David Robinson, Ph.D.

Director of Assessment/CEO

David Robinson has over 40 years of experience conducting research, developing assessments, and carrying out program evaluations in youth and adult justice. A founder of Orbis Partners (2001), he is currently Director of Assessment and CEO. He holds a master’s in sociology (1982) and a doctorate in forensic psychology (1990) from Carleton University. He participated in early validation work on tools like LS/CMI and YLS/CMI. After a research career in Canadian federal corrections, Dr. Robinson returned to focusing on developing and implementing innovative risk, needs and strength assessment tools. He directed program evaluations on substance abuse treatment, cognitive skills, drug courts, boot camps, programs for females, case management models, gang interventions and juvenile diversion. He has particular expertise in youth assessment and led state-wide implementations of the Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument (YASI) in fifteen jurisdictions. This work involved planning, training, quality assurance, and validation of assessment tools developed and implemented with Orbis Partners. He is immersed with an IT team developing and enhancing web-based applications for assessment and case planning. With academic colleagues, Dr. Robinson has been engaged in advancing research on the contribution of strength assessment tools in predicting outcomes and helping practitioners develop collaborative success plans for justice-involved clients.