General chit chat with fellow eaminers. No moderator.

Dr. Linthini Gannetion

Enhancing Forensic Document Examination Using Video Spectral Comparator (VSC)

Dr. Linthini Gannetion is currently the Managing Director and Forensic Document Examiner at SD Forensic Document Services, Malaysia's first woman-led private laboratory equipped with a Video Spectral Comparator. She holds a PhD in Forensic Document Examination from Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Foster Freeman Representative — Nathan Cole

Document Examination on the Go: VSC® NOMAX

Kathie Koppenhaver

Katherine M. Koppenhaver is a Certified Questioned Document Examiner and Diplomate with an international clientele having worked for over 40 years as a document examiner. She is currently working on cases from Jamaica and Trinidad. She has published numerous books and articles regarding document examination.

August Meyer

August Meyer earned associate's degrees in Criminal Justice and Intelligence Operations and a bachelor's degree in Psychology. Meyer has been a qualified examiner since 2014 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri.

General chit chat with fellow eaminers. No moderator.

Celeste Makoff

Deep Metadata in PDFs: Hidden Digital Fingerprints — What Forensic Document Examiners Need to Know About Metadata

Celeste Makoff - works at the intersection of technology and law, specializing in digital forensics, e-discovery, and document authentication. As a Forensic Deep Metadata specialist, she analyzes complex digital records, recovers hidden information, and presents findings that withstand legal and investigative scrutiny. Her work traces the "life story" of a document—revealing how, when, and by whom it was created, modified, or transmitted. This includes examining metadata, version histories, embedded material, and underlying database structures that remain invisible in standard review. Her forensic practice emphasizes clarity, reproducibility, and methodological rigor, transforming obscure digital traces into reliable, actionable evidence.

Ms. Makoff has developed specialized tools for forensic analysis of documents across dozens of file types, with an emphasis in PDFs—the most commonly manipulated digital document format. Her proprietary technology analyzes thousands of pages for subtle digital manipulation, and she currently provides advanced digital document analysis services to Questioned Document Examiners. She graduated from New York University with highest honors, ranking in the top one percent of her class. She also serves as a private coach for practitioners in deep metadata analysis and Python and machine learning-assisted document forensics.

Celeste Makoff

Celeste Makoff

Celeste Makoff

General chit chat with fellow eaminers. No moderator.

Matthew Swan, MD, FAAN

Associate Professor of Neurology – Discussing How Neurological Disorders Affect Handwriting

Dr. Swan s an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in the division of movement disorders. He specializes in the treatment of neurological conditions causing impaired coordination and motor control, including Parkinson disease, tremor, dystonia, and cerebellar ataxia. He has extensive roles in medical education, serving as the course director of the medical school's neurology clerkship, a required clinical neurology course for all medical students. He is a core faculty member in the Mount Sinai West neurology residency, and associate program director in the movement disorders fellowship. In addition, he is actively involved in clinical trials, serving as site principal investigator for numerous trials in Parkinson disease, essential tremor, and dystonia. He has spoken in numerous regional, national and international venues, including the American Academy of Neurology and the International Association of Parkinsonism and Related Disorders.

Peter Johnson

Co-founder of Paradigm, Inc. and Integrated Government Solutions (IGS)

Peter Johnson is co-founder of Paradigm, Inc. and Integrated Government Solutions (IGS). He has a 35-year career devoted to pioneering secure credentialing, records management, and modernization of academic and government services. A University of Virginia graduate in Language and Literature, he holds four patents and has built a reputation for combining operational insight, innovation, and careful observation to solve complex real-world problems.

Through Paradigm, he helped modernize the way academic institutions issue and manage credentials, expanding from traditional printed diplomas and certificates into secure digital credentials, automated transcript services, and apostille processing. Through Integrated Government Solutions, he has focused on improving public-sector efficiency through secure, scalable digital platforms for credentialing, records, and government transactions.

Across more than three decades in business, Johnson has participated in, observed, or sat through well over one hundred depositions and related legal proceedings, giving him unusual practical exposure to how evidence, testimony, and decision-making function in contested matters. In his current COO- Emeritus chapter, he has turned that experience toward the study of forensic document examination, which he expects to complete this year. He also has extensive training in interviewing and interrogation, forensic statement analysis, and deception detection, and plans to begin a master's program in forensic linguistics in 2027. His work reflects a strong interest in jury strategy, human behavior, and the practical courtroom use of forensic evidence.

Brian Gormley

Attorney at Law
Specialized Legal Perspectives in Forensic and Estate Litigation

Brian Gormley has a dynamic transactional practice with tremendous experience representing clients at all parts of the continuum. Having worked with large institutions in the structured finance and capital markets world, developers, nonprofits and lenders in the multifamily housing market, and individual distressed homeowners and estates, he is familiar with all levels of clients and their associated needs. He has extensive real estate experience, representing clients in multifamily housing transactions, DC TOPA cases (Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act), foreclosure defense and short sales, and as a title attorney and a real estate broker. He also has an active probate and estate planning practice, and is always looking to push the envelope to develop creative and innovative solutions to client's unique and ever-changing needs. He has worked on and closed transactions totaling literally billions of dollars. He also has developed a unique niche of estate litigation, protecting heirs who have not received their inheritance as a result of improper decisions of fiduciaries and others. Caveating wills and challenging trusts as a result of forgery, incapacity and even outright theft are hallmarks of this practice area, frequently with millions of dollars on the line. That said, no client is too small. He enjoys taking the time to listen to individual concerns, and structure deals or negotiations accordingly. Attention to detail is a hallmark of a competent attorney, but the ability to transition to bigger picture analysis and generate solutions to practical constraints is what sets him apart.

Brian Gormley