Mystery Writers of America - New York Chapter

Crime Craft: The Art of the Short Story with Award-Winning Author Barb Goffman
2025-05-20 18:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
If it’s Tuesday it must be time for another Crime Craft: Join award-winning author Barb Goffman on Tuesday, May 20, for a sure-to-be-enlightening look at the art of crafting short stores. This virtual event kicks off at 6:00 p.m. and can be accessed here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83794864332?pwd=[REDACTED]
Short story author Barb Goffman (www.barbgoffman.com) is the 2024 recipient of the Golden Derringer Award for lifetime achievement, given by the Short Mystery Fiction Society. She has won the Agatha Award four times, the Macavity twice, and the Anthony, Derringer, and the EQMM Readers Award once each. She’s been a finalist for major crime-writing honors forty-eight times, including two current nominations for the Anthony Award in the Best Short Story and the Best Anthology categories.

Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and many anthologies. She works as a freelance editor, often focusing on cozy and traditional mysteries, and she is an associate editor of Black Cat Weekly. Her newest story is “Keep It Dark,” published in In Too Deep: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Genesis.

Mystery Authors Read Aloud Saturday June 7
2025-06-07 12:00 - 14:00 | 58th Street Library, 127 East 58th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues), New York, United States
Five mystery authors will read from their work at noon
on Saturday, June 7, at the 58th St. branch of the New York
Public Library.
Retired University of Buffalo professor Gary Earl Ross is an Edgar-winning playwright, novelist, short story writer (more than 100 published), essayist, audiobook narrator,and occasional actor and director. www.garyearlross.net
Debbie Babitt was copy director for two major Manhattan publishing companies. She has worked as an actress, playwright, and drama critic. Her first novel, Saving Grace, was named one of the most anticipated thrillers of 2021 by She Reads and voted one of the best debuts of 2021 by Suspense magazine. https://debbiebabitt.com
Cathi Stoler is an Amazon bestselling author and Derringer winner for The Kaluki Kings of Queens. Her three series include The Nick Donahue Adventures, The Laurel and Helen NY Mysteries, and The Murder on the
Rocks Mysteries, all of which have been nominated for awards. www.cathistoler.com
Award-winning romance, mystery, and general fiction author Catherine Maiorisi writes the NYPD Detective
Chiara Corelli mystery series featuring Corelli and her reluctant partner, Detective P.J. Parker. The five books in
the series are A Matter of Blood, The Blood Runs Cold, A Message in Blood, Legacy in the Blood, and Blood of the
Innocents. www.catherinemaiorisi.com
Carole Buggé (aka Carole Lawrence, C.E. Lawrence, Elizabeth Blake) has too many pen names. She has published sixteen novels, six novellas and several dozen short stories and poems. Her play Strings Attached was produced off-Broadway on Theatre Row by the Pulse Theatre. Her most recent novel, Cleopatra’s Dagger (under Carole Lawrence) was nominated for an Edgar Award as Best Original Paperback. www.celawrence.com/
The Manhattan Mystery Reading series is hosted by the New York Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. The
58th St. library is at 127 East 58th St. It’s near to the 59 th /Lex stop on the 4, 5, 6, N and R trains; and to the M57 and M31 crosstown buses on 57th St. For more information: info@mwany.org

Crime Craft: The First Two Pages
2025-06-17 18:00 - 20:00
Join award-winning author Art Taylor on Tuesday, June 17, for a discussion on the importance of the first two pages. The presentation kicks off at 6 p.m. and can be accessed here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83794864332?pwd=[REDACTED]
Taylor is the Edgar Award-winning author of two collections: The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions and The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense. His debut book, On the Road with Del & Louise: A Novel in Stories, won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. His short fiction has also won the Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, and Macavity Awards, and he was the 2025 recipient of the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement. He is a professor of English at George Mason University. www.arttaylorwriter.com.

LONG ISLAND MWA-NY GROUP GET-TOGETHER
2025-07-26 14:00 - 16:00 | PANERA BREAD, 1025 MONTAUK HWY, WEST BABYLON, United States
WELCOME MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA N.Y. CHAPTER
TO THE 3rd LONG ISLAND MWA-NY GROUP GET-TOGETHER
AT PANERA BREAD IN WEST BABYLON.
OPEN TO ALL MEMEBERS IN MANHATTAN, BRONX, BROOKLYN & QUEENS
WITH SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER JOHN FERRISO
POLICE PROCEDURAL TECHNICAL ADVISOR AND A BOARD MEMBER OF SISTERS IN CRIME -CT.

