Tara Luther, Promega

Anjali Ranadive: Exercise (although it’s also work for me since I teach live group fitness classes and also coach clients in fitness and nutrition online).

Meng-Han Lin: Outdoor activities, photography, listen to music, enjoy good coffee.

Meradeth Snow: I love to read, and am an author of many published novels, which takes up a lot of my non-work time. I also enjoy making jewelry and small pottery pieces for when I really need to quiet my brain.

Cristina Servidio: Right now, it’s running around chasing my 1-year-old daughter with my husband. She is a bundle of energy and keeps us very busy. We are loving every minute of it! I’ve also been going to F45 for the past few years to sneak a workout in after work and loving that!

Ashley Hall: Walking, spending time with my grandkids and watching murder documentaries. Loudly, if my husband makes me angry.

Ray Wickenheiser: I like to fish and play ice hockey to blow off a little steam. It is hard to get worked up when your largest decision that day is what hook to use and which side of the boat to toss it out.

Mandi Van Buren: In my “free time” I actively train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and kickboxing along side my three children and compete regularly. We also love camping and riding ATVs any free weekend we can get out of town.

August Woerner: I am a geek, through and through. I love games—I skipped a lot of high school to play bridge at a nearby coffee shop—and I still love gaming (board, card or computer!). I also like biking and playing soccer with my two (very energetic) children..

Brittney Svoboda: Go for a run

Daniel Vanek: Judo and golf

Anjali Ranadive: At the end of the day you have to be able to live with yourself (regarding the cases we work on and what we do and don’t write or say).

Meradeth Snow: Never think the first time you do something that you’ll be perfect at it. There may be a such a thing as “beginner’s luck” but the reality is that anything worth doing takes practice and repeated attempts.

Cristina Servidio: One of my first supervisors that I had in the forensic field used to always remind us to never forget where we came from. Although many people move up in their career into supervisory or management type roles, I think it’s very important to still be active in the laboratory and still be aware of everything that is going on. It’s difficult to make good decisions on laboratory protocols that you aren’t performing anymore! If you are not able to get into the laboratory, then definitely make sure to incorporate feedback from those that are!

Ashley Hall: It’s not about me.

Ray Wickenheiser: A colleague many years back told me our duty to science was to not only try to do our best, use and develop improved and sound techniques, but to share when we had found an improvement. Sharing best practices and improvements may be a little extra effort, but it is fun and hugely rewarding when you see others take your approach and do even more with it.

Mandi Van Buren: Someone told me once “remember Mandi the plane takes off against the wind not with it.” At the time I didn’t really understand or digest this quote. Over the years though, personally and professionally, I have been challenged, it has been hard, I have felt like everything and everyone is fighting against me but I remember this quote and continue to push forward focused on my vision and goals. You can reach any height and achieve any goal if you never give up and just keep pushing through little by little.

August Woerner: This is for the academics out there—academia is a pie eating contest where the reward for success is more pie.

Brittney Svoboda: Don’t stress over things you cannot change.

Daniel Vanek: Always fight till the very end.

Anjali Ranadive: Pizza

Meradeth Snow: Tacos! There’s so much variation, but I just love them 😊

Cristina Servidio: Definitely Pizza! My parents used to joke that I was going to turn into a pepperoni growing up since I ate it so often!

Ashley Hall: Pizza

Ray Wickenheiser: Sushi. That might be cheating a little because there is a lot of variety, presentations and toppings. Pizza is a close second.

Mandi Van Buren: TACOS!

August Woerner: Ice cream. I wouldn’t live long, but at least I’d be happy!

Brittney Svoboda: Chicken alfredo

Anjali Ranadive: I have attended a meeting as early as 1998 and presented most recently in a workshop in 2017. I have not been to an ISHI meeting since 2017 but always enjoyed the depth of the presentations, the networking opportunities and the chance to learn from the best minds in the field (and the dinners are pretty epic too!).

Meng-Han Lin: This is my first attendance at ISHI.

Meradeth Snow: The first thing that comes to mind is that I never ever get into my car without checking the backseats thoroughly after one of the talks. But, on a more positive note, every time I get to ISHI, I love the feeling I get that I’m in a room full of people who entirely understand what I do and why I do it. That feeling buoys me up all year!

Cristina Servidio: There are so many to choose from, it’s really hard to pick one! The one that comes to mind right now is the Wednesday event night at ISHI in Orlando a few years ago. It was my first conference in person after the COVID outbreak and it really made me realize how important it is for all of us to get together and collaborate! Plus, the event was at Animal Kingdom at Disney – so that always helps as an avid Disney lover!

Ashley Hall: A few years ago, I saw a presentation by a first responder on 9/11. His story of what happened that day from his viewpoint and the work that forensic scientists continue to do amazes me.

Ray Wickenheiser: My first ISHI meeting was in Orlando in 1999. After a riveting and emotional presentation from sexual assault survivor and victims’ rights pioneer, Debbie Smith, I happened to find myself next to her and her husband Rob in line for a lunch buffet. I told her how motivating It was for us to hear her story and she was very pleased to hear that she was able to make a difference to bring some positive from what was a very traumatic event for her and her family.

Mandi Van Buren: Every ISHI experience is memorable. The connections made are priceless. It is the one week I look forward to every year, a chance to be surrounded by field experts I have looked up to in my career, friendships I have made through this career and new analysts I hopefully get to mentor through my work.

August Woerner: Oh, there are memorable moments, although the good ones shouldn’t be shared here!

Brittney Svoboda: This is my first year attending!

Daniel Vanek: I will never forget having a conference in a casino (Biloxi, MS).