Keynote speakers for 9th Annual FORREST Conference

Keynote Speakers

Robert Jensen Kenyon

Robert A Jensen - Chief Executive Officer, Kenyon International Emergency Services

Robert Jensen has been with Kenyon since 1998. On 1 October 2007, he acquired Kenyon, at which time it became a private company. Robert leads an international corporation which provides disaster management services to air, maritime and rail interests, as well as local, state and national governments. He has directed response efforts to numerous mass fatality incidents including terrorist bombings, mass murder criminal investigations, and transportation disasters.

A native of northern California, Mr. Jensen earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Law Enforcement from California State University, Fresno. While in college, Jensen trained and worked in various military and law enforcement posts. He served on active duty as a commissioned officer in the US Army until 1998. He had wide and varied experiences responding to mass fatality incidents and other death investigations.

Robert joined Kenyon's Planning and Training department in 1998. From 1998 to 2003 he held a number of positions within the company before becoming President and Chief Executive Officer including Director of Planning and Training; Senior Director Planning, Training and Operations; and Chief Operating Officer. Since joining Kenyon, Mr. Jensen has responded to numerous mass fatalities including the September 1, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, the 2004 Asian tsunami, hurricane Katrina, Haitian Earthquake and a number of airline disasters.

During his career, he has published numerous articles and authored the only guide of its kind-Mass Fatality and Casualty Incidents, a Field Guide. While in the military, Robert was the lead project manager and co-author of the only joint publication on mortuary affairs, which includes protocols for responding to incidents involving contaminated deceased.

Robert serves as an international advisor to both government officials and to members of the private sector on disaster management issues. He is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and International Association of Emergency Managers.

Hazel Biggs

Hazel Biggs - Forensic Development Officer, Home Office Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST)

Involved with forensic investigation for over 20 years both operationally and at national level within the crime scene arena.
Lead trainer based at the NPIA Forensic Centre for forensic medical examiner training and crime scene training
Subject matter expert for the design, development and implementation of the UK National CSI learning programme
Designed and delivered international forensic training to many policing partners including St Lucia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
Completed international research into CSI competency in Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
Winston Churchill Fellow and Pol Roger Award winner.
Currently national lead on ACPO Crime Scene Project working with Academia, Industry and Practitioners to identify or develop innovation that may be applied to 'live time' forensics within the crime scene

Chairs

Dr Janice Kennedy - University of the West of Scotland

I am not, nor have ever claimed to be, a forensic scientist. Indeed, I remain unconvinced that such a creature does or should exist.

I started my working life as an actuary, after taking a degree in Mathematics and Statistics at Glasgow University. Six months later I was working as an analytical chemist, and that has remained my main scientific interest ever since. My original degree was followed by an MSc in analytical chemistry and a PhD in electroanalytical chemistry, both from the University of Strathclyde. After three years as a post-doctoral research fellow, I then took a job teaching analytical and most other chemistries at Bell College. During that time I found myself becoming more and more involved in the teaching of Forensic Investigation, and now teach across all 4 years of that degree. Within teaching, my main interest is in the development of critical thinking skills in students, and I have presented workshops on that topic at previous Forrest conferences and elsewhere.

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