JOIN US ON SATURDAY JULY 26th AT PANERA BREAD 1025 MONTAUK HWY WEST BABYLON
2 p.m. – 4p.m. PLENTY OF PARKING
Get to meet John, learn the top 3 things writers get wrong about Police procedures.
RSVP IS A MUST (by Thursday July 10th)
E MAIL michaeljhallvoa@yahoo.com to RSVP and get on the list.
Bring a plus one or writer friend. You never can tell; they might want to join MWA.

Five MWA Authors on Tap for August 9 Reading
2025-07-28 08:00 - 17:00
Five members of Mystery Writers of America (MWA) will read aloud from their work from noon to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 9, at the 58th Street branch of the New York Public Library.
Lyndsay Faye is the author of seven novels and two short story collections. She lives in Ridgewood, Queens.
Michael Northrop is the author of sixteen best-selling books for young readers. He is currently writing mysteries for adults and will read from the first novel in that new series.
Katie Tietjen‘s Edgar-nominated debut novel, Death in the Details, was inspired by the mother of forensic science, Frances
Glessner Lee, who created tiny replicas of death scenes called the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. Tietjen’s protagonist, Maple, uses her miniature-making skills to get to the bottom of a mysterious death in her small Vermont town.
Joanna Margaret holds a PhD in history, specifically Florentine aristocrats in sixteenth-century France. She will read an
excerpt from her Dark Academia novel, The Bequest.
Hal Glatzer, an MWA author since 1986, is vice president of MWA’s New York chapter, best known for historical mysteries. But his latest are set in the present day; he will read from the second book in his Friends With Benefits series.
The room for the Authors’ Readings is up one flight of stairs; there is no elevator.
The library is at 127 East 58th Street., between Park and Lexington Avenues. The 4, 5, N, and R trains stop at 59th /Lex; the E stops at 53rd /Lex. Buses run north on Third Avenue and South on Lex. The M57 and M31 buses run crosstown on 57th Street.
For more information email the New York chapter of MWA: info@mwany.org

MWA-NY Northern New Jersey/Rockland-Westchester NY Area Get-Together and Brunch
2025-08-02 11:00 - 13:00
Join us on Saturday, August 2nd to meet and talk with fellow writers. Enjoy a brunch-time meal (separate checks) while you meet your fellow writers and MWA-NY members. You’re welcome to bring a plus-one! PLEASE RSVP BY JULY 28th.
DATE: Saturday, August 2nd
TIME: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
WHERE: Shannon Rose Restaurant
1200 Route 17 North
Ramsey, New Jersey
Organizer: Carol Binkowski

Please join us on Sunday, August 24, to meet, greet, and share ideas with members from the MWA-NY Chapter’s Metro New Jersey and surrounding areas local group.
2025-08-24 16:30 - 18:30 | Veggie Heaven, 631 Valley Road, Montclair, NJ, United States
Please join us on Sunday, August 24, to meet, greet, and share ideas with members from the MWA-NY Chapter’s Metro New Jersey and surrounding areas local group.
Come early to Upper Montclair, New Jersey, and stroll Valley Road and enjoy summertime in beautiful Alexander Park.
Then join fellow writers for a tasty early dinner at nearby Veggie Heaven from 4:30-6:30 (separate checks). You’re welcome to bring a plus-one. Please include them on the RSVP.
DATE: Sunday, August 24
TIME: 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Veggie Heaven
631 Valley Road
Montclair, NJ
Organizer: Carol Binkowski
PLEASE RSVP HERE

Special Zoom Event: How to Write An Agent Query Letter
2025-08-30 08:00 - 17:00
Join literary agent Ayla Zuraw-Friedland on Saturday, September 13, for a discussion on how to craft a compelling query letter that will help your submission stand out and catch the attention of agents!
Saturday, September 13, 2025 4:00 p.m.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83794864332?pwd=[REDACTED]

