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The role of a forensic expert includes Functioning objectively in the complex world of criminal or civil litigation. Learning trial procedure and the rules of evidence are central to the ACFEI's Certified Forensic Consultant (CFC) program. As a new CFC designate,

When I attended the ACFEI's Certified Forensic Consultant (CFC) course in Dallas last June, there were slim odds that my life perspective would forever change based on who I sat beside for those two days. I hadn't even considered the possibility until I discovered more about the quiet (but loud), frail (but strong), and shy (but feisty) lady I found sitting to my left against the wall in the front row. Her name is Dr. Julia Mayo-Johnston. She is a woman of profound contrasts with whom few could have the slightest conversation without being deeply challenged. She describes herself as "an introvert that people mistake for an extrovert" and a "mole, or double-agent, constantly crossing between two worlds" to accomplish her purpose. She is 81 years old and going strong with her newly acquired CFC designation!

We hardly spoke for the first day of class as we savored the excellent teaching by Dr. Marc Rabinoff. I poured water for her several times because I couldn't imagine her lifting the heavy pitcher of ice water by herself. At age 52 myself, I guessed she was somewhat older than me, but I couldn't figure by how much. Her African-American skin was smooth, and she had long, straight, black hair. She carried a cane. I didn't pay her much attention until I overheard her telling our instructor during break that she was a practicing psychologist at age 81! Soon I was asking her questions and realized I'd be writing something about her. She took exception, however, with my view that this is an article about her. She claims it is more about me and those of you reading this now. Perhaps. She also took exception with my first and last interview questions, which, curiously, were about pinning down the start of her career and her retirement. These are not surprising responses at all once you get inside this unique woman's head. She will not talk about a beginning to her counseling career because it is what she has always done in some manner before she knew a label for it. She will not answer a question about retirement because she believes the word should never be used. She says, "I believe I should be productive until the day I die."

Raised in Philadelphia, Julie (as she often refers to herself) spent much of her childhood observing animals and comparing their behaviors and relationships to humans. During a recent phone interview, she told me, "As a child I always wanted to be Dr. Doolittle. Animals have a purpose and a function. Many human beings are predators for the wrong reason and do bad things. Everything about life and people you can find out from animals. I wanted to be Dr. Doolittle and talk to the animals. And in that, by observing the difference between people and animals, is how I became interested in social psychology ... in learning about how people can co-exist. I was born with a curiosity about how animals can co-exist so well and people cannot." That is the first pair of worlds that Julie learned to cross between as a problem-solving mole.

Her second pair became the racially divided worlds she grew up in. "I was a black woman living in Wilmington, Delaware in the 1950s. I've been black all my life," she says with a chuckle. "But I was married to a white man. Blue eyes, blonde hair. He also trained as a psychologist under the GI Bill. I have two Jewish grandchildren and one Catholic grandchild. We were moles for each other, and I observed and learned. I learned how power works good and bad. My husband is a Republican and I'm a Democrat. He brought home to me the stories about how it worked in his company to let the first black person into management. There were movies that we couldn't both go and see together, so we would each go to what we could and share about it with the other. We were honest and didn't let things bother us, and we helped each other understand and get by."

Julie earned her Ph.D in Clinical Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania in 1958. After receiving her bachelor's degree from the same institution in 1947, she earned her M.S. in Social Research from Bryn Mawr College in 1949. She has been involved with clinical work since World War II and has counseled across three generations of some of her clients' families, many of whom are biracial, bicultural, and bipolar! Today, when not in court offering expert testimony, she provides certified life coaching services, including help for burned-out executives and retirees in need of new purpose and direction.

"The solution to life is observing where people have problems and then helping them solve those problems. Everyone comes to a point in life where they have the chance to figure out why they've been doing what they've been doing and discover what they were meant to be doing. That's what counseling is. Helping people connect with their biological imperative," she points out as she postures to challenge the classical religious framework of the seven cardinal sins. "Many people think there are seven sins. But there are not seven sins in the world, there are only two: the sin of commission and the sin of omission. Commission is a sin of misinformation or telling people the wrong thing. The sin of omission is that of failing to tell them what they need to know. This has become a thread throughout my life." It is one that clearly leads to her views on forensic authenticity.

