Light + Justice Symposium: Just and Humane Lighting for the Incarcerated
Overview
Join us on Wednesday, November 4, 2026 for Light + Justice: Just and Humane Lighting for the Incarcerated, a one-day virtual symposium dedicated to position light and darkness as designed, time-based conditions essential to neurological recovery. Participants will receive four and a half (4.5) IES Continuing Education Credits (CEUs).
Nearly 2 million people in the United States live in spaces of incarceration where lighting is primarily designed for surveillance rather than human health. Continuous or excessive light exposure—often far above natural nighttime conditions—disrupts sleep, circadian rhythms, and cognitive function, contributing to long-term physical and psychological harm.
Trauma-informed design principles show that sensory conditions directly influence stress regulation, recovery, and behavior, highlighting core needs for control, predictability, and sensory modulation. When environments lack these qualities, chronic sensory dysregulation—through constant illumination, noise, or deprivation—reinforces trauma and prolongs physiological stress.
This symposium connects these critical findings to the Light Justice framework, positioning light and darkness as designed, time-based conditions essential to neurological recovery. Moving beyond traditional lighting engineering, this event brings together lived experience, environmental psychology, correctional leadership, advocacy, architecture, and lighting manufacturing to reframe light from a tool of control into an instrument of care.
Sessions curated to cover:
- Trauma-Informed Design (TID): Environmental control, predictability, and sensory modulation.
- Sensory Dysregulation: Overstimulation vs. deprivation in institutional spaces.
- Health & Chronobiology: Circadian disruption, amber light integration, and restorative sleep.
- Policy & Standards: ACA guidelines, IES recommended practices, and institutional regulations.
- Application Strategies: Security fixture retrofitting, manufacturer research, and daylight access.
Registration Fees
Live Event
$29
$39
Are you an IES student member? Contact IES today for a code to register at no cost! Contact: Dan Ozminkowski, dozminkowski@ies.org.
Sponsored By
Sponsors TBD
Speakers
Speakers
Agenda
Welcome and housekeeping
Platform reminders, CEU information, recording notice.
Opening Keynote: Lived Experience as the Baseline for Environmental Justice
A foundational address setting the human context of light exposure in carceral settings. Perspective represented: Formerly Incarcerated Advocate / Lived Experience Expert.
Segment 1: Existing Conditions
Examines how existing facility lighting, federal regulations, ACA guidelines, and surveillance-first models cause sensory dysregulation and circadian disruption, from both lived and operational perspectives.
Break
Segment 2: Interventions through Trauma-Informed Design and Standards
Translates trauma-informed care into time-based physical design, updated IES Recommended Practices, and hardware engineering that balances safety with occupant dignity.
Break
Segment 3: Case Studies and Cross-Disciplinary Solutions
Evaluates real-world projects, post-occupancy evaluations, and collaborative implementations that demonstrate humane lighting in secure environments.
Short Break
Closing Keynote and Call to Action
A visionary closing address synthesizing the day’s insights, framing next steps for industry adoption, and issuing a call to action across design, research, and policy. Includes brief Q&A and wrap-up.
Agenda
Welcome and housekeeping
Platform reminders, CEU information, recording notice.
Opening Keynote: Lived Experience as the Baseline for Environmental Justice
A foundational address setting the human context of light exposure in carceral settings. Perspective represented: Formerly Incarcerated Advocate / Lived Experience Expert.
Segment 1: Existing Conditions
Examines how existing facility lighting, federal regulations, ACA guidelines, and surveillance-first models cause sensory dysregulation and circadian disruption, from both lived and operational perspectives.
Break
Segment 2: Interventions through Trauma-Informed Design and Standards
Translates trauma-informed care into time-based physical design, updated IES Recommended Practices, and hardware engineering that balances safety with occupant dignity.
Break
Segment 3: Case Studies and Cross-Disciplinary Solutions
Evaluates real-world projects, post-occupancy evaluations, and collaborative implementations that demonstrate humane lighting in secure environments.
Short Break
Closing Keynote and Call to Action
A visionary closing address synthesizing the day’s insights, framing next steps for industry adoption, and issuing a call to action across design, research, and policy. Includes brief Q&A and wrap-up.