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Forensic Scientist

Solving crime one clue at a time

Forensic science is key to solving crime
Forensic science technicians aide law enforcement by studying crime scene findings. They typically analyze the evidence brought to them by police and crime scene investigators, and they may also work with coroners and in morgues. Due to their expertise, forensic science technicians can be called upon to provide expert testimony in criminal cases.

Forensic science technicians study evidence from crime scenes to help law enforcement. They work, primarily, in lab settings analyzing the evidence brought to them by police and crime scene investigators. They may also work with coroners and in morgues.

Forensic science technicians typically have science backgrounds – for example, in biology and chemistry. They must be very organized and very attentive to detail. They also use critical thinking and communication skills.

Joseph Parian is a NIBIN Technician in Houston with a focus on firearms. NIBIN is the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network.

“The NIBIN Program automates ballistics evaluations and provides actionable investigative leads in a timely manner. NIBIN is the only interstate automated ballistic imaging network in operation in the United States and is available to most major population centers in the United States,” according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Due to their expertise, forensic science technicians can be called upon to provide expert testimony in criminal cases.

Since the COVID outbreak, Parian says, “Our intake of firearms has surprisingly gone up. We worked 524 guns in the month of September which is a significant increase.”

Parian continues to work in the lab wearing a mask, but is able to complete note corrections at home.

In 2019, the median pay for a forensic science technician was $59,150 per year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the occupation is expected to grow 14% in the 10 years ending in 2029. But the BLS notes, because it is a small occupation, this will result in only about 2,400 new jobs over that period of time. Competition for jobs is expected to be strong.

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Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.