A senior forensic analyst reflects on his experiences and discusses his take on the disparities in STEM

At Springer Nature, we believe that progress begins with inclusion. Diverse perspectives strengthen science, expand opportunities, and help ensure that research benefits the global community it serves. In this installment of our Life in Research series, we speak with a senior forensics analyst who reflects on the barriers many communities continue to face in STEM, and the importance of creating environments where researchers from all backgrounds can contribute fully and thrive.

Laeon Israel is a Senior Forensic Analyst at Charles Schwab in the division of the Schwab Corporation Governing Procedure for Internal Investigations. He is responsible for providing information that will be used for legal prosecution.

When asked about whether his experience in STEM today differs from when he first entered the field, he explains that there needs to be more progression. “In STEM there are still disparities in regards to people of colour, as long as we keep pushing and moving the ball forward, there’ll be change, there will be better days… At Charles Schwab they are doing a lot in regards to diversity and trying to close the gap”. 

This discussion is part of a speaker series hosted by the Black Employee Network at Springer Nature. The series aims to highlight Black contributions to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) a history that has not been widely recognized. It will cover career paths, role models and mentorship, and diversity in STEM.

The extended version of the interview can be found here. 

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About Laeon Israel

Laeon has an in-depth knowledge of troubleshooting and analyzing situations through experience as a Sr. Digital Forensics Investigator, Incident Response Analyst, IT Administrator, Cyberspace Systems Specialist, Information Assurance Officer and Program Manager, which involved extensive customer and vendor support. He learned how to interpret and resolve an enormous amount of technical/personnel problems or incidents.