Panel Discussion: The Mystery Genre: Its Evolution, Current Trends, and the Future
2025-09-13 13:00 - 15:00
Join us for a panel discussion on Saturday, September 13, at Hoboken Public Library titled The Mystery Genre: Its Evolution, Current Trends, and the Future, with panelists Rhonda Barnat, Gary Cahill, Lori Robbins, and moderator Jeff Markowitz.
What makes mysteries so tantalizing? Three distinguished mystery authors will delve into the genre’s history; memorable sleuths and villains; captivating storylines; and what devilish mayhem lies ahead.
This FREE event is open to MWA members and the public.
The panel kicks off at 1:00 p.m. and runs until 3:00 p.m. the Hoboken Public Library is at 500 Park Avenue.
Register here.
Jeff Markowitz (www.jeffmarkowitz.com) is the author of six crime novels set in and around New Jersey, including his latest book, The Other, a dual-timeline historical about standing up to hate. Jeff spent more than forty years creating community-based programs and services in New Jersey for children and adults with autism, including twenty-five years as president and executive director of the Life Skills Resource Center, before retiring in 2018 to devote more time to writing. In October 2021, an epic late-night puzzle hunt based on Jeff’s novella, “Motive for Murder.” raised over $1 million for at-risk children in New York City. Jeff is a past president of the New York Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. He lives in Monmouth Junction, N.J., with his wife. Carol, and two cats, Vergil and Aeneas.
Rhonda Barnat is a crisis-management expert and writes crime fiction under the pen name Rona Bell. Her short story,“Prey of New York” was included in the anthology Where Crime Never Sleeps: Murder New York Style 4 and cited in the Houghton Mifflin book of Best American Mystery Stories 2018, edited by Louise Penny and Otto Penzler. Her short story “The Call Is Yours” appears in Me Too Short Stories: An Anthology of crime writers responding to Me Too issues, edited by Elizabeth Zelvin and published by Level Best Books. She has contributed a number of pieces to Mystery Readers Journal.
Gary Cahill’s first short story, “That Kind of Guy,” appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine as an homage to the 1920s and beyond dark and twisty classic Black Mask Magazine. Other work has been published in Pulp Empire, Short Story Me Genre Fiction (editor nominated for best story on the web); the Pulp Magazine anthology The Kennedy Curse; and The First Line Literary Journal, Volumes I, II, III, the print anthology. He is podcast cofounder of Plan B Magazine and wrote a feature cover story for Mystery Weekly (now Mystery) Magazine and Shotgun Honey, among others. He is a two-time blue-ribbon champion of the Colts Neck Country Fair Great American Apple Pie Contest. Additionally, after twenty-three years working in Hell’s Kitchen at the height of its hellishness, he is now a staff member at the Weehawken, N.J., Public Library. Gary also serves as the “amuse bouche” pizzaiolo for the secret society WWC (Writers Who Cook).
Lori Robbins is the Amazon best-selling author of the On Pointe and Master Class mystery series and a contributor to The Secret Ingredient: A Mystery Writers Cookbook. She is the recipient of two Silver Falchions; the Indie Award for Best Mystery; and a silver medal from the Award for Mystery and Suspense. Short stories include “Leading Ladies,” which received honorable mention in the 2022 Best American Mystery and Suspense anthology. A former dancer, Lori performed with a number of modern dance and classical ballet companies, but it was her commercial workfor Pavlova Perfume and Macy’s that paid the bills. After ten lean years onstage, she became an English teacher and now writes full time. Her experiences as a dancer, teacher, and mother of six have made her an expert in the homicidal tendencies everyday life inspires. You can find her at lorirobbins.com.

September Crime Craft: "Inside the Criminal Mind"
2025-09-16 18:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Join host Kate Hohl for “Inside the Criminal Mind” with forensic psychologist and author Stephanie Scott-Snyder on Tuesday, September 16, at 6:00pm EST via Zoom.
Stephanie Scott-Snyder is a forensic mental health clinician and criminal behavior expert with fifteen years of experience conducting psychological risk assessments and providing court-ordered therapy to violent offenders. She specializes in issues related to sexual and domestic violence as well as violence committed by women and has consulted on both serial rape and homicide cases. Scott-Snyder is a member of The Vidocq Society, through which she profiles cold case homicides to assist law enforcement. She is also a behavioral science expert with the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, where she was recently part of the team that closed a 25-year-old homicide. Additionally, she works with the Cold Case Foundation to train federal law enforcement as part of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women initiative. She also frequently trains mental health practitioners, victim advocates, and court personnel.

