Patricia Barnes is presently employed by the Jackson Police Department Crime Laboratory in Jackson, MS.  She earned both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Biology from Jackson State University and a Master of Business Administration from Belhaven College(now Belhaven University).  She started her forensic career with the Mississippi State Crime Laboratory (Meridian branch) in 1992 in the area of drug analysis and is certified as a Diplomate by the American Board of Criminalistics in the specialty area of Drug Analysis. Ms. Barnes has been a member of SAFS for over 10 years and presently serves as a board member.









Jesse D. Brown is presently employed at the United States Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory in Forest Park, GA.  Jesse serves as a forensic chemist and trainer in the Training and Technology Division.  He earned his Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry from Georgia Southern University in May of 2000.  Jesse has worked with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation as a Forensic Chemist analyzing controlled substances and gunshot residue cases.  He has also worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as a forensic chemist analyzing evidence for the presence or absence of explosives and explosive residues as well as characterization of device components.  Jesse is certified by the American Board of Criminalistics as a Diplomate in General Criminalistics and also serves the SAFS as its current webmaster.  Jesse has been a member of SAFS for 10 years.

Michelle Shephard graduated from Auburn University (B.S. in Laboratory Technology, minor in Criminal Justice) and while in school worked with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in various disciplines, including Serology, Questioned Documents, and Toxicology.  In 1986, began employment with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and worked in the Atlanta laboratory for 13 years in Serology/DNA and Forensic Biology. While employed with GBI, Shepherd worked with enzyme systems, ABO typing, Classical Serology, RFLP, Dot-blots, and STR's.  Ms. Shepherd has offered testimony over 200 times in criminal cases across Georgia.

Michelle is an active member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) and The Southern Association of Forensic Scientists (SAFS), and a Diplomate in Molecular Biology with The American Board of Criminalistics (ABC). 

In August, 1999, she began working for Applied Biosystems as the first Technical Specialist in the field solely dedicated to supporting Human Identification labs.  The Human Identity Applications and Support team functions to train and support the successful use of AmpFLSTR products in the forensic, paternity and HID community.  Since 2005, Shepherd serves as the District Manager of the Technical Support Staff for the US Human Identification and Clinical Diagnostic Laboratories in the US and Canada.  Michelle proudly serves the SAFS as an elected Board member.