Meet the staff supporting the NamUs program. To get in touch with NamUs, please fill our contact form.
Dustin Driscoll
Analytical Specialist
Dustin Driscoll joined NamUs in 2011. Prior to joining NamUs, he has worked as an analyst for eight years at multiple organizations, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Mr. Driscoll holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology.
Jessica Hager
Analytical Specialist
Jessica Hager joined NamUs in 2015. Ms. Hager previously worked for eight years as an analyst; six years as a Senior Analyst with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and two years as a Criminal Information Analyst at the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ms. Hager holds a Bachelor of Psychology Degree and a Master of Arts degree in Forensic Psychology.
Brian Nisbet
Law Enforcement Specialist
Brian Nisbet joined NamUs in 2022. He has more than 32 years of law enforcement experience, achieving the rank of Detective Sergeant with the New York State Park Police, focusing on criminal investigation, missing persons and unidentified human remains cases, before ultimately joining the NamUs team.
Allison O’Neal
Medicolegal Death Investigation Specialist
Allison O’Neal joined the NamUs team in 2018. Prior to joining NamUs, Ms. O’Neal had over 18 years of experience working in the field of medicolegal death investigation, including her time serving Orange County, California under the Sheriff’s Department as a Senior Deputy Coroner, Supervising Deputy Coroner, and Unidentified Deceased Team Coordinator. She holds a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with an emphasis in American Politics and minor in Criminal Justice.
Joe Welsch
Law Enforcement Specialist, Cold Case Advisory Team Lead
Joe Welsch joined the NamUs team in 2022. Prior to NamUs, Joe has 32 years of law experience working with Sauk County and the Wisconsin Department of Justice-Division of Criminal Investigation, focusing on homicides, missing persons, unidentified human remains, and officer-involved incidents.
Lori Bruski
DNA Specialist
Lori Bruski joined the NamUs team in 2011 and began aiding vested communities with missing and unidentified person cases. Ms. Bruski oversees database quality and operating procedures. She also collaborates with system developers to enhance database functionality and provide data extraction and visualization for research and metric reporting. Before joining NamUs, Ms. Bruski was employed with the Michigan State Police for 10 years and was trained in firearms, crime scene response, bloodstain pattern interpretation, serological examinations, and DNA analysis for CODIS entry. She holds a Master of Science in Forensic Sciences and a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology and Anthropology.
Jessica Hager
Regional System Administrators Team Lead
Jessica Hager joined NamUs in 2015. Ms. Hager previously worked for eight years as an analyst; six years as a Senior Analyst with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and two years as a Criminal Information Analyst at the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ms. Hager holds Master of Arts degree in Forensic Psychology and a Bachelor of Psychology degree.
Melissa Pope
Regional System Administrator - NamUs East
Melissa Pope joined the NamUs team in 2022. Ms. Pope spent eight years as an autopsy technician, death investigator, and investigations supervisor for various Florida Medical Examiner’s Offices and she also served as the cold case program manager at the Florida Institute for Forensic Anthropology and Applied Science (IFAAS) at the University of South Florida (USF). Ms. Pope holds a Master of Arts degree in Applied Biological Anthropology. She is D-ABMDI certified and maintains a parttime death investigator position at the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Jaclynn McKay
Regional System Administrator - NamUs East
Jaclynn McKay joined NamUs in 2022. She previously worked for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division as a Special Agent in the Crime Scene Department and a Serologist in the DNA Casework Department. Ms. McKay is a Certified Crime Scene Analyst through the International Association for Identification and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Forensic Science and a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice.
Shelby Sjurseth
Regional System Administrator - NamUs Central
Shelby Sjurseth joined NamUs in 2023. Prior to joining NamUs, she worked at a medical examiner's office as a forensic autopsy technician and as a crime analyst at a law enforcement agency in Virginia. Ms. Sjurseth holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Forensic and Investigative Studies and Biology and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Crime Analysis.
Jessica Ruiz
Regional System Administrator - NamUs Central
Jessica Ruiz joined NamUs in 2019 where she worked as an Associate Regional Program Specialist, Regional Program Specialist, and Regional System Administrator. Prior to joining NamUs, she worked for ten years in the social services field, including advocacy positions supporting behavioral health and housing programs for underserved populations. Ms. Ruiz holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice.
