Meet the Instructors

Founder of Forensic Pieces

Janice Johnson retired from the State of Florida with over forty years in law enforcement.  She began her career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C. as a fingerprint examiner.  After ten years with the F.B.I., Jan decided to do something more exciting and crime scene analysis was the answer.  She was certified by the International Association for Identification as a Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst and was a Senior Crime Laboratory Analyst for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Pensacola, until June of 2001 serving over twenty-two years.  Her duties consisted of both laboratory analysis and on scene processing and examinations which included: detection, collection, and preservation of physical evidence, bloodstain pattern interpretation, trajectory analysis, buried bodies and skeletal remains recovery, clandestine laboratories, and numerous homicide crime scenes to include quadruple murders.  She has testified in hundreds of criminal cases in bloodstain pattern interpretation and crime scene reconstruction and analysis. For the last three years prior to her retirement in 2004, Jan was employed by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office where she was the supervisor of the Crime Scene and Latent Print units as well as in charge of the new laboratory in which she designed.  She was past Chairman of the Board of Directors and President of the International Association of Identification.   Jan is also involved with the Florida Division of IAI and was the President in 2007.   She was also on the original Crime Scene Certification Board for the IAI and has served on numerous committees with both the IAI and the FDIAI.  Jan has taught numerous courses in the areas of both Crime Scene and Bloodstain Pattern Interpretation in the United States and abroad to include South Africa, Brazil, Bermuda, El Salvador, and Costa Rica. She passed away February 13, 2023 to a hard fought battle with cancer but her legacy will continue thorugh the techniques and concepts she left behind. 

Instructor

Dr. Byrd is an Associate Professor and Associate Director of the William R. Maples Center for Forensic Medicine at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine; there he instructs courses in forensic science at the nationally recognized Hume Honors Program. He is a Board Certified Forensic Entomologist and Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Entomology. He was twice elected President of the American Board of Forensic Entomology, and is both a Past-President and current President-Elect of the North American Forensic Entomology Association. He served for over a decade as a faculty member of the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine. He now serves as the Executive Manager for the International Veterinary Forensic Sciences Association and serves as the Director of Education for the ASPCA Veterinary Forensic Sciences Program. Outside of academics Dr. Byrd serves as a Medicolegal Death Investigator within the National Disaster Medical System, Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, Region IV. He also serves as the Commander for the Florida Emergency Mortuary Operations Response System and as a subject editor for the Journal of Medical Entomology, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. He has published numerous scientific articles and combined his formal academic training in Entomology and Forensic Science to serve as a consultant and educator in both criminal and civil investigations at home and abroad. Dr. Byrd specializes in the education of law enforcement officials, medical examiners, coroners, attorneys, and other death investigators on the use and applicability of arthropods in legal investigations, and has over 15 years of experience in the collection and analysis of entomological evidence.

Instructor

Robert Wyman formerly served as a Traffic Analyst, Traffic Engineer, and Emergency Management coordinator for the Miami-Dade County government. This prepared him for his next role in a civilian position as Special Events Coordinator for the City of Miami Police Department and allowed him to start a full-time private practice in 1988. Later, Wyman continued education in the fields of Traffic Crash Reconstruction, Forensic Science, and Digital Photography. Robert is now the President of Wyman Enterprises, Inc., which provides Forensic Photography and Evidence Documentation services for both civil and criminal cases. Mr. Wyman has also been accepted as an Expert Witness in Federal, State, and local courts. Much of his work in Traffic Crash Reconstruction and Evidence Documentation has been published in multiple books, articles, magazines, and industry newsletters. He also is a frequent guest speaker at conventions, seminars, and local association meetings for Private Investigators, Paralegals, Attorneys, Traffic Crash Reconstructionists, and Crime Scene Investigators. Wyman’s latest advancements are in the emerging integrations of GPS Forensics and the integration of Smartphone “Apps” with the forensic and investigative workflow.

