Facial Identification Training (F.I.T.) Course Catalog
Prerequisites:
*There are no prerequisites for any of the 100 or 200 series courses.
*The 300 and 400 series courses require proof of attendance from one of the 200 series courses or an equivalent.
Contact us at face@idealinnovations.com or 571-480-5000 with questions or for more information.
100 Series Courses
Fit for the Curious Beginner
F.I.T. 102 Overview Course
4-Hour Course
This class will cover a high-level overview of the basic tenets of the Facial Identification Discipline. You will have the opportunity to“test” your skills with a couple of comparisons as well as interact with a skilled instructor to answer questions during the class.
F.I.T. 103 Introductory Course
16-Hour Course
Created to the minimum standard for training requirement for use of a Facial Recognition system. Topics covered at a high level will include history, science & anatomy, morphological features of the face, and comparison methodologies.
200 Series Courses
Fit for the Professional Examiner
F.I.T. 201 Foundational Course
24-Hour Course
This course will provide the participant with a system-agnostic foundation to Facial Examination. Participants will have the opportunity to conduct comparisons; learning key definitions, the stability of facial features,and contributions to facial uniqueness. Challenges within the discipline and agencies/organizations that are influencing the discipline are discussed.
F.I.T. 202 Facial Examination Course
5 or 10 Day Course
Created for a small student to instructor ratio (12:1), this course provides the necessary skills and strategies to apply to extensive comparison exercises with feedback from the instructor as well as full class reviews of comparisons. This course is perfect for Federal, State,local government, or commercial organizations that have facial recognition systems and who are performing facial comparisons.
300 Series Courses
Fit for Those Needing a Refresher
F.I.T. 301 Refresher- Review
16-Hour Course
Participants can expect to further develop their skillset with this general review that offers pertinent information and updates relevant to the Facial Identification practice with a focus on adult-to-adult comparisons.
F.I.T. 302 Refresher- Comparing Juvenile Images
16-Hour Course
This refresher class offers the same standard review as in our 301 – General Review course with an additional concentration on juvenile to juvenile and juvenile to adult comparisons.
F.I.T. 303 Refresher- Population Variations
16-Hour Course
Participants will receive the same key information discussed in our 301 – General Review course while focusing on the differences that are present amongst different populations.
400 Series Courses
Fit for Experts
F.I.T. 401 Expert Witness Testmimony
16-Hour Course
This class is the only one of its kind for facial examination practicioners and is a must for those who may be subpoenaed to testify.
Meet the Instructors
Lora Sims
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Lora Sims is the Director of Face Center of Excellence (FaCE) and a Biometrics SME currently employed by Ideal Innovations, Inc. Involved in the biometrics field since 2007, Lora has advanced through her organization, starting as a helpdesk operator servicing worldwide tactical operations support in tenprint and latent print identification and being promoted to Tenprint Examiner in 2008. Soon thereafter, the system she worked on was upgraded to become a multi-modal system, integrating face and iris modalities to the fingerprint system, and her career evolved into the role of a Sr. Biometric Examiner for the DFSC BOD.
In this position, she co-authored an internal training to competency program on facial identification & comparisons, and is responsible for mentoring and training new employees through the tenprint and facial training program while integrating them into an operational environment. She also further advanced her own qualifications and capabilities by qualifying as a Certified Tenprint Examiner through the International Association for Identification (IAI) in 2013 and was recertified in 2018.
Lora joined the Facial Identification Scientific Working Group (FISWG) in 2011 where she served first on the training subcommittee and then on the One-to-One subcommittee. Lora was the chair of the Facial Identification Scientific Working Group (FISWG) from 2015-2022. Ms. Sims joined the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Sciences in 2014 where she previously served as the chair of the Facial Identification (FI) Subcommittee until Oct 2021 when she then transitioned to chair the Digital Multimedia Scientific Area Committee (DM SAC).
Chelcey Tyre
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Chelcey is a Sr. Facial Examination Trainer for the Face Center of Excellence (FaCE) currently employed by Ideal Innovations, Inc. (I³). Chelcey worked previously as a Sr. Biometric Examiner for the Defense Forensic Science Center (DFSC) Biometrics Operations Division (BOD) supporting the tenprint, face, and iris modalities where she assisted in training new hires through the training to competency program. She became an instructor for the Facial Identification Training classes with I³ in 2019.
