In 2013, Edith’s small law enforcement agency was unable to send her to the IACIS BCFE training in Orlando. Her agency needed her to remain in a different unit for her undercover skills and ability to speak Spanish. That did not stop Edith’s desire to pursue work in technology. She persisted with her goal and was able to convince her agency to agree to the time off on the condition that Edith would pay her own way to attend BCFE. Edith applied for the Will Docken Scholarship, which IACIS offers annually to a BCFE attendee employed by a law enforcement agency with no more than two digital forensic examiners. Edith needed the scholarship to cover the tuition, as she was only able to pay for the travel and hotel expenses. She remembers during the application process that she knew obtaining the Will Docken Scholarship was a competitive process and wished there was a scholarship geared towards assisting women in a historically male-dominated field.
Edith did not receive the Will Docken Scholarship that year, but that did not dampen her spirit. In 2014, Edith’s agency agreed to send her to the BCFE course. Since obtaining her CFCE in 2014, Edith’s work in digital forensics excelled to unexpected heights. After 18 years of experience in law enforcement, Edith transitioned to the private sector and received multiple accolades, including Cybersecurity Woman of the Year from the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards. She is currently the Managing Director at Tracepoint, specializing in ransomware investigations. Edith is sponsoring our new Digital Forensics Scholarship for Women in Law Enforcement, which covers the BCFE tuition for a woman (sworn or civilian) employed by a law enforcement agency.
Since recovering from the removal of a brain tumor in 2017 that resulted in the loss of hearing in her left ear, Edith strengthens her right ear with audiobooks that focus on leadership, which helps her in her commitment to mentor others in the DFIR field. Her recovery from brain surgery emphasized the importance of life and family. She finds joy in spending time with her wife and their dog, hiking, cycling, and tending to the lime trees on their property.
