Jennifer is a private forensic toxicology and forensic laboratory consultant, expert witness, quality assurance assessor with both ANAB and A2LA, and the Curriculum Manager for DrugImpairment.com. She currently works as a Senior Scientist for Intertox, Inc. and held the prior positions of Crime Laboratory Director and Assistant Director in two of the three most populous counties in California; both with populations exceeding more than 3.3M. As Director she oversaw a staff of nearly 90 in nine forensic disciplines and multiple budgets of more than $24M; implemented a team quality assurance strategy, brought new automated DNA processes online, and successfully stood up a full-service drug toxicology program where one did not exist. She additionally leveraged legislated fees to increase budget revenues, insured minimal to no findings in external quality assurance audits, and fully transitioned the laboratory to an automated records management system, LIMS. In addition, while serving in both San Diego and Orange Counties, Jennifer’s teams, were successfully awarded more than $14M in grant award funding of the $16M she proposed.
She completed her undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Science in Biology, option in Physiology, a double minor in Chemistry and Political Science from California State University at Long Beach in 2001 and in 2018 obtained a master’s in public administration from Brandman University. She began her career in forensics as a volunteer intern with the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Department, Coroner Division, and the Orange County Crime Laboratory.
Jennifer has been in forensic science since 2000 and has more than 18 years of crime lab management and leadership experience with prior experience as the Orange County Crime Laboratory’s Assistant Director over the Forensic Chemistry Bureau. In that position, Jennifer oversaw Toxicology, Forensic Alcohol, Controlled Substances, and Clandestine Laboratory Field Investigation operations. She additionally managed the laboratory’s Evidence Control Unit for more than one year. Under Jennifer’s leadership, the Orange County Crime Laboratory’s Forensic Chemistry Bureau incorporated Lean Six Sigma process improvements, obtained more than $2.5M in grant funding from state and federal partners, and developed and implemented state-of-the-art technology and forensic methodology. Her work of more than 15 years with ANAB, the forensic laboratories’ accreditation body, as a technical assessor in both testing and calibration, along with her facilitation commitments with the County of Orange’s servant leadership program helped support these efforts.
Jennifer is a technical expert in both postmortem and ante-mortem toxicology. She has participated in numerous controlled drinking studies and ride-a-longs with several state and local law enforcement agencies. She has also audited the Drug Recognition Evaluation (DRE) Program and observed evaluations with the California Highway Patrol of individuals suspected to being under the influence of drugs. She has testified in nearly 200 cases involving drugs, alcohol, and poly-drug use. Jennifer has presented over 125 times for professional organizations at the local, state, and national level including the California District Attorneys Association, Governors Highway Safety Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Indiana University’s Borkenstein Drug Course, the National Governors Association, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. She is a past president of the California Association of Crime Laboratory Directors, a past president of the California Association of Toxicologists, is a former member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Drug Evaluation and Classification Program’s Technical Advisory Panel and has testified in front of the California State Senate and Assembly Public Safety Committees as well as the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Digital Commerce. In 2018, Jennifer was the recipient of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Public Service Award for her work in improving forensic drug testing and screening in California.
Jennifer is currently on the faculty of the National Judicial college, is the legislative advisor for both the California Association of Toxicologists and the California Association of Crime Laboratory Directors, is on the legislative advocacy committee for the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, and in 2019 and subsequently in 2022 successfully coauthored legislation, signed by governor Newsom, to improve the testing and reporting of drug prevalence in fatally-injured traffic safety cases; AB 551, SB 283, and SB 925 respectively.
