Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists

Kelly Miller: President Elect:  Kelly R. Miller is a Forensic Scientist Senior in the Forensic Biology Section at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science in Richmond, VA, where she has worked as a casework examiner for 17 years. In addition to her casework duties, she is involved in operating and troubleshooting the robotic workstations, has trained several incoming examiners, and serves as the SAKI Review Coordinator in which she coordinates reviews of outsourced sexual assault kit data statewide.

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Kelly started at VA DFS in 2007 after receiving a M.S. degree in Forensic Science from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she served as a graduate teaching assistant focusing on forensic biology laboratory courses. She subsequently had the opportunity to serve as an adjunct instructor for two VCU laboratory courses after becoming a forensic scientist. Prior to her career in forensics, she received a B.S. degree in Zoology from North Dakota State University and a  M.S. degree in Marine Science from The College of William and Mary, completing a thesis involving genetic research on various marine fish species. She worked for approximately two years in genetic research at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science following receipt of her first graduate degree, but subsequently went back to school at VC U to change her career focus. She is very grateful for all of her experiences in education, research, and forensic laboratories, and for the growth opportunities all of these inter-related environments provide.

 

Kelly has been certified in Molecular Biology by the American Board of Criminalistics since 2013. She is currently a Member of AAFS, having started in that organization as a Student Affiliate in 2006, and has served as an on-site assessor for FEPAC since 2019. She has been a member of MAAFS since 2016 and currently serves as the MAAFS Biology Chair. She has really enjoyed attending MAAFS meetings and workshops over the years, including those outside of the Biology section, and seeing the level of engagement that so many members maintain. It was that engagement that inspired her to become the Biology Chair, and she has loved every minute of it. Being able to listen to member feedback and create a host of diverse workshop opportunities for the Biology section this past year was a supremely rewarding challenge, and she would be thrilled to continue her service to the MAAFS organization as the next President-Elect

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Erin Przybylski: Secretary: Erin Przybylski is a Forensic Scientist Senior in the Controlled Substances Section of the Virginia Department of Forensic Science. Erin has been with the Department in various roles since 2005.  Prior to becoming a Forensic Scientist, Erin was also a Forensic Laboratory Specialist in the Controlled Substances Section. She graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemistry and Virginia Commonwealth University with a Master’s of Science
degree in Forensic Science.

Erin has been involved in several projects at the Department of Forensic Science during her career and enjoys working on new techniques and instrumentation. Erin currently serves as the primary operator for the Central Controlled Substances Section’s AccuTOF-DART instruments. Erin has also been an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University where she taught the
Advanced Drug Analysis graduate level course.
 

Erin has been a member of MAAFS since 2008 and has attended multiple MAAFS meetings and workshops through the years. Erin had the opportunity to present her research (The Forensic Analysis of Mitragyna speciosa AKA Kratom) at the MAAFS meeting in 2012. Erin has served as the MAAFS secretary since 2022 and would love the opportunity to continue to serve the organization. She is also a member of the Clandestine Laboratory Investigating Chemists Association (CLIC). Erin enjoys the opportunity to meet and interact with Forensic Scientists from around the region when attending meetings.

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Jonathan Forsberg: Biology Chair Elect: Jonathan Forsberg is a Forensic Scientist in the Forensic Biology Section at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science in Richmond, VA where he has been working there for 6 years (in March). He is currently serving as QA/QC coordinator for the Forensic Biology section, selects literature for review as a part of the section’s quality program, has been involved in internal audits, and also regularly assists with various aspects of training for new examiners.

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Jonathan obtained a bachelor’s degree in biology from Cedarville University in 2013. He then started as Forensic Science Technician at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, where he later worked as a Forensic Scientist in the DNA section for 3 years before starting at VA DFS. During his time in Ohio, he was involved in a pilot program to 4th grade students aimed at increasing Forensic Science awareness and interest through hands-on exercises. In 2017, Jonathan was awarded the Ohio Attorney General’s All-Staff “Teamwork” award.

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In the fall of 2023, Jonathan taught undergraduate students at Virginia Commonwealth University as an adjunct instructor of a Forensic Serology course, which he intends to do again next fall. He was excited to have the opportunity to contribute a chapter in the Methods in Molecular Biology series’ book on Forensic DNA Analysis in 2023. He is also currently working towards completing his M.S. through the University of Florida.

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Jonathan obtained certifications from the American Board of Criminalistics in 2021 in both Biological Evidence Screening and Forensic DNA. He has been an associate member of AAFS since 2019 and MAAFS member since 2022. He had a great experience at the 2022 MAAFS Meeting, where he appreciated not only the meeting content and time with other MAAFS members and scientists, but also the opportunity to bring home the title of MAAFS 2022 Cornhole Champion (with his teammate, of course). Jonathan is incredibly grateful to all of those who have provided him opportunities in the field of Forensic Biology (as he has been given more opportunities than his résumé would warrant) and to all of the examiners who have helped train him and shaped his casework approach. He is also grateful for the training opportunities provided by various organizations, including MAAFS, which help equip scientists to effectively perform their duties and prepare for future advancements. He looks forward to the possibility of further involvement in MAAFS as Biology Section Chair Elect to serve MAAFS members while helping to identify quality presentations and additional content to help continue this legacy.