Justin Endicott
Regional System Administrator - NamUs West
Justin Endicott joined NamUs in 2019 where he has worked as an Associate Regional Program Specialist, Regional Program Specialist, and Regional System Administrator. Prior to joining NamUs, he worked as an Executive Team Leader – Assets Protection for Target in Fort Worth, TX. Mr. Endicott holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Technical Communication.
Mia Handlogten
Regional System Administrator - NamUs West
Mia Handlogten joined the NamUs program in 2023. Prior to joining NamUs, Ms. Handlogten served as an intern for several law enforcement entities, including the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Criminology and Psychology.
Cornelia Perry
Tribal Liaison
Cornelia Perry joined the NamUs team in 2022. Prior to joining NamUs, Ms. Perry worked as a criminal investigator for the Navajo Nation for 14 years. While working as a criminal investigator, Ms. Perry served as a coroner for the Navajo Nation and has been an active NamUs user since 2008.
Micaela Ascolese
Associate Forensic Services Project Manager
Micaela Ascolese joined the NamUs team in 2022 as the Associate Forensic Services Project Manager. Ms. Ascolese has previous experience working on the Census of Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices (CMEC), a medicolegal death investigation data exchange working group, and other forensic science research initiatives. She also has prior experience as a Graduate Intern for the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner – Eastern Office. Ms. Ascolese holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Criminal Justice and Anthropology and a Master of Science degree in Forensic Science.
Lori Bruski
System and Process Program Manager
Lori Bruski joined the NamUs team in 2011 and began aiding vested communities with missing and unidentified person cases. Ms. Bruski oversees database quality and operating procedures. She also collaborates with system developers to enhance database functionality and provide data extraction and visualization for research and metric reporting. Before joining NamUs, Ms. Bruski was employed with the Michigan State Police for 10 years and was trained in firearms, crime scene response, bloodstain pattern interpretation, serological examinations, and DNA analysis for CODIS entry. She holds a Master of Science in Forensic Sciences and a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology and Anthropology.
Nicole Jones
Quality Assurance Program Manager
Nicole Jones is the Director of the Investigative Sciences Program at RTI International and is the Quality Assurance Project Manager for the NamUs program. She has more than 25 years of experience in quality management, including 10 years working with the National Laboratory Certification Program. Ms. Jones has worked with the CDC and NAME to update the recommendations for investigating, diagnosing, and certifying drug related deaths. In addition, Ms. Jones has worked with experts to develop training for ME/C certified by the American Medical Association and MDIs certified by the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigation. Prior to joining RTI, Ms. Jones was the Quality Assurance Manager at two large multisite ISO accredited laboratories. Ms. Jones is a member of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence ad hoc committee on Artificial Intelligence, the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Working Group and on the Interpol research review committee.
Heather McKiernan
Forensic Services Program Manager
Dr. Heather McKiernan is the Senior Manager of Forensics at RTI International and serves as the Forensic Services Program Manager for NamUs. Dr. McKiernan has served in the forensic DNA community for over 17 years with experience as a practitioner, academic, and executive leader. She has served as a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), member of the International Society of Forensic Genetics (ISFG), and Vidocq cold case investigation unit. She has served as a guest editor for Forensic Science International: Genetics, co-chair of the 2022 ISFG Congress, as a member of the OSAC Biological Data and Reporting Subcommittee, committee member for the National Academy of Sciences, and past president of the Council of Forensic Science Educators (COFSE).
Tyler Raible
Marketing and Communications Program Manager
Tyler Raible is a Senior Communication Analyst at RTI International and serves as the Marketing and Communications Program Manager for NamUs. During his time at RTI, his work has revolved around outreach and dissemination efforts for forensic science-based government contracts, including NIJ’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence and BJA’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. Mr. Raible has a Master of Arts degree in Communication and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations.
Donia Slack
Executive Program Manager
Dr. Donia Slack is the Account Executive for Justice at RTI International. She maintains Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and has over 19 years of experience in the forensic DNA community, directing and overseeing programs pertaining to genomic analyses of human, plant, and microbial DNA. Dr. Slack currently serves as the Executive Program Manager of the National Missing and Unidentified Missing Persons System (NamUs) and oversees program offerings, including critical investigation support and free forensic services to facilitate the resolution of missing and unidentified persons cases nationwide.