This DNA Expert Built a Business to Find Fallen Soldiers and Prevent Human Trafficking

  • Date: 12-Aug-2020
  • Source: Inc.
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Jordan
  • Who else needs to know?

This DNA Expert Built a Business to Find Fallen Soldiers and Prevent Human Trafficking

Alexandria, Va.

Headquarters

We do forensics, biometrics, and identity intelligence. That means looking at measurable features that people have to help identify them. We might do fingerprint analysis. Maybe we'll look at the structure of the bones or DNA or dental work. Sometimes, it's facial recognition.

We do this to find criminals and to exonerate the innocent. We do it to identify people after they've died, so that families have some understanding of what happened. We do it to help prevent human trafficking.

The company launched after 9/11. I'd started my career working for Cellmark Diagnostics; it was one of the first companies that did DNA testing and was known for its work in the O.J. Simpson trial. When 9/11 hit, I was consulting for the National Institute of Justice, and I got called to