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Kim Freeman: Biology Chair Elect: I have been working in forensics for almost 15 years.  I began my career in forensic science as a technician at Bode Technology in 2009 and was promoted to a DNA Analyst at the beginning of 2010.  As a DNA Analyst, I worked a variety of cases but was mainly responsible for working on sexual assault kit backlog reduction projects for many jurisdictions across the United States.  In October 2015, I began working at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science as a Forensic Scientist Trainee and was qualified as a Forensic Scientist in the Forensic Biology section in November of 2016, where I screen and process a wide variety of cases, including sexual assaults, homicides, and property crimes.  I have been the section’s QA/QC Coordinator since 2021 and have also assisted in training multiple Forensic Laboratory Specialist’s within the section. I have been a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences since 2011 and was promoted to an Associate Member in 2013. I have also been an active member of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists since 2017.  I was an original member of the MAAFS Training Committee, which helped to establish a database of possible training opportunities for members.  I am certified in both Biological Evidence Screening and Forensic DNA by the American Board of Criminalistics.

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I received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Maryland in 2008 and a Master of Forensic Sciences with a concentration in Forensic Molecular Biology from The George Washington University in 2010.  I went back to school part-time in 2022 and received a Graduate Certificate in Forensic Genetic Genealogy from the University of New Haven.  

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I would like to become more involved in the forensic science community in a capacity other than processing casework.  I recently co-organized the Virginia Department of Forensic Science’s 2023 DNA meeting, the Potomac Regional Symposium on Forensic DNA Analysis.  This was a 2 ½ day conference with over 20 speakers from the local, state, and federal agencies as well as academic professionals presenting on a variety of topics related to forensic biology, including Next-Generation Sequencing, Forensic Genetic Genealogy, Rapid DNA, Probabilistic Genotyping, as well legal updates, and courtroom testimony.  The conference was attended by over 100 individuals and was well-received.  I feel that my experience with meeting planning as well as my long career in the field of forensic biology would make me an asset to the Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists and an excellent candidate for the Biology Section Chair Elect.  Serving as the Biology Section Chair would be a great way for me to get more involved in the forensic science community and to be involved in the continuing education of current and future forensic scientists.  

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Emily Wilkinson: Chemistry Chair Elect:  Emily Wilkinson has been a Scientist with the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner’s Forensic Laboratory for approximately 15 years. She joined the staff as a Drug Chemist in November, 2008 after completing a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry/Forensic Science in 2006 and a Master of Science in Forensic Science at Marshall University in 2008.  In 2013, Emily successfully completed training to join the Laboratory’s Mobile Crime Unit and served as an on-call Scientist to respond to crime scenes within Allegheny County, until mid-2017. After attending MAAFS as a student volunteer in 2008, when the meeting was held in Huntington, WV, as well as two subsequent workshops in 2014 and 2016, she was accepted as a member of MAAFS in 2017. Emily currently holds ABC certification in Drug Analysis and is an associate member of the Clandestine Laboratory Investigating Chemists (CLIC). Emily has been a co-presenter in workshops provided at the 2018 Southern Association of Forensic Scientists (SAFS) meeting and the 2019 MAAFS meeting.  Most recently she attended the 2023 MAAFS meeting and shared a 15 minute oral presentation in the Chemistry Section.

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Emily resides in the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and four cats. In her spare time, she can be found in her small garden attempting to grow the maximum production of vegetables. If absent from the garden, she is likely engaged in an ever losing battle to shoot less than her husband on the golf course, although she is quite thrifty in the process with “getting her money’s worth” as she “enjoys” at least 110 strokes per round.

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Barbara Flowers: Chemistry Chair Elect: My name is Barbara Flowers and I have been working in forensic science for 33 years now. I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown with a BS in Chemistry, and I just completed my Master’s Degree through the University of Florida this past December. I started out as a Forensic Scientist in the Serology and Trace Evidence section of the PA State Police Greensburg Regional Lab. I was trained on trace evidence analysis of hairs, paint, glass, soil, and fibers. After I got married, I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and worked as a Criminalist in the Microanalysis section of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD Crime Lab. I mostly focused on serology, but also performed hair analysis. After I moved back to PA, I worked in the DNA unit for several years before ‘retiring’ when my kids were little. I taught a Criminalistics class at Seton Hill University as an adjunct. I then helped them develop the curriculum for a major in Forensic Science and attain the approval through the PA Department of Education. Now, I teach all of the forensic science classes for the major and act as the Forensic Science Program Coordinator. I teach the students about all aspects of forensic science including crime scene, trace evidence, fingerprints, drug chemistry, toxicology, firearms and impression analysis, serology and DNA. We have a lot of instrumentation used in crime labs such as stereoscopes, comparison microscope, polarized light microscope, GC, GC/MS, and a SeqStudio. I design simulated casework for the students to analyze using all of our supplies and equipment. So I get to share my love of microscopy, trace evidence and chemistry with my students. In
addition to the forensic science classes that I teach, I teach General Chemistry I and II labs.

I have been a member of MAAFS since 1998. I have attended several meetings over the years and participated in several workshops. I served as a moderator at last year’s meeting in Pikesville. I have been wanting to get more involved with the organization over the last few years so I thought serving as the Chemistry Chair would be a great opportunity.

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Jackson Dimalanta: Physical Evidence Chair Elect: Jackson began his career at RJ Lee Group as a forensic scientist in 2021, shortly after completing his Master of Science in Forensic Science and Law from Duquesne University. He is an expert in primer gunshot residue (GSR) analysis through the use of Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), and has conducted analyses in over 400 GSR cases. He has been accepted as an expert in GSR analysis in courts in the states of Pennsylvania, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Wisconsin, as well as the country of New Zealand. In addition to his work at RJ Lee Group, Jackson is employed as an adjunct professor at Duquesne University, where he co-teaches the Trace Evidence course, and is also one of the lab instructors for Trace Evidence, as well as Drug Chemistry. Jackson has been a member of MAAFS since 2021 and has worked behind the scenes to assist his colleagues at RJ Lee Group, who have been members of the Meeting Planning Committee, and is eager to expand his involvement with the organization.

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