The College of Arts & Media (CAM) is pleased to share that our National Center for Media Forensics (NCMF) graduate program has representation in the new leadership of the Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE). SWGDE is a national organization that develops standards for digital evidence forensic analysis. Brandon Epstein ’20 was elected as Chair and Jesus Valenzuela, who is expected to graduate fall 2022, was elected to the Vice Chair position.

“These elections are a clear indication that the NCMF is attracting dedicated students and producing alumni who will propel the field of digital and multimedia evidence forward,” Leah Haloin, Assistant Director of the National Center for Media Forensics, says.

Epstein and Valenzuela attended the NCMF graduate program at CU Denver. Epstein says as a professional working in the field of forensics, he often looked to the SWGDE for best practices. “Originally starting out in a one-person lab, I relied heavily on the SWGDE documents as a resource in my work,” Epstein says. It was also through the organization that Epstein learned of CU Denver’s program, as Dr. Catalin Grigors, director of the NCMF, also serves on the leadership team of SWGDE.

As a Standards Setting Organization (SSO), the SWGDE serves 80 member organizations by disseminating information crucial to the defense of our local and national security. SWGDE’s member organizations include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, several local law enforcement offices in a multitude of states, Denver District Attorney's Office, and Walmart.