Dani C. Mata, MSFS, is currently a Senior Forensic Scientist for the Forensic Chemistry Bureau of the Orange County Crime Lab, CA where she has worked since 2007. Ms. Mata has been certified by the American Board of Forensic Toxicologists as a Diplomate in Forensic Toxicology since 2015 and is currently a Director on the board. In 2015 and 2016 Ms. Mata served as an affiliate on the Organization of Scientific Area Committee Task Group on Report and Testimony and starting in 2020 became a member of the Toxicology Subcommittee in 2020.

Ms. Mata has been a member of the California Association of Toxicologists (CAT) since 2009 and has co-hosted two of the meetings and presented at nine CAT meetings. For CAT, she has co-chaired the Research Grant Committee for 2012 – 2014, and Literature Review Committee for 2012 – 2018. Ms. Mata has been a member of the Society of Forensic Toxicology (SOFT) since 2011 and has served on the Young Forensic Scientist Committee from 2013 – 2016, The Award Committee 2017 – 2020, The Toxicology Resource Committee 2020 to present and the Designer Drug Committee 2016 – present, where she has been the chair since 2017. She was the Volunteer co-Coordinator for the 2016 SOFT meeting and was the co-host to the SOFT 2020 meeting, which ended up being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was awarded the SOFT 2012 Young Scientist Meeting Award, SOFT 2021 Young Forensic Toxicologist Service Award and the 2022 AAFS Toxicology Section’s Ray Abernethy for Outstanding Forensic Toxicology Practitioner.