Instructor

Investigator Dave Doglietto, CSCSA, retired from the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation after 29 years of service. He was assigned as the senior criminal investigator at the Correctional Training Facility, Soledad State Prison, for 18 years. Previous to that, he was a housing unit officer with 312 medium-maximum security inmates under his supervision. Investigator Doglietto’s primary responsibilities with the prison were as a narcotics investigator, homicide and major crimes investigator, fingerprint development and comparison analyst, handwriting analyst, crime scene analyst, and bloodstain pattern analyst. He also operated a mini-forensic laboratory at the prison. Currently he is an investigator/forensic specialist with a south-Monterey County police department, and provides crime scene processing and analysis for two other neighboring police departments through mutual aid. He is a Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst through the International Association for Identification, with over 2,000 hours of formal training. He is an adjunct instructor at Hartnell College in Salinas, California, where he teaches criminal investigations, administration of justice, and a forensic science class he developed for the college. He is a California POST certified academy instructor, and has developed and taught POST certified classes on the subjects of drug abuse recognition, standardized field sobriety testing and crime scene investigations for the patrol officer. He has an M.S. degree in Organizational Leadership, and a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice Management.

Instructor

Detective Sergeant Kyle King has been a sworn Law Enforcement member of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office since 1989. He serves in the Criminal Investigations Section, where he manages all forensic operations for the agency as the Crime Scene Unit Supervisor. He has a B.A. in Management from Warner Southern College. He is an International Association for Identification Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst and is a Certified Forensic Photographer. He teaches a broad range of courses in forensics and criminal investigation to students from around the world.

Instructor

Michele Smith earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Anthropology from Louisiana State University.  She is currently the Crime Scene Supervisor at the Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  She is a Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst(CSCSA) and a Certified Latent Print Examiner (CLPE) through the International Association for Identification (IAI).  She is an active member of the International Association for Identification (IAI), the Louisiana division of the IAI (LA IAI), the Louisiana Association of Forensic Scientists (LAFS), and is the current Vice President of the Louisiana Archaeological Society (LAS).  Michele shares her passion for the work she does by providing training seminars, presentations, and workshops for law enforcement agencies around Louisiana and the United States.  She has been asked by numerous agencies, professional organizations, and educational programs to speak about forensics, crime scene investigations, and latent prints.  She has testified and qualified as an expert in Print Processing and Print Comparison in the State of Louisiana.  Michele also participates in archaeological excavations of prehistoric Native American sites around Louisiana.

Instructor

Sergeant Barbarotto has been a Police Officer since February 1991 when he started his law enforcement career in Arkansas.  He currently has been serving the citizens of Memphis since 1996 as a member of the Memphis Police Department.

As an Officer and Sergeant for the Memphis Police Department, he has not only worked as a patrolman, but as a Crisis Intervention Team member and a Field Training Officer (FTO).  He has served as an Investigator in the Sex Crimes Bureau, as an Investigator for the Internal Affairs Bureau and as a Tennessee POST Certified Instructor for the Memphis Police Training Academy.  He is currently assigned as an investigator/specialist for the Crime Scene Investigations Unit and is the lead instructor for the unit teaching an assortment of forensic classes for his Department.  He also teaches college for Southwest Tennessee Community College in his spare time.

Sergeant Barbarotto has studied and achieved an Associate of Science in Law Enforcement from Arkansas State University, a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management from Crichton College in Memphis, Tennessee, and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati.  Additionally, he has received his certifications from the University of Tennessee’s National Forensic Academy and the International Association of Identification, where he is recognized as a Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst.

Instructor

Daniel Steelman is currently the Chief of Police at the Robertsdale Police Department.  Chief Steelman formerly served as a Captain at the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama, where he was the Commander of the Investigations Command, leading the Forensic Servicers Unit, Criminal Investigations Division and the Narcotics Division. Daniel has been a sworn law enforcement officer since 2000. He is a Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst with the International Association of Identification, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Science from the University of Oklahoma. He is also a graduate of the 275^th session of the FBI National Academy. 

