#98: The ISHI Forensic Leadership Alliance: Looking Ahead to the 2025 Symposium

In this episode of Crime and the Courtroom, host John Collins is joined by colleagues Dr. Pamela Marshall, Julie Sikorsky, and Dr. Ray Wickenheiser to discuss their ongoing collaboration, the Forensic Leadership Alliance. The group reflects on their shared work since 2020 in providing leadership development opportunities for forensic scientists, with a focus on coaching, mentorship, and team empowerment. The conversation covers key leadership challenges facing forensic laboratories, including funding instability, cultural dynamics, and professional development. The episode also includes planning updates for their upcoming November workshop at the ISHI 2025 Symposium in Palm Beach, where they will lead sessions on managing uncertainty, fostering leadership, and mentoring the next generation of forensic professionals. Issues on Trial - Tell us what you think Season:  5 Episode:  98 Duration:  1:09:52 YOUTUBE CHANNELS Main Podcast Channel Highlights Channel FROM OUR SPONSOR Learn About the Innovators at Promega International Symposium on Human Identification REFERENCED RESOURCES To set up a coaching session at ISHI 2025, please email John at the address provided. Please include your name, agency, and topics that our team can help you with. ABOUT YOUR HOST John Morrey Collins is a leadership and expertise coach specializing in working with clients in authoritative, high-stakes occupations, but with a primary emphasis on serving leaders, professionals, and organizations that support our complicated systems of criminal and civil justice. John started his private practice, Critical Victories, in 2013 after retiring his award-winning, 20-year career as a forensic laboratory scientist and executive administrator, having served as the Director of Forensic Science for the State of Michigan. His forensic technical expertise was in the examination and testing of firearms and firearm-related evidence, having provided expert courtroom testimony in approximately 130 criminal trials, including death penalty cases and Daubert hearings. John is also the author of three books on forensic science and criminal justice reform. In 2022, he released his fourth book, “The New Superior – A Better Way to Be the One in Charge,” which is available in print and audio. John’s many career highlights include his part in the forensic investigation of the Atlanta serial bombings, which included the bombing of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, as well as his 2013 participation in a historic meeting with the US Attorney General and other firearm experts to discuss the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. John has a master’s degree in organizational management and is formally certified as a Senior HR Professional by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). In 2012, John was trained as a professional coach by the College of Executive Coaching, and he became certified as a Gallup Strengths Coach in 2022. He lives and works near Detroit, Michigan. For more books and other information, please visit www.criticalvictories.com.