Pettolina has over a decade of experience as a forensic expert. During her career, she has been involved in thousands of cases and has been introduced as an expert witness in numerous trials. She has over 1200 hours of specialized certificate training in forensic classes in a wide array of subjects and is currently certified as a Senior Crime Scene Analyst through the International Association of Identification.

Pettolina is a court qualified as a forensic expert and is a Task Group leader for the OSAC CSI/CSIR Subcommittee. Pettolina has received over 1400 hours of specialized certificate training and is a national educator for TriTech Forensics and owner of Future Focus Forensics.

Implicit bias in the forensic profession, Emotional wellness and the forensic professional, and real-world practitioner-based issues, such as the suitability of latent blood reagents after a wash/dry cycle.

Crime Scene Investigation and Reconstruction/Medicolegal Death Investigations

Century 16 Aurora Theater Shooting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Larimer County Sheriff's Office, Fort Collins, CO, November 2022

Century 16 Aurora Theater Shooting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Arizona International Association of Identification, Gilbert, AZ, October 2022

What exactly did I sign up for? (Workshop), International Association for Identification

Educational Conference, Nashville, TN, August 2021

Century 16 Aurora Theater Shooting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tri-Division Educational Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, November 2019

Keynote Presentation, Northwest Association of Forensic Scientists & Pacific Northwest Division of the International Association of Identification, Portland, OR, August 2019

Century 16 Aurora Theater Shooting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Rocky Mountain Command College, Denver, CO, July 2019

Century 16 Aurora Theater Shooting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Indiana Division of the International Association of Identification Conference, Indianapolis, IN, September 2018

Century 16 Aurora Theater Shooting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Western Division of the International Association of Identification Conference, Las Vegas, NV, April 2018

Century 16 Aurora Theater Shooting with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wisconsin International Association of Identification Annual Conference, Elkhart Lake, WI, March 2018

Crime Scene Management under the Microscope: Techniques for Handling Mass Shooting Events, International Association for Identification Educational Conference, Atlanta, GA, August 2017

Women in Law Enforcement: Understanding the Professional Environment, Colorado Technical University, Colorado Springs, CO, October 2015

2014 – Present Colorado Forensic Investigators Group

2012 – Present International Association of Identification (#27960)

2013 – Present Rocky Mountain Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts

2015 – Present Association for Crime Scene Reconstruction (#987)

Ayers, K., Pettolina, M., and Roberts, M. (2022). Overview of Crime Scene, Evidence Collection, and Crime Scene Documentation. Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences.

Pettolina, M. (2021). Is there a drug problem hiding in your property room? Evidence Technology Magazine, Winter 2021 Issue. Retrieved from https://read.nxtbook.com/wordsmith/evidence_technology/december_2021/cover.html

Pettolina, M. (2020). Product Review: Crime Scene Assistant. Evidence Technology Magazine, Fall 2020 Issue. Retrieved from https://read.nxtbook.com/wordsmith/evidence_technology/october_2020/review_crime_scene_assistant_.html

Pettolina, M. (2020). How to become a less jaded CSI. Evidence Technology Magazine, Summer 2020 Issue. Most read article in publication for 2020. Retrieved from https://read.nxtbook.com/wordsmith/evidence_technology/august_2020/less_jaded_csi.html?fbclid=IwAR0o3UHf024N2lp4m6pxyx4U3cgI6fIScMOnZD1-i84SwNXLbY_vDRnXKdw

Pettolina, M. (2019). Even CSIs are allowed to have feelings. Evidence Technology Magazine, Winter 2019 Issue. Most read article in publication for 2019. Retrieved from https://read.nxtbook.com/wordsmith/evidence_technology/winter_2019/cover.html

Jokerst, D. & Pettolina, M. (2019). NIBIN policy and procedure. Evidence Technology Magazine., Fall 2019 Issue. Retrieved from https://read.nxtbook.com/wordsmith/evidence_technology/fall_2019/index.html

Jokerst, D. & Pettolina, M. (2019). NIBIN policy and procedure. International Association for Property and Evidence, Inc., (2), 52-53. Retrieved from http://iape.org/evidencelog/current/evidencelog_2019no2.pdf

Jokerst, D. & Pettolina, M. (2018). Property and evidence warehouse: Ensuring victims’ rights from the back room. End the backlog. Retrieved from http://www.endthebacklog.org/blog/property-and-evidence-warehouses-ensuring- victims-rights-back-room

Pettolina, M., Rainey, J., & Sanchez, R. (2017). Detection of latent bloodstains under coats of paint using BLUESTAR FORENSIC®. Journal of Forensic Identification, 67(3), 341-353

Dr. Pettolina was recently awarded the 2021 Police Citation of Excellence from Chief Doreen Jokerst at the University of Colorado Boulder for leading the police department to become the first university in the nation to be granted accreditation in Property and Evidence. She has received numerous ribbons and awards for her work on criminal cases