Daniel served as a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Task Force Agent working in the Human Exploitation area, the U.S. Secret Service Task Force Agent, working federal financial crimes in the Southern District of Alabama, and served as an FBI Task Force Officer, working on the FBI Innocent Images Initiative. Daniel served as a member of the Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit, Team Leader of the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Crisis Negotiations Team Daniel, was a Field Training Officer and served an instructor in Crime Scene and Evidence related topics. 

He has testified in hundreds of cases in municipal, state and federal court and has been qualified as an expert witness in bloodstain pattern analysis and shooting incident reconstruction. 

Instructor

Kasey Buckner Brager is a Forensic Technician, Latent Print Examiner and Certified Footwear Examiner for the Cape Coral Police Department. She serves as the Region 6 Director for the Florida Division of the International Association of Identification (FDIAI), Chairperson of the FDIAI Science and Practices Crime Scene Subcommittee and serves on the Advisory Board for Keiser University Fort Myers. Kasey is a Certified Footwear Examiner and Certified Crime Scene Analyst through the International Association of Identification (IAI). She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Florida Gulf Coast University and her Associate in Science degree in Crime Scene Technology from Keiser University. She gained her experience in the forensic field starting out as an intern with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, as well as with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit then becoming a Forensic Technician for the Cape Coral Police Department.

Kasey has instructed several forensic related training courses for a range of audiences from local citizens for the Cape Coral Police Department’s Citizens Police Academy, college students, and fellow crime scene investigators. She has been asked to instruct several classes including Introduction to Forensic Science, Basic Crime Scene Investigations, and Preserving Documenting and Collecting Footwear and Tire Track Evidence. Kasey has been a guest lecturer at Keiser University Fort Myers and a speaker at the FDIAI educational conferences. Kasey is passionate about the crime scene field and loves to share her knowledge.  

Instructor

April Crichton is a Forensic Specialist II working in the Southern California area.  April was a Forensic Specialist with San Bernardino Police Department, where she became proficient in conducting latent print examinations and processing hundreds of crime scenes, ranging from misdemeanors to violent crimes.  Aside from her crime scene and latent print analysis duties, April provides forensic training for new forensics and law enforcement personnel. April is certified as a Crime Scene Analyst through the International Association for Identification. She is a member of the California division (CSDIAI), as well as the main parent body of the IAI since 2011. She has participated on the bloodstain sub-committee and assisted teaching a bloodstain course, under the guidance of Jan Johnson, during the IAI conference.
 
April holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communication from California State University, Fullerton and a certification from San Bernardino Valley College in Crime Scene Investigation. She was a contributing author to a DNA retention study on vehicles, which was published in the Journal of Forensic Identification.

Instructor

He has a Bachelors and a Masters in Biology with concentration in Molecular Biology. He was a Senior Crime Laboratory Analyst with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement at the Pensacola Regional Laboratory for 13 years. He conducted STR DNA analyses and for last 5 years also become qualified in  Bloodstain Pattern Analysis while there testifying as a expert witness in both disciplines. He later spent 3 years with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office in Pensacola working as a Crime Scene Investigator and laboratory analyst. While there he was involved with the major case squad, cold case squad and setting up a crime lab in the department. He is the owner and principal investigator of his company 4N6 Consultants he started in 1999 which provides Forensic Consulting services in Serology/DNA, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, and Crime Scene Reconstruction. He is a member of the International Association for Identification and its Florida Division and has participated in their standing committees and taught training courses at their and other forensic organization's meetings.  

Instructor

Tom is a retired 25-years FBI special agent, who worked in forensics most of his career.  Serving mostly in the Miami and Baltimore divisions, usually in a leadership role on the Evidence Response Teams (ERT), he had a role in many of the prominent forensic-based efforts of the FBI.  He is a graduate of the Florida State University, School of Criminology.

