Titled “Investigation and Prosecution of Environmental Crimes,” the third installment of USP’s ongoing four-part Forensic Science Lecture Series will bring two prominent forensic specialists to the University community. On Thursday, March 20 at 1:30 p.m. in the McNeil STC AstraZeneca Auditorium, USP welcomes Joseph Lisa, Esq. of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) criminal enforcement council and James Lorah, EPA special agent for criminal investigation.
In addition to his role at the EPA, Lisa is a special assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Pennsylvania. He graduated from the George Washington University Law Center with a Juris Doctor degree in 1992, and received a Master’s of Law degree in environmental law in 1994. He holds bar memberships in N.J., Pa., and Washington D.C. From 1994 to 1997, he practiced various aspects of environmental law for private firms and then joined the EPA in 1997. His current work as regional criminal enforcement council includes the investigation and prosecution by the U.S. EPA of environmental crimes, specifically violations of federal environmental law that warrant the imposition of criminal penalties.
As a special agent with the EPA’s criminal investigation division, Lorah has worked on several high-profile cases. He is a member of the agency’s environmental emergency response team, and has been actively involved in the agency’s investigations and clean-up work in the wake of 9/11. He has also worked in connection with the anthrax scare in Washington D.C. and in force protection for the EPA on-scene coordinators after hurricane Katrina.
Also, be sure not to miss the final forensic science presentation this season on Thursday, April 17, in Griffith Hall C. Speaking will be Dr. Gary Collins, assistant medical examiner for the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office. The seminar will begin at 1:30 p.m.
Click here for information on USP’s forensic science program