I'm a Southern California native, born and raised in Culver City. I returned to California in 2010 after spending 11 years in Florida. My areas of expertise include public speaking, law/legal research and writing/journalism.
I graduated from Culver City High School in 1989 as a California Scholarship Federation (CSF) Sealbearer. I was a member of the Senior Honors Society, the school newspaper and the debate (forensics) club.
I started my undergraduate experience at UCLA as a Pre-Mathematics major before transferring to UC Irvine. I was a writer and member of the UCI student newspaper's editorial board and worked with the UCI baseball team as a Baseball Information Assistant. I graduated from UCI with a bachelor's degree in Criminology and Law. I earned a paralegal certification from UCLA before attending law school in Florida. I graduated from Nova Southeastern University's law school in Fort Lauderdale in 2002.
I received NSU's highest pro bono (volunteer) honor and continued to work pro bono after graduating. I was on the Dean's List twice and was an officer in the Criminal Law Society. I served as a Law Student Advisor, Westlaw Representative, and a proofreader for NSU Law's student newspaper. I received the Book Award (highest grade) in both Scientific Evidence Workshop and Legal Research and Writing. I am a member of Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity.
I earned a Master of Advanced Study (MAS) degree in Criminology and Law from UCI in 2009. My capstone paper was on the CSI Effect and has been cited in the New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement and on National Public Radio. I was also the External Vice President of Alpha Phi Sigma, the Criminology and Law Honors Society.
I have been published in a variety of newspapers, newsletters and journals. I wrote and edited several modules for a legal e-book that was published on the President's DNA Initiative website (dna.gov). I also wrote and edited chapters on forensic odontology (bite marks) and expert witness ethics in Scientific Evidence in Civil and Criminal Cases, Fifth Ed., by Moenssens, Henderson, and Portwood (Foundation Press, 2007).
I performed a field study at Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach during my last two undergraduate quarters, assisting the newspaper and yearbook classes. I taught the advanced junior high journalism class for a year after graduating while writing for a local newspaper. I also volunteered as a debate official in regional high school tournaments.
My former Criminal Law professor employed me as her Research Assistant for my last two years of law school before hiring me as the first researcher for a government funded forensic science organization based in Florida. I worked for over eight years for the National Clearinghouse for Science, Technology and the Law at Stetson University College of Law (NCSTL) as the Senior Staff Researcher, the lead multimedia researcher and the chief Westlaw analyst. While at NCSTL I created and presented a CSI Effect PowerPoint for 300 attendees at the 2007 National Institute of Justice Applied Technology Conference.
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