So, You Just Became a Forensic Leader. Now What?

The Forensic Leadership Alliance wasn’t planned—it came together through years of conversations at ISHI, where these four found themselves returning to the same topic: leadership. Specifically, how often it’s overlooked in forensic science—and how much better things could be if it weren’t.

What began as casual brainstorming evolved into a formal partnership. The four-person model gave them space to dig deeper, share personal stories, and reflect honestly on what works (and what doesn’t) in lab leadership. Together, they represent decades of experience—from executive leadership in state labs to academic program development and one-on-one coaching.

Today, their ISHI workshops serve as a space for forensic professionals to not just learn, but reflect, grow, and connect with others who are walking a similar path.

One of the most important lessons the FLA teaches is that good leadership isn’t just about goals and workflows. It’s about the emotional climate of the lab. People don’t do their best work in fear or isolation—they do it when they feel seen, supported, and trusted.

That starts with intention.

John Collins shared the story of a coaching client who felt frustrated that her manager, despite attending leadership workshops, hadn’t changed his approach. That moment made Collins realize just how often leaders forget to prioritize one critical outcome: confidence.

“It never occurs to them... that I actually want them to have their confidence go up because I am their manager,” he said. “You have to be thinking about and sensitive to the experience that you’re creating for people.”

Julie Sikorsky agreed, pointing out how hard it can be for managers—especially those trained in science—to embrace vulnerability. Many of us have been taught that being a good leader means being the one with all the answers. But real leadership means knowing when to ask for help—and when to bring your team into the process.

“We’ve been taught as a culture that a manager or a supervisor or a boss is supposed to be the one with all the answers,” she said. “And you now have to make that change and create a culture where they’re going to see you in a different light.”

Her advice? Let your team in. They don’t need to be part of every decision, but they do need to understand the pressures you’re under and the direction you’re headed.

Mentorship doesn’t need to come with a title or a program. Most of the time, it starts with something simple: connection.

Sikorsky described a recent mentoring relationship that grew out of a post-workshop conversation. It wasn’t planned or formal—but it became meaningful. The conversations weren’t rigid or scheduled, but they offered a space to ask questions, share ideas, and prepare for a new leadership role. Over time, that relationship evolved naturally into something lasting.

“It’s becoming a better version of yourself through self-awareness... and really to step back and see how others are perceiving you.”

Pam Marshall expanded on this by reminding listeners that mentorship has probably been happening all along—just under different names.

“I think we've been mentors probably our entire lives,” she said. “You may not realize that you're serving in that mentor capacity at the time, but I guarantee that all of these people who start out, you know, in this little ball of scientist, right—we all have it in us to offer advice.”

For Marshall, effective mentorship doesn’t mean having all the answers. It means being open, sharing your lived experience, and showing up when someone needs a sounding board.

The most powerful mentorship, they say, isn’t perfect. It’s honest. It’s accessible. And it starts with a willingness to show up.

While mentorship tends to build over time, coaching can deliver big impact in a short amount of space. That’s why the FLA offers one-on-one coaching sessions at ISHI—brief, confidential meetings with leaders who’ve lived the pressure, made the mistakes, and learned what works.

These conversations aren’t scripted or prescriptive. They’re tailored to whatever the attendee needs: how to handle a personnel conflict, how to navigate a leadership transition, how to ask for resources—or just how to not burn out.

For Ray Wickenheiser, coaching is about compressing time—sharing insights that would otherwise take years to develop through trial and error.

“To me what coaching or mentorship is, is sort of like that time machine—let me talk to myself with 5 or 10 or 15 years more of experience,” he said. “Like the things that you would know.”

Especially in public-sector labs or law enforcement environments, where formal support can be limited, coaching becomes a rare opportunity for reflection and clarity. These are the conversations that don’t always happen in staff meetings—but should.

When the FLA was asked what issues are weighing most heavily on lab leadership today, the list was long—and all too familiar. Funding delays, space constraints, succession planning, staffing gaps, emerging technologies, and the stress of managing people while still keeping up with casework.

Marshall said students and their families are increasingly anxious about career stability in light of federal funding concerns. Wickenheiser emphasized the relentless squeeze on lab directors to do more with less. Even when labs are able to grow, they quickly outpace their infrastructure.

Ray Wickenheiser, speaking from the vantage point of a former state lab system director, didn’t mince words. “From a director perspective, it was almost always resources. Then resources. And resources.” He explained how success often brings its own complications—more staff means more space needs, more equipment, more oversight. “We’re really kind of almost like moving the bottleneck around.”

And while new technology promises efficiency, it rarely translates to less work. “The irony is every new technology… is going to require even more people and experience,” he said. That’s why succession planning isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. “We have to build people, because we have no other choice.”

Julie Sikorsky added that delays in funding—particularly grant-based funding tied to salaries—are weighing heavily on lab managers.

At the same time, labs are under pressure to implement emerging tools like forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG) and Rapid DNA, with limited resources and conflicting guidance. In many cases, labs choose not to act at all—for fear of doing it “wrong.”

That’s why the FLA has titled their 2025 workshop “The World Is Not Ending.” The message is simple but important: These problems are real—but they’re not insurmountable. What matters is how we lead through them.

If the backlogs, budget gaps, and implementation delays aren’t going away anytime soon, then the question becomes: how do we lead anyway?

The FLA’s answer? You talk about it. You learn from each other. And you build the people around you—because the only way forward is together.