex identity statuses. Her work is tailored to meet the unique needs of those she serves in a sensitive and responsive manner. Dr. Ortega enjoys working with people from all walks of life and makes every effort to help those she works with feel welcomed, engaged, supported, and respected.