Tom managed the Baltimore (ERT), the WMD/HAZMAT ERT, and the FBI mission to the Dover Air Force Base - Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES).  He also coordinated for the deployment of numerous USERT forensic dive team missions to the Maryland and Delaware area.

Tom and his team implemented a highly-successful trials/testing and liaison partnership with the superb HRD (Human Remains Dog) unit of the Maryland State Police for a multi-faceted HR recovery process.

Ever embracing of new technology, Tom has worked as a photography instructor since the 1990s.  He previously instructed photography for a specialized program and later he acquired one of the team’s first scanner systems that led to complete integration with other forensic professionals who were using the scanner at mass casualty and major events.  The Baltimore ERT team continues to improve and modify their modular body recovery collection platform.

Tom previously served as the DHS Liaison and Briefer to the Secretary of DHS, Supervisor of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Counter Terrorism Watch Commander at both the DHS National Operations Center and the FBI’s CT Watch.

Tom was an early member of the Broward/ S. Fla Forensic Association, Gold Coast Forensic Association, CBDIAI and FDIAI. He recently completed work as a creator/ consultant and on-screen advisor for the forensic processes used in an investigative journalism documentary – a joint US/Nordic production, that looked into the actions of a prolific serial killer.

He continues to work in a variety of forensic mediums such as crime/legal historian, cold/historic case investigator, consultant, and film producer; but his primary goal remains to aid in solving murders, recovering and identifying victims, developing new technology and processes and sharing these solutions with other forensic and similar professionals. 

Instructor

Kelly Timms was employed by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office in Maryland for 10 years.  She attended the University of Findlay, where she completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and continued on to attend Stevenson University to earn her Master of Science degree in Forensic Science.

During the last year of the Master Program, Kelly began a yearlong internship with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and was hired as a full-time crime scene technician in the fall of 2013. She also completed a mentorship with Maryland State Police in recent years.  Kelly has completed several facets of training to enhance her skills to include shooting reconstruction, bloodstain pattern analysis, and traffic crash investigation.  She has also investigated many cases involving homicides, shooting incidents, pedestrian crashes, as well as major drug investigations working with local, state, and federal agencies and has also prepared expert reports on bloodstain pattern analysis and shooting reconstruction cases.  

Kelly was personally mentored by the late, great Jan Johnson and is a Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst as well as a Certified Bloodstain Pattern Analyst through the IAI. 

Instructor

Dr. Michael Berkland, D.O. is triple board certified in Anatomic, Clinical and Forensic Pathology by the American Board of Pathology.  He has over 30 years of Forensic Pathology experience.  Following medical school, Dr. Berkland received his anatomic and clinical pathology training within the United States Army at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.  He became one of the Deputy Regional Medical Examiners for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), as well as Chief of Pathology at Munson Army Community Hospital at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  Over the years, he has been Chief Medical Examiner and Deputy Chief Medical Examiner in numerous locations as he was re-stationed throughout the United States.  He is the only board-certified forensic pathologist to also have held the certification for Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst (CSCSA) by the International Association for Identification (IAI), the world’s largest group of professional criminalists.  Because of his unique background in crime scene analysis, Dr. Berkland views the crime scene as the beginning of his autopsy and has personally examined the crime scenes in over 3,000 cases as well as performing the autopsy in those cases.  Dr. Berkland has served in a distinguished role as Past Secretary for the IAI Crime Scene Certification Board as well as being a Past President and Chairman of the Board of the Florida Division of the IAI.  Due to his extensive background in crime scene analysis and investigation, coupled with his extensive autopsy experience in injuries and death, he is considered an expert in numerous forensic subspecialities to include shooting reconstruction and event reconstruction with sequencing events within the crime scene.  Dr. Berkland holds Child and Infant deaths as one of those specialties in forensics that has undergone a slow evolution during his 30 years of practice, and has performed examinations on over 300 child and infant fatalities, not to mention countless child abuse evaluations.  Dr. Berkland brings a unique teaching style to his presentations, coupling all of the findings from the crime scene to the courtroom.  This class will leave you with a learning experience that you will be able to use in your field of expertise.