Zoom link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83794864332?pwd=[REDACTED]

Crime Craft: "The Craft of Historical Crime Fiction"
2025-09-26 08:00 - 17:00
Join host Kate Hohl for “The Craft of Historical Crime Fiction” with acclaimed author Wanda M. Morris on Tuesday, October 21, at 6:00pm EST via Zoom.
Wanda is the acclaimed author of several legal thrillers, including All Her Little Secrets, Anywhere You Run, and What You Leave Behind. Her debut novel, All Her Little Secrets, has been optioned for a limited series starring and executive produced by three-time Emmy winner Uzo Aduba with Wanda serving as an executive producer.
Her second book, Anywhere You Run, was named one of the Top Ten Crime Fiction Books of 2022 by The New York Times, and one of the best books of 2022 by NPR, Publisher’ Weekly, and Amazon. It was also listed as one of “Fifteen Standout Historical Fiction Books to Read This Year” by Oprah Daily. Anywhere You Run won the 2023 Lefty Award for Best Historical Novel, the 2023 Georgia Author of the Year Award for Best Mystery, and the 2023 Anthony Award for Best Historical Novel and was longlisted for the Mark Twain American Voicein Literature Prize. Wanda is a former corporate lawyer and now writes full time. She is married, the mother of three, and lives in Atlanta.
Join here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83794864332?pwd=[REDACTED]

Author Reading Saturday, October 4
2025-10-04 12:00 - 14:00 | 58th Street Library, 127 East 58th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues), New York, United States
Three New York-based mystery authors will read aloud from what they’ve written from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, October 4, at the 58th Street branch of the New York Public Library.
Dawn M. Barclay writes psychological/domestic/romantic suspense as D.M. Barr and nonfiction under her own name. In 2025, Level Best Books released her latest domestic thriller, Deadly When Disturbed, and the first of her true crime travel guides, Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to New England. She will read a short story titled “I’m Still Here” that will be appearing in an upcoming anthology: Ya Got Trouble: Crime Fiction Inspired by Broadway Show Tunes. Contact her at dawnbarclayauthor@gmail.com.
Born and raised in Chicago, Delia Pitts graduated from Oberlin College with a bachelor’s degree in history. After working as a journalist, she earned a PhD in African history from the University of Chicago. She is a former university administrator and US diplomat. Her contemporary noir mystery, Trouble in Queenstown, won the Shamus award for best hardback PI novel of 2024. The follow-up book in the series, Death of an Ex, was published by Minotaur Books in 2025. Delia is also the author of the Ross Agency Mysteries, a series set in Harlem, and several acclaimed short stories. Delia will read a brief excerpt from Death of an Ex. Check her out at www.deliapitts.com.
Gary Cahill’s first crime short story, “That Kind Of Guy,” a modern-day homage to the 1920s and ’30s hard-edged, rough-and-tumble Black Mask magazine, ran in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Subsequent short work, including “Corner of River and Rain,” “The Damnedest Things,” “Fathers, Sons, Ghosts, Guns,” “The Way To A Man’s Heart,” “Sirens,” and “On A Two-Way Street,” have appeared in print, online, e-book, and audio versions with The First Line Literary Journal, Pulp Magazine, Mystery Magazine (formerly Mystery Weekly), Plan B Magazineand on the podcast Shotgun Honey. Gary will read from an as-yet unpublished look at the Irish and Irish American zeitgeist in 1980s Hell’s Kitchen. Contact him at garycahill66nj@yahoo.com.
The library is at 127 East 58th Street., between Park and Lexington Aves. The 4, 5, N, and R trains stop at 59th/Lex, the E train at 53rd/Lex. Buses run north on Third Avenue and South on Lex. The M57 and M31 buses run crosstown on 57th Street. The room for the Authors’ Readings is up one flight of stairs; there is no elevator.
For more information email the New York chapter of Mystery Writers of America: info@mwany.org

