Governor Abbott appoints five to Texas Forensic Science Commission, including Brazos County District Attorney

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) -Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Erika Ziemak and reappointed Jeffrey Barnard, M.D., Mark Daniel, Sarah Kerrigan, Ph.D., and Jarvis Parsons to the Texas Forensic Science Commission for terms set to expire on September 1, 2025.

The Commission provides oversight over Texas crime laboratories and other entities conducting forensic analyses for use in criminal proceedings and provides an accreditation mandate responsible for establishing procedures, policies, and practices to improve the quality of forensic analyses conducted in Texas.

Erika Ziemak of Aledo is the director of special projects at the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification. She is a member of the American Society for Quality, American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, and Association of Forensic DNA Analysts and Administrators. She is secretary of the Texas Association for Crime Laboratory Directors, advocacy and outreach committee chair of the Association of Forensic Quality Assurance Managers, and human forensic biology subcommittee member of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees. Ziemak received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Clarkson University and a Master of Science in Forensic Biology from Pace University.

Jeffrey Barnard, M.D. of Dallas is director of the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Science, chief medical examiner of Dallas County, and a professor of pathology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He served as chairman of the Rapport Society at Texas A&M University and is a member of the National Association of Medical Examiners and the Southwest Transplant Alliance. Barnard received a Bachelor of Science in Medicine from Texas A&M University and a Doctor of Medicine from Texas A&M College of Medicine.

Mark Daniel of Fort Worth is an attorney at the Law Office of Mark G. Daniel. He previously served as assistant district attorney for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office. He is a member and former president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, member of the Tarrant County Bar Association, and the Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Daniel received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor from St. Mary’s University School of Law.

Sarah Kerrigan, Ph.D. of The Woodlands is the director of the Institute for Forensic Research, Training, and Innovation at Sam Houston State University. Previously, she served as bureau chief of toxicology for the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory Division in Albuquerque. She is an appointee to the National Institute of Standards and Technology Forensic Science Standards Board, past chair of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Toxicology Section, and former president of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists. Kerrigan received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Toxicology from the University of Hull in the United Kingdom and a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Jarvis Parsons of Bryan is the Brazos County District Attorney. Previously, he served as chief prosecutor of the 272nd District Court and as a faculty advisor and presenter for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. He is a board member of Scotty’s House Brazos Valley Child Advocacy Center, the Governor’s Sexual Assault Survivors’ Task Force, and Sexual Assault Resource Center and member of the College Station Noon Lions Club. Parsons received a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications from McNeese State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Maine School of Law.