Associate Qualifications
W. Mark Dale, MBA is past Director, Northeast Regional Forensics Institute (NERFI) at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Dale provides education in forensics biology, chemistry, and computer science and intense “DNA Academies” for newly hired DNA scientists. Previously, Dale was Director (Inspector in Charge) of the New York State Police Laboratory System and the New York City Police Department Laboratory. Mark is Past President of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors and is an Emeritus Member, Chairman on the New York State Crime Laboratory Advisory Committee and member of the New York State Commission on Forensic Science. Mark is an ASCLD/LAB Legacy and International ISO 17025 trained auditor and has participated in many ASCLD/LAB Legacy inspections. ASCLD specializes in training supervisors in management, technology and quality service for the community. He has the Green Belt in Six Sigma Quality Processes and an MBA from the State University of New York at Albany.
Dr. Wendy S. Becker teaches management at Shippensburg State University and Management Law Center, Innsbruck, Austria. Previously, she was Vice President and Managing Principle at AON Consulting, and also Manager, Consulting Services for Development Dimensions International. She managed management training projects for Alcoa, Cargill, Coca-Cola, Colgate, Dow, Eli Lilly, GTE, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Miller Brewing, Northwest Airlines, Pillsbury, Sony, Toyota, TRW, among others. Becker earned her PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University. Her dissertation was a Newman Award finalist at the Academy of Management and is published in Team Performance Management. In 2007, Becker received the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award from the State University of New York at Albany Business School. She is elected to the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, Delta Sigma Xi, and the Golden Key Honor Society.
W. Mark Dale and Wendy Becker are authors of The Crime Scene: How Forensic Science Works. This best-selling text and numerous articles, book chapters and professional presentations emphasize the importance of the supervisor in managing technology and organizational culture issues in public sector organizations.
Fred Aron, MPA, is a 32 year veteran of the New York State Police. After 20 years in diversified field positions he was appointed Major and became the Director of Training at the New York State Police Academy, (the 9th largest police force in the U.S.). The NYSP Academy trains 200 – 400 recruits, supervisors and executives, as well as outside agency personnel annually. Programs emphasize critical management skills, including integrity, values and foundation skills for success. As Inspector, he led an organizational development team in numerous organizational change initiatives, including designing and implementing strategies to link agency missions and values to a competency-based leadership development system for 200 middle managers. He also oversaw the development and implementation of a problem-solving learning model for academy recruit training. As Assistant Deputy Superintendent (Lt. Colonel), he was in charge of the statewide audit function and was responsible for quality assurance and compliance. In that assignment he led project teams in development and implementation of a competency-based management audit, and the development of an "early warning" system to identify potential misconduct vulnerabilities for early intervention. He also implemented an evidence accountability inspection at the Forensic Center. He represented the State Police on the Governor's multi- agency task force to develop the "Law Enforcement Leadership Institute." This program was designed for the professional development of mid to upper management, of all agencies in state's the law enforcement community.
Dr. Edward Pavur, Jr. is an expert trainer with specialized skills in job analysis and assessment technology. Ed designed and delivered testing, training and evaluation systemsfor the City of Toledo, Entergy Corporation,New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board, Sabine Transportation, Caterpillar, Florida Power and Light, Kellogg, Toyota, Atlantic Richfield, and Purdue University, among others. He teaches graduate classes in the MBA program at the State University of New York at Albany. Ed has a doctorate in psychology and is active in the American Psychological Association, the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology, the Houston Area I/O Psychologists and the Society of Psychologists in Management.
Geoffrey Culkin, M.Ed is an experienced educator who has supervised training functions for the New York State Police (NYSP) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). For the NYSP, Geoff oversaw the development of NYS training programs including statewide counter-terrorism training developed in response to 9/11/2001 for 5000 members. He was a member of an organizational development project team which was responsible for development and implementation strategies for agency missions, goals, core values and leadership development. He directed the transition to a problem-solving curriculum for Basic Training and administered centralized and de-centralized training programs. Prior to this he served as the agency's chief purchasing officer and achieved fiscal savings through consolidation and redesign efforts in various programs and activities. At TSA, Geoff supervised all training programs for over 200 personnel at four airports. This responsibility included maintaining Learning Management System (LMS). He was part of a national project team that implemented a workplace conflict management system for TSA's 45,000 employees.
Barry A. J. Fisher is the Crime Laboratory Director for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, a position he has held since 1987. He began his career in criminalistics with the Sheriff’s crime lab in 1969 and over the years has worked in a wide variety of assignments. His current interests concern the interrelationship between forensic science and the law along with public policy issues concerning the timely delivery of quality forensic support services to the criminal justice system. He served as a member of the American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section’s Ad Hoc Committee to Ensure the Integrity of the Criminal Process and the American Judicature Society’s Commission of Forensic Science and Public Policy. He represents the American Academy of Forensic Sciences on the Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations, which represents six national forensic science professional organizations and works to influence public policy in forensic science at the national level.
Fisher is a member of many professional organizations. He is a Distinguished Fellow and past-president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. He is past-president of the International Association of Forensic Sciences, past-president of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors and a past-chairman of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors – Laboratory Accreditation Board. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Forensic Science Technology Center since its founding in 1995 - 2007. He is a member of the Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Advisor Council.
He is a member of four editorial boards: the Journal of Forensic Sciences, the Journal of Forensic Identification, Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology, and the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Fisher is an alumni member of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents and a life member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and serves as a member of the IACP’s Forensics Committee.
His textbook, Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation, in its 7th edition, enjoys wide popularity. Fisher speaks throughout the United States, and has lectured in Canada, England, Australia, Singapore, France, Israel, Japan, China Turkey, and Potugal on forensic science laboratory practices, quality assurance and related topics. He led a forensic science delegation to lecture to forensic scientists in the People’s Republic of China in 2000.
Fisher, a native New Yorker, received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the City College of New York. He holds a Master of Science degree in organic chemistry from Purdue University and an M.B.A. degree from California State University, Northridge.
Barry and his wife Susan live in the San Fernando Valley in the City of Los Angeles. They have two married sons: David, a criminalist with the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Forensic Biology Department, and Michael, an entrepreneur, and four grandchildren.