Instructor

Teresa Bryant is retired from the Town of Jupiter as a Crime Scene Investigator.  She was also an adjunct professor at Keiser University in the forensic science program from 2018 to 2023.  Teresa has been in the law enforcement field for approximately 34 years in a civilian capacity.  She has been assigned as a communications specialist, service aid, traffic crash investigator and crime scene investigator.

Teresa presently holds three master’s degrees.  One in Public Administration, one in Forensic Psychology, and one in Philosophy. Teresa is continuing her work on a PhD in Forensic Psychology with a specialty in crisis response.

Teresa is the Past President of the FDIAI and the current President of the SCIAI. Teresa is a board member of the Gold Coast Forensic Association (GCFA), FDIAI, SCIAI, and has been part of the Keiser Advisory Board since its inception.  Teresa is a member of many forensic and psychology associations and often volunteers as a guest speaker at many of these organizations.

Teresa is a published author with many articles published in the FDIAI newsletter, the IAI newsletter, the Journal of Forensic Science and recently coauthored a chapter in the textbook “First Responder Mental Health.”

Teresa continues to be active in the forensic community in both education and associations.

Instructor

Dr. Michael Berkland, D.O. is triple board certified by the American Board of Pathology.  He has over 30 years of Forensic Pathology experience.  Following medical school, he received his anatomic and clinical pathology training within the U.S. Army at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX.  He became one of the Dep. Regional Medical Examiners for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), as well as Chief of   Pathology at Munson Army Community Hospital at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  He has been Chief ME and Deputy Chief ME in numerous locations as he was re-stationed throughout the U.S.  He is the only board-certified forensic pathologist to also have held the certification for Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst  (CSCSA) by the IAI, the world’s largest group of professional criminalists serving as Past Secretary for the IAI Crime Scene Certification Board as well as being a Past President and Chairman of the Board of the FL Division of the IAI.  Due to his extensive background, he is considered an expert in numerous forensic subspecialities to include shooting and crime scene reconstruction with sequencing events within the crime scene.  He has taught over 50 shooting reconstruction courses (basic & advanced) as well as a couple dozen Staged Crime Scene Investigation courses as part of his multi-specialty expertise.  He holds Child and Infant deaths as one of those forensic specialties that has undergone a slow evolution during his 30 years of practice, during which he has performed examinations on over 300 child and infant fatalities and has taught over 15 courses specifically regarding child and infant deaths.  Dr. Berkland brings a unique teaching style to his presentations, coupling all the findings from the crime scene to the courtroom.

Instructor

Daniel Steelman is currently the Chief of Police at the Robertsdale Police Department. Chief Steelman formerly served as a Captain at the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office in Alabama, where he was the Commander of the Investigations Command, leading the Forensic Servicers Unit, Criminal Investigations Division and the Narcotics Division. Daniel has been a sworn law enforcement officer since 2000.  He is a Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst with the International Association of Identification, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Science from the University of Oklahoma. He is also a graduate of the 275^thsession of the FBI National Academy.

Daniel served as a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Task Force Agent working in the Human Exploitation area, the U.S. Secret Service Task Force Agent, working federal financial crimes in the Southern District of Alabama, and served as an FBI Task Force Officer, working on the FBI Innocent Images Initiative. Daniel served as a member of the Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit, Team Leader of the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Crisis Negotiations Team Daniel, was a Field Training Officer and served an instructor in Crime Scene and Evidence related topics.  

He has testified in hundreds of cases in municipal, state and federal court and has been qualified as an expert witness in bloodstain pattern analysis and shooting incident reconstruction.