Organizing Committee
The organizers of FDE Linked, Niko, Carolyne, and Sam, saw an opportunity to take advantage of recent trends of virtual events making world-wide cooperation and participation easier. Our mission is to provide an excellent, free, professional development opportunity for FDEs at all levels, and regardless of location.
Nikolaos (Niko) Kalantzis has a BSc in Physics, a PgD in Forensic Science & an MSc in Questioned Documents and a he holds a diploma in Questioned Documents (FSSocDip) from the Chartered Society of Forensic Science of which he is a Professional Member and an Assessor. He works both for the courts of Athens and Piraeus and handles private cases as an examiner and manager of Chartoularios Institute, an associate member of the European Network of Forensic Handwriting Experts (ENFHEX – part of ENFSI). Niko was elected in the Steering Committee of ENFHEX (R&D Liaison) in September 2019 & reelected in 2022.
Niko served as Visiting Research Fellow from 2008 to 2018 and since 2018 he is a researcher with Staffordshire University, participating in experiments and research projects as well as delivering lectures at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The main area of research for the last years is Digitally Captured Signatures (biometric signatures) and he has been delivering workshops and short courses to Universities, Companies and Government Institutions on Handwriting Authentication, Document Examination and D.C.S. Analysis throughout the world.
Carolyne Bird holds the degrees of Bachelor of Technology (Forensic and Analytical Chemistry), and Bachelor of Science (Honours), and a Doctor of Philosophy from La Trobe University. Her research focussed on investigating forensic handwriting examiners’ skill in detecting unnatural handwriting processes. She commenced training in forensic document examination at Forensic Science South Australia in 2002, where she is still employed, now in the position of Science Leader – Document Examination. Carolyne is a member, past President (2018-2021) and current (2021-2023) Vice President of the Australasian Society of Forensic Document Examiners, Inc., an associate member of the European Document Experts Working Group and the European Network of Forensic Handwriting Experts, and a corresponding member of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners.
Carolyne has been involved in several Australian and international working groups and committees.
Samiah Ibrahim has worked as a forensic document examiner and manager for over 28 years with various departments of the Canadian Federal Government, and now in a private consultancy role. In this role, she has worked for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), developing proficiency testing schemes for examiners of security documents. Moreover, she has participated as an expert consultant in the development of a training program for forensic document examination (FDE) capacity in the Palestinian Civil Authority (PCA). Samiah worked extensively in the West Bank as a trainer and resource to the PCA and the UNODC, and most recently as a forensic consultant for the International Criminal Court.
Samiah is the current President of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners, and a member of the Canadian Society of Forensic Sciences, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (Questioned Documents Section), and the United Kingdom’s Chartered Society of Forensic Scientists. She has presented worldwide on various topics in FDE, including for the Lebanese University, Kentucky State University, at ICAO, and at INTERPOL, where she is currently a member of the Organizing Committee for the INTEPOL International Forensic Science Managers’ Symposium.