Panel Discussion: Red Herrings: The Twist in the Tale
2025-10-18 13:00 - 15:00
Join us on October 18 for a free panel discussion on the art of misdirection. Deception, a web of lies, and the chase for clues are the core of a compelling mystery. How do you use red herrings to heighten tension and suspense to keep readers turning pages? What challenges do red herrings pose as a tool to propel the story? This panel discussion with three mystery authors is open to MWA members and the public.
October 18
1 p.m.-3 p.m.
Lee Memorial Public Library
500 Crescent Avenue Allendale, NJ
Register here
Moderator:
Carol Binkowski writes mysteries under the pen name Caryl Janis, most recently including To Sketch a Killer and Research Can Be Murder — both urban cozies set in New York. A member of MWA, SinC, and Liberty States Fiction Writers, she has participated on panels at mystery conferences including Bouchercon, Malice Domestic, and ThrillerFest. Carol is also a musician and author of nonfiction books about music and history.
Panelists:
Tom Coffey grew up on Staten Island. His first novel, The Serpent Club, was published in 1999 by Pocket Books and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. His second novel, Miami Twilight, came out two years later. In 2008, Toby Press printed Blood Alley, which also earned a starred review from PW. In 2015 the independent Oak Tree Press published Bright Morning Star. In 2023, Coffey signed a three-book deal with Level Best Books. Public Morals, which gained four- and five-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, was the first novel in The Devine Trilogy, which is named after the family at its center. The series examines the arc of law enforcement in New York from the 1980s to the present. The second book in the series, Special Victim, was published in 2024, and also earned strong reviews across multiple platforms. Coffey is finishing the last book in the trilogy, Stop and Frisk, and it will come out in 2026. Coffey graduated from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and attended film school at the University of Southern California. After a long career in journalism that included stints at The Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and New York Newsday, he retired in 2023 from The New York Times. He lives in Lower Manhattan with his wife and daughter.
Peggy Ehrhart is a former English professor with a doctorate in medieval literature. Her Maxx Maxwell mysteries, Sweet Man Is Gone (2008) and Got No Friend Anyhow (2011), were published by Five Star/Gale/Cengage and feature a blues-singer sleuth. Peggy is currently writing the Knit & Nibble mysteries for Kensington Books. Her amateur sleuth, Pamela Paterson, is the founder and mainstay of the Arborville, New Jersey, knitting club, nicknamed Knit and Nibble. Knit & Nibble #12, Last Wool and Testament, was released in May 2025; An Eggy Way to Die will appear in Kensington’s 2026 Easter novella anthology, Easter Egg Murder.
Charles Salzberg is a former magazine journalist and nonfiction book writer, author of From Set Shot to Slam Dunk, an oral history of the NBA, and Soupy Sez: My Zany Life and Times with Soupy Sales. His first novel, Swann’s Last Song, was nominated for a Shamus Award (he lost). Second Story Man, winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award, was nominated for a Shamus (he lost), aas was Canary in the Coal Mine (lost again). Devil in the Hole was named one of the best crime novels of 2013 by Suspense magazine. He’s been a visiting professor of Magazine and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and taught writing at Sarah Lawrence, Hunter, the Writers Voice, and the New York Writers Workshop, where he is a founding ember. His latest novel is Man on the Run.

MYSTERY AUTHORS TO READ DECEMBER 6
2025-10-25 08:00 - 17:00 | 58th Street Library, 127 East 58th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues), New York, United States
Three local members of Mystery Writers of America will read from their work at noon on Saturday, December 6, in the 58th St. branch of the New York Public Library.
Tom Coffey, a native of Staten Island, is a longtime journalist, having worked for The Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, New York Newsday, and The New York Times. Two of his novels, The Serpent Club and Blood Alley, have earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly. The first two books in his current series, The Devine Trilogy (named for the family at its center), have earned four- and five-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Tom will read from the third book in the trilogy, which will be published in 2026.
Andrea Clark has had a varied career. She retranslated E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Nutcracker for Alfred A. Knopf. She analyzed scripts for TV producer David Susskind. “My Divorce,” her thesis film for the MFA program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, won an Academy Award in the Student Film Category. She studied writing with Elizabeth Hardwick and Hallie Ephron. Andrea will read from the opening chapter of her work-in-progress, Kate’s Dilemma.
Andrew Kass‘s short work has appeared in the magazines Glimmer Train and Central Park and in The New York Times; he has a new story upcoming in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. His novella Deadline received an honorable mention in the 2024 Black Orchid Novella Award. His feminist Civil War spy thriller, A Woman of Agency, is due out next year. Andrew will read from “Hotel Room”December 6 poster—a noir story inspired by a 1931 painting by Edward Hopper.
The library is at 127 East 58th St., between Park and Lexington Aves. The 4, 5, N, and R trains stop at 59th/Lex; the E at 53rd/Lex. Buses run north on Third Ave. and South on Lex. The M57 and M31 buses run crosstown on 57th St. There is also a parking garage under the library.
The room for the Authors’ Readings is up one flight of stairs; there is no elevator.
For more information please email the New York chapter of MWA: info@mwany.org

