Reta Newman

Reta Newman is the Director of the Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory in Largo, Florida. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Missouri State University. She has been a forensic chemist since 1989 and has specialized in fire debris analysis since 1991. She is a principal instructor for the NCFS-ATF Basic and Advanced Fire Debris Analysis courses that are provided annually to train forensic analysts in the complex analysis of fire debris. She is an author of the widely distributed GC-MS...See more

Reta Newman is the Director of the Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory in Largo, Florida. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Missouri State University. She has been a forensic chemist since 1989 and has specialized in fire debris analysis since 1991. She is a principal instructor for the NCFS-ATF Basic and Advanced Fire Debris Analysis courses that are provided annually to train forensic analysts in the complex analysis of fire debris. She is an author of the widely distributed GC-MS Guide to Ignitable Liquids and has authored several other book chapters and analytical papers in the area of fire debris analysis. Ms. Newman is also very active in the quality assurance aspects of forensic sciences. She has taught workshops on QA/QC as it pertains to fire debris analysis and laboratory management. She is a legacy inspector for the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) and an assessor for the ASCLD/LAB International ISO 17025 program. She has served on committees to develop a comprehensive validation program for forensic fire debris analysis and is a previous Committee Chair of Fire Laboratory Standards and Protocols Committee of the Scientific Working Group on Fire and Explosives (SWGFEX). She has also served on an ASTM working groups for the revisions of the ASTM Fire Debris Standards. Ms. Newman is very active in the forensic science community. She is certified with Fellows in both Fire Debris Analysis and Drug Analysis by the American Board of Criminalistics (ABC). She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) and holds memberships with the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD), Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists (MAFS), the Southern Association of Forensic Scientists (SAFS), the Association of Forensic Quality Assurance Manager (AFQAM), and ASTM International. She is currently the Exam Committee Chair of the American Board of Criminalistics. See less