Mr. Welch is a Forensic Document Examiner with 19 years experience in the field of forensic science.  He is co-founder of Riley, Welch, LaPorte and Associates and is currently employed with the Michigan State Police Questioned Document Unit.  During his tenure he received additional training by the U.S. Secret Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation.  In 1987 he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Saginaw Valley State College.

Mr. Welch is currently the President of the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists (MAFS) and is a member of numerous other professional organizations including the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Questioned Document Section, American Society of Questioned Document Examiners (ASQDE), and the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) International.

In 2001, Mr. Welch received his board certification from the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE) which is the only certifying body recognized by the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners (ASQDE).  He has provided training to numerous law enforcement agencies over the years concerning all aspects of forensic document examination and has been a guest speaker on several occasions at Cooley Law School.

The Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists (MAFS) honored Mr. Welch by presenting him with the “New Scientists Award” in 1997.  He has conducted, presented, and published papers on different forensic document topics.   In addition, he has peer-reviewed publications in the International Journal of Forensic Document Examiners and was recently published in the Journal of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners regarding the results of a 5 year joint research project with Ferris State University.

Mr. LaPorte is a Forensic Chemist and Document Dating Specialist with over 18 years of experience in the field of forensic science.  He is also currently employed with the United States government and trained with the U.S. Secret Service in the field of questioned documents with specialization in the area of ink and paper analysis where he served as the Chief Research Forensic Chemist.  He received a Bachelor of Science degree and Bachelor of Commerce in Business Administration from the University of Windsor (Canada) and a Master of Science in Forensic Science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Mr. LaPorte is a member of several professional organizations including the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), American Society of Questioned Document Examiners (ASQDE), Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists (MAAFS), American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) International, and a contributing member in the Scientific Working Group for Questioned Documents (SWGDOC).  Mr. LaPorte has conducted over 70 lectures, seminars, and training events in 13 different countries for law enforcement agencies, professional organizations, and technical experts.  He has published several peer reviewed scientific papers in the area of forensic document examination and authored chapters on the Chemical Analysis Techniques Used in Forensic Document Examinations and Document Fraud and Forgery.

Ms. Hanson is a Forensic Document Examiner with 21 years experience in the field of forensic science.  She is currently employed full-time in a state forensic laboratory, where she serves as the Lead Technical Director for Questioned Documents Section, with oversight of the Questioned Document Examination services for the entire State of Minnesota. In 1991 she graduated from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. Ms. Hanson completed her 2 ½ -year training program under the direct supervision of a highly qualified forensic document examiner.  This training also included training by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

Ms. Hanson is active in professional development activities, regularly attending professional meetings, workshops and paper presentations. She is a member of a number of professional organizations, including the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners (ASQDE), the Midwest Association of Forensic Scientists (MAFS), and the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) International.  Ms. Hanson is an Assessor with the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD-LAB).

In the past, Ms. Hanson has served as the Questioned Document Section Chair of MAFS and is currently the Vice- President as well as the Testing Committee Chair of the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE).  In 2006, Ms. Hanson received certification as a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners which is the only certifying body sponsored by the Canadian Society of Forensic Science, the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners, the Southwestern Association of Forensic Document Examiners, and the Southeastern Association of Forensic Document Examiners.   The ABFDE is the only certifying body that can claim such sponsorship and recognition. Ms. Hanson has conducted and presented on different forensic document topics and she is presently the Principle Investigator of a 3 year research project funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).

Ms. Hanson provides training to numerous law enforcement agencies on a regular basis that involves all aspects of forensic document examination and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Hamline in St. Paul, MN.

Ms. Naso is a Forensic Document Examiner with 6 years of experience in the field of forensic science.  Ms. Naso received her training with the United States Secret Service in the field of questioned documents.  Prior to, she completed a year of apprenticeship at the Connecticut State Forensics Laboratory.  She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Yale University and a Master of Science in Forensic Science from the University of New Haven.

Ms. Naso is a member of several professional organizations including the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners (ASQDE), the Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists (MAAFS), ASTM International, and is a contributing member in the Scientific Working Group for Questioned Documents (SWGDOC).  Ms. Naso has provided numerous lectures and training events across the country and served as an adjunct professor in the George Washington University forensic science graduate program, teaching an elective course titled, “The Examination of Questioned Documents.”

Mr. Vargas is a forensic document examiner with fourteen years of experience in the field of forensic science.  He trained with the Mississippi Crime Laboratory and worked in the Jackson laboratory from 1998 until 2004.  In 2004 he took a position as a forensic document examiner with the Internal Revenue Service’s National Forensic Laboratory in Chicago, Illinois, where he worked from 2004 to 2010.  Mr. Vargas is currently employed as the Questioned Documents Section Chief with the Mississippi Crime Laboratory.  He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Indiana University in 1996.

Mr. Vargas is a member of several professional organizations including the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners (ASQDE), the Southeastern Association of Forensic Document Examiners (SAFDE), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the Scientific Working Group for Forensic Document Examination (SWGDOC).  He is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE).

Mr. May is a latent print examiner with over ten years of experience in forensic science.  He is currently employed full time with the Michigan State Police as the supervisor of the latent print unit at the Lansing Forensic Laboratory.

Mr. May received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Alma College in 1993.  He has extensive experience in the fields of latent prints and both general and forensic photography.  He is an instructor and lecturer for a variety of courses, including advanced evidence technician schools for the Michigan State Police, Detroit Police Department, and numerous other agencies throughout the State of Michigan.  Mr. May has received, among others, specialized training in complex latent print examination and advanced evidence processing techniques, and is an expert in digital imaging and enhancement.

Mr. May is a member of the International Association for Identification (IAI), the Midwest Association of Forensic Scientists (MAFS), and the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD).  He maintains continuing education and advancement in his fields of expertise, regularly participating in professional meetings, workshops, and seminars.