Chelcey formerly worked for the Delaware State Police collecting fingerprint, mugshot, and palm print images and training law enforcement recruits in classifications of fingerprints and collecting biometrics. She also worked as a Forensic Fingerprint Examiner verifying AFIS examinations through Delaware/Federal databases. Prior to her work in biometrics and forensics, Chelcey earned her Bachelor of Science from Liberty University in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Criminology; minoring in Psychology.
Chelcey is a current member of the International Association for Identification (IAI) and actively participates in the Facial Identification Scientific Working Group (FISWG) One-to-One and Glossary subcommittees, which focus on standards and guidelines for all things related to comparisons of facial images.
Steve Johnson, CLPE, CFA
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University of Iowa graduate, 20 plus year Law Enforcement career, with the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety and the Davenport (IA) Police Department (DPD). Served in the Patrol and Criminal Investigations Divisions before assignment to the Identification Bureau as an International Association for Identification (IAI) Certified Latent Print Examiner/Forensic Artist and acted as the supervisor of the Identification Bureau, Crime Laboratory and Evidence/Property Unit before and retiring from the DPD in 2005.
After a short tour as a Criminalist with the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Laboratory, began a second career with Ideal Innovations (I3), working in Iraq as a forensics Team Lead for the first Combined Explosives Exploitation Cell (CEXC) laboratory located outside Baghdad, as the Laboratory Manager of the first non-IED forensics laboratory that was sponsored by the Naval Criminal Investigation Services (NCIS) in Fallujah and, eventually leadership as the Examination Service manager at Defense Forensic Science Center (DFSC) Biometrics Operations Division (BOD), as a program manager on a number of forensic support contracts for the DoD and assisted with Quality Assurance/Quality Control support at the BOD.
Steven has also served as the Past Chair/current member of the IAI Forensic Art Certification Board, Past Member/Vice President/President and Chair of the IAI Board of Directors and is currently serving as the Chair of the Forensic Science Standards Boards (FSSB) of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science and the Chair of the IAI Facial Identification subcommittee as well as a member of the Ideal Innovations Advisory Board.
Gerald (JD) Franzman, CTPE
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Gerald (JD) is a Biometric Examiner currently employed by Ideal Innovations Inc. JD received a Bachelors of Forensic and Investigative Science with a Forensic Examiner track concentration from West Virginia University in 2016. In November 2018, he was hired to help support the Defense Forensic Science Center (DFSC) Biometrics Operation Division (BOD) where he compares face, tenprint, and iris modalities.
He supports multiple projects, policy updates, and program testing at the office and provides innovative ideas to help problem solve various issues.
JD actively participates in the Facial Identification Scientific Working Group (FISWG) One-to-One subcommittee where he helps create and edit guidelines for standards and procedures surrounding Facial Examination. He is also a member of the parent body of the International Association for Identification (IAI) in which he has been certified as a Tenprint Examiner.
Raman Sandhu-Kirmer
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Raman Sandhu-Kirmer is currently employed as a senior criminalist at the Mesa Police Department Forensic Laboratory in the biology section where she also serves as the local CODIS administrator (the laboratory’s forensic liaison for the CODIS database run by the FBI). Her work entails performing casework analysis, as well as validations and method modifications for testing new technologies being introduced in the DNA field. Raman assists in formulating and reviewing standard operating procedures and testifying to her findings in the court of law when summoned to do so. She has a master’s degree in forensic science with specialization in investigations from the National University in California. Raman was hired by Ideal Innovations, Inc. as an instructor for the Face Center of Excellence in 2024.
Raman started her career as a Cytogenetic Technologist [licensed through the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP)] at Genzyme Genetics in Santa Fe, NM in 2006, where she worked with products of conception and chorionic villi samples in a diagnostic laboratory. Responsible for culturing, “harvesting”, staining tissue cultures and identifying any abnormal karyotyping results. She also had the good fortune of getting cross-trained in amniotic fluid and blood/bone marrow cultures.
Beginning her forensic career with the Santa Fe Crime Laboratory in 2013, Raman was trained to perform serology (identification of body fluids such as blood, semen, and saliva) and DNA analysis on biological evidence recovered in criminal investigations. With that, also began her experience as an expert witness in the field of forensic biology. She has testified over seventy-two (72) times in various federal, district and magistrate courts and has given presentations and trainings covering subject matter to members of various law enforcement agencies. She also has training and certification in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis.
Raman did a short stint as a senior DNA examiner in human identification with Signature Science, LLC but missed the southwest so much that she came back to wide open skies!
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