Winners announced for 2017 Women in Biometrics Awards
Annual program honors five individuals for their contributions to biometrics and security
24 October, 2017
category: Biometrics
Five deserving individuals will be honored as the Women in Biometrics Awards winners for 2017. The presentations will be made during SIA Honors Night ceremony in New York City on Nov. 15.
“The 2017 class of Women in Biometrics awardees includes leaders from state and federal government as well as association, academic and private sectors. It is a diverse group, but more importantly, the diversity of their contributions is equally great,” says Chris Corum, editor and publisher, SecureIDNews.
“Biometrics are a crucial element of security, and the major contributions of our nominees and winners are crucial to the continued advancement of the industry. SIA is proud to present this unique recognition program,” says SIA CEO Don Erickson.
2017 Women in Biometrics Award winners
Women in Biometrics annually recognizes the efforts of female leaders helping drive the biometric identity and security industry. Selected from a global pool of more 100 nominations, the five winners and members of the 2017 class of honorees include:
Kimberly Del Greco, Deputy Assistant Director, Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division, FBI
For nearly two decades, Del Greco has been helping to implement and shape the use of biometric technology within the FBI. Currently, she serves as the deputy assistant director of the FBI CJIS Division’s Information Services Branch. She administers the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the Biometric Services Section and the Information Technology Management Section, providing services and IT support to fingerprint identification, facial recognition, criminal history records, firearm background checks and other critical operational functions of the CJIS Division.
Isabelle Moeller, Chief Executive, Biometrics Institute
In 2002, Moeller joined the Biometrics Institute, an organization dedicated to the promotion of the responsible use of biometrics by government and industry. First as the organization’s general manager and now as its chief executive, she runs the international operation from London, helping to shape policy and efforts for the 200-plus members organizations from 26 countries.
Liane Moriyama, Administrator, Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center
Moriyama was part of the team that brought the first Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to Hawaii in 1990. Since then, she has driven biometric use across the state as the administrator of the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center under the Department of the Attorney General. During her tenure, she has overseen the rollout of biometrics in the statewide AFIS, criminal history information system, photo database and Sex Offender Registry. Her efforts have stretched beyond her home state as she has helped leaders in other states implementing robust biometric programs for law enforcement.
Stephanie Schuckers, Paynter-Krigman Endowed Professor in Engineering Science, Clarkson University
For more than a decade, Dr. Schuckers has been a leading biometric researcher, teacher and entrepreneur. At New York’s Clarkson University, Schuckers serves as the Paynter-Krigman Endowed Professor in Engineering Science. She has been instrumental in educating the next generation of biometric scientists. Her research has been instrumental in advancing biometric concepts such as liveness detection, and this advancement has not been confined to the academic arena. She founded, and served as CEO of, NexID Biometrics, a university start-up for fingerprint liveness detection, which was sold to Precise Biometrics in 2017.
Frances Zelazny, Vice President, BioCatch
For more than 20 years, Zelazny has championed the use of biometrics as a marketing leader for key industry companies. In the early days of facial recognition, she led marketing efforts at Visionics, which later became L-1 Identity Solutions and was acquired by Morpho. In that role, she worked to bring global recognition to the fledgling modality. Today, as vice president of marketing for BioCatch, she is working to define messaging for another rapidly emerging area, behavioral biometrics. During the past two decades, she has actively contributed beyond her corporate roles, helping shape state and federal legislation, working with trade associations and NGOs on policy and position papers, and serving as a positive industry voice for the media’s coverage of biometrics.
The Women in Biometrics Awards will be presented in New York City on Nov. 15, 2017 during the prestigious SIA Honors Night celebration hosted by SIA. In addition, a series of other important awards will be made honoring leaders from various facets of the security industry. Visit the SIA Honors Night webpage to register for the gala celebration.