Shena Latcham grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, until she left to attend college at the University of Missouri – Columbia. Shena graduated from MU with a BS in Biology in 2000 and then moved back to Kansas City, where she met her husband Matt. In 2002, the couple moved to Columbia, MO, where Shena attended graduate school at MU and earned her MS in Physiology in 2005. In 2006, Shena was hired as a Criminalist in the DNA Casework Section at the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory located in Jefferson City, MO. Shena continued her role as a DNA Criminalist until 2021, when she was promoted to a Forensic Scientist Supervisor in DNA Casework, where she is still employed today. Throughout Shena’s career as a forensic scientist in DNA, she has acted as a CODIS administrator, a STACS administrator, led multiple validations studies, acted as a DNA trainer for new analysts, provided DNA-specific training for countless law enforcement agencies, lawyers, and SANE nurses, and has testified over 100 times in at least 30 Missouri counties. Although Shena has had many wonderful and rewarding experiences throughout her career, the opportunity to serve the citizens of Missouri by making it a safer place to live is what she has valued most.