Unlocking the Secrets of the Dead: Forensics
2025-10-25 13:00 - 16:00
This expert panel will explore the fascinating world of forensics and how scientific methods are used to help solve crimes. The discussion also will look at how forensics are portrayed in books. The event will feature a Q&A and a networking opportunity. This free event will be open to MWA members and the public.
Date: October 25, 2025
Time: 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Morristown and Morris Township Public Library,
1 Miller Road, Morristown, NJ.
Refreshments will be served!
Moderator: Nev March
Panelists: Lieutenant. Art Weisgerber; Dr. Lauren Thoma; Kimberlee Moran
Nev March is the first Indian-born author to receive the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Award for Best First Crime Fiction. Her debut novel, Murder in Old Bombay, also won an Audiofile award and was an Edgar and Anthony finalist. Her sequel, Peril at the Exposition, describes conflict during the gilded age that planted the seeds of today’s red-blue divide. Her third book, The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret, traces the origins of the Spanish American war over Cuba from the perspective of her immigrant detective duo. Nev’s books deal with issues of identity, race and moral boundaries. After a long corporate career, Nev returned to her passion—writing —and now teaches creative writing at the Rutgers-Osher Institute. She is a member of Crime Writers of Color and president of New York chapter of Mystery Writers of America.
Lieutenant Art Weisgerber has been the commanding officer of the Crime Scene/Identification Unit at the Norwalk, Connecticut, Police Department since 2011. The unit is responsible for the processing of forensic evidence at major crime scenes and fatal-crash scenes along with evidence collected by other divisions. Weisgerber joined the department in 1988 and has worked in the patrol division, narcotics unit, and detective bureau as both a detective and detective sergeant before assuming command of the crime scene unit. During his time in the detective ureau, Weisgerber was assigned to the cold case unit and closed several cases by arrest or identification of human remains. He also is an adjunct police instructor for the State of Connecticut Municipal Police Officer Academy and teaches crime scene procedure/investigation privately for the Spector Criminal Justice Training Network.
Dr. Lauren Thoma is a forensic pathologist working in Central New Jersey who has performed nearly 2,500 autopsies and testified over sixty-five times in superior court in New Jersey and New York and in federal court. Originally hailing from the Philadelphia suburbs, she obtained her B.S. in biology at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and her M.D. from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. She underwent four years of residency training in anatomic and clinical pathology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and completed fellowship training at Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York in forensic pathology and forensic cardiac pathology/europathology. Dr. Thoma holds board certifications in anatomic, clinical, and forensic pathology and has lectured at the New Jersey State Police Academy and NJSP Crime Scene Investigation School. She has a special interest in long-term unidentified cases, overdose fatalities, and quality improvement in death investigation.
Kimberlee Sue Moran has over twenty years of experience as a forensic consultant and educator, both in the UK and United States. She is an associate teaching professor in the Rutgers-Camden Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice. Kimberlee has worked on several cases in a range of capacities. She runs training workshops for local law enforcement that include blowing up transit buses and digging up dead animals. Her doctoral research was in the field of ancient fingerprints, and her current research is in taphonomy, the process of decomposition. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Science and an active member of the Society for American Archaeology, the UK Fingerprint Society, the Association for Women in Forensic Science, and Forensic Archaeology Recovery. Kimberlee holds an undergraduate degree in archaeology from Bryn Mawr College and a master’s of science in forensic archaeological science from the Institute of Archaeology at University College London. She is the coeditor of Forensic Archaeology: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Kimberlee served on the Crime Scene Investigation subcommittee of the NIST-led Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) from 2015 until 2024. She is passionate about public outreach, STEM education, and science in the service of justice. Kimberlee is the recipient of the 2021 Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award and the 2021 Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching.
