Advisory Committee

One of our biggest projects with our industry professionals is our mock panel interviews. Our third year, forensic science students choose a career they are interested in and we leverage our network to find professionals in those career fields to sit on an interview panel for the students. This experience is valued by the students as it provides them with a real interview experience, a mentor in their chosen industry, and a guide to assist with internships and future training opportunities. It is a win-win for both the students and industry professionals.  

While we have regular industry professionals who attend our advisory meetings, there are an abundant number of professionals who give to our program on a regular basis. We invite industry professionals from law enforcement, corrections, security, courts, and forensic science to contribute to our program. Their contributions range from providing resources to guest speakers, and field experiences to help our students better understand what a day in the life is like. In each of the three classes of our pathway we invite industry professionals to the classroom to speak with students about their path from high school to their respective careers. It is important that students understand these professionals were not "perfect" nor were they concrete about their desires for future employment. Our guest speakers also engage with students by sharing their equipment and stories that relate to their current position. 

While it is impossible to name every person who has positively influenced our program in this space. We offer some great examples, which include Carlos Fernandez with Ken Nugent Law Firm, who brought his experience in both criminal and civil law to help students understand the complexities that involve each. Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) Public and Governmental Affairs formerly Directed by Nelly Miles and Natalie Ammons, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigators (IRS-CI), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Director Miles with the GBI Crime Lab visited our forensic science class and talked about his path as he walked the students through the strawberry DNA experiment. The students were engaged and intrigued about his path from high school to becoming Director of the GBI Crime Lab. We were also visited by GBI Toxicologist  Denise Carter, GBI Chemist Morgan Brennan, GBI Forensic Pathologist Dr. Elizabeth McLeod, and GBI Death Investigator Nicholas Van Lue. The IRS-CI and FBI Community Outreach Specialsit Demetrius Smith always visits with special agents. We even have a quote on the wall from Special Agent Orgbon. FBI and IRS-CI Agents have visited us and brought all types of raid equipment, which they allowed the students to try on after talking about their path and the vast duties of a special agent. Sheriff Lavon Allen shared a path to the Sheriff's Office that passed through Riverdale High School. Police Chief Kevin Roberts is a regular and shares his path as well as words of wisdom for students. District Attorney Tasha Mosley and Victim Services Manager Kenya Shepherd are regular guest speakers and the DA's office has provided code books for our classroom. Solicitor General Charles Books helped create our Peer Court Program, where students who are involved in select incidents within the school are referred to Peer Court, where they are assigned a student attorney, cases are heard by a student judge and the student jury decides punishment from a predetermined list of consequences. 

#ExposureisEVERYTHING

Our industry professionals provide resources and also assist with practical exercises. For example, the Clayton County District Attorney's Office provides us with code books and the fire department assisted us with extinguishing small fires utilizing water canisters. The school police department contributed to our traffic stop practical exercises by allowing us to use their patrol vehicles. 

Our advisory board meets twice per year, once in the fall and once in the spring. For the last two years the district has required a district wide advisory board meeting in September.  Our school based advisory board is comprised of representatives from each of the pathways offered. Each pathway is responsible for at least two professionals from their pathway. Our department chairperson, Ms. Harris, creates the agenda and notes are taken during each meeting.        

* denotes district meeting and notes are not available

Meeting Minutes                                                   Meeting Agenda

4/25/22 4/25/22

10/17/22         10/17/22

3/13/23 3/13/23

10/17/23         10/17/23

4/30/24 4/30/24

*9/13/24         *9/13/24

3/27/25 3/27/25

*9/2/25 *9/2/25