04/25/2026
BGA Spotlight-Angela Fern Nelson
Angela Fern Nelson is the Forensic Scientist Lab Supervisor for the Salt Lake City Police Department Crime Lab, an ANAB ISO/IEC 17020-accredited laboratory. Since 2021, she has supervised latent print and fi****ms examiners while remaining actively engaged in forensic testing, evidence processing, crime scene reconstruction, and training. She is a member of the Utah Child Abduction Response Team (CART), a U.S. Department of Justice-certified rapid response team deployed to assist law enforcement agencies statewide in the recovery of abducted or endangered missing children. As a CART member, she collaborates with investigators, forensic experts, analysts, and victim advocates to provide a multidisciplinary approach to child abduction investigations. In addition to her full-time role, Mrs. Nelson is an Adjunct Professor at Utah Valley University, where she teaches forensic science and mentors students pursuing careers in the field.
Mrs. Nelson began her career in 2002 as a Victim/Witness Advocate for the Weber County Attorney’s Office, serving as a liaison between crime victims and prosecutors. She later worked as a legal assistant and paralegal for a private law firm specializing in defense and family law. These foundational roles cultivated her understanding of the legal process. They supported her transition into forensic science as a Crime Scene Investigator II with the Weber Metro Crime Scene Unit, where she provided forensic support across multiple jurisdictions and worked a wide range of cases, including death investigations and violent crimes.
Mrs. Nelson then served as a Latent Print Examiner in a deployed environment at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, where she worked in a forensic exploitation laboratory in direct support of U.S. Marine Corps operations. In this role, she processed post-blast materials and improvised explosive device (IED) components recovered from the field, including explosives, pressure plates, weapons, and other associated evidence. Upon returning to the United States, she worked as a forensic serologist with Sorenson Forensics, where she contributed to nationwide efforts to address the sexual assault kit backlog. In this role, she conducted serological screening and DNA extraction from sexual assault cases submitted by agencies across the country.
Before her current role, Mrs. Nelson worked as a Forensic Investigator II with the West Valley Police Department Forensic Unit, where she responded to and processed major crime scenes, including homicides, robberies, and sexual assaults. Her work over the years has encompassed complex investigations, high-profile crime scenes, and courtroom testimony.
Mrs. Nelson holds a Master of Science in Pharmacy with a concentration in Forensic Science from the University of Florida and a Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science from Weber State University. She is a Certified Latent Print Examiner (CLPE) and a Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst (CSCSA) through the International Association for Identification (IAI), where she served on the Crime Scene Certification Board from 2019 to 2022. She currently serves as Undersecretary for the Utah Chapter of the IAI. She is a member of the Association for Crime Scene Reconstruction (ACSR), the IAI, and the Utah Chapter of the IAI, and actively presents at forensic training events, including the Utah IAI, the citizens’ academy, and law enforcement agencies.
Mrs. Nelson remains deeply committed to advancing forensic science through mentorship, interagency collaboration, and professional training.
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