"How did I survive to be 80 years old?" she asked me rhetorically. "I have concentrated on the facts and the rules. My job is not about me. It's about the facts and the rules and getting in touch with what is being said that needs to be corrected, or what isn't being said that needs to be told to some one. Finding the sins of commission and omission and being different enough to counter them." She advises, "You can stay professionally clean by sticking with the facts, the truth, and not letting yourself make mistakes. Concentrate on being fair and objective. It's all about what is right and fair!"

When asked about her forensic experience, Julie draws from many stories of expert testimony provided in criminal cases against child abuse offenders and civil cases supporting the rights of damaged clients. Why, then, is she seeking a CFC designation at this point of her longstanding career? "Because you need the credentials today to show that you've earned the right to be there," she says emphatically. "You can know how to drive a car, but you'll have many problems if you don't have a driver's license. We all need the right credentials in the forensic profession. That's what the CFC course gave me." Dr. Rabinoff, CFC course author and instructor, writes, "The complexities of today's legal system demand that attorneys seek out forensic experts as part of the research process," and the goal in achieving this ACFEI designation is to master the key elements of the litigation process in order to team with an attorney to successfully argue a civil or criminal case (Rabinoff & Holmes, 1996). Julie reminded me during the interview of the unique illustration used by Dr. Rabinoff to get the class thinking about accuracy and the truth. Many times the obvious is settled for and the hard-to-find nuances are overlooked. Her challenge to each of us is to look for the hard-to-find truth and bring it forward to make our case and authentically serve our clients. But her challenge goes beyond that. Her challenge to me, and to you reading this now, is to figure out why you are different and capitalize on it. "The important questions are who, what, when, where, and why? Why comes last." She suggests it takes many of us well past age 40 to add the answers to "why" on top of the "who, what, when, and where." But when we do, her supreme challenge is to make it a life message by not only observing it and doing it--whatever "it" is for each of us--but also teaching it. She preaches again and again, "See one, do one, teach one. Pass the baton."

With a career spanning a full half century, Julie talks of cyclical patterns in the world and troubling trends that are in front of us today. "Kids don't know how to do anything without the computer anymore. Conversation has been reduced to phone text abbreviations. We've lost the art of doing things by hand

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... fresh every day ... chopping wood ... hauling water. We've lost the art of the handwritten note." Since meeting Julie, I've received two handwritten notes from her in the U.S. mail (and, yes, some emails, too!). But ! have at least once avoided e-mail to write a handwritten note back to her as well.

In the novel The Horse Whisperer, the character Tom Booker was regarded as having a voice that would calm horses and a touch that could heal broken spirits. He proved to have this ability with animals and humans (Evans, 2005). The real-life horse whisperer, Monty Roberts, developed the art of listening to horses in order to affect change in them and the humans around him (Roberts, 1999). The National Geographic Channel's star of Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, has a reputation for achieving balance between people and dogs. If you've seen even one episode of his show, you realize that his impact on canine behavior comes chiefly through his insightful influence on the behavior and beliefs of human dog owners (Millan, 2007). Each of these "whisperers" are really just moles that have learned to cross between two contrasting worlds. This intriguing lady, Julia Mayo-Johnston, has many telltale designations after her name. But her boldest designation is my own extension of her new ACFEI certification: Whisperer, CFC, as she strongly moves forward in her 80s!

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Ghandi (1948) said, "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." May each of us take this baton she passes us and run well, not only as forensic professionals, but also in life, knowing our contrasts and staking our claims between conflicting worlds. I will no longer question the merits of doing graduate work in my 50s. I will keep on learning and keep on working authentically, being true to myself and true to my professional responsibilities.

So this is, after all, a short story about me, which I am passing on to each reader of The Forensic Examiner. It is about how and why we approach our profession as we do. It is about how we approach life and what we will be doing until we no longer have the chance. It is about our commissions and our omissions. It is about functioning vigorously and authentically for as many days as we have to give! See one, do one, teach one. Take the baton and run.

More About Dr. Julia Mayo-Johnston

Julie can be reached via e-mail at jmayophd@aol.com, but for those of you willing to help restore the art of the handwritten note, you may write her at her office address of 205 West End Avenue, 24J, New York, NY 10023. Much online information can be found about her practice, starting with her Psychology Today listing at http://cms.psychologytoday.com/ rms/prof_detail.php?profid=39007&city=Hoboke n&county=Hudson&state=New+Jersey.

References

Evans, N. (1995). The Horse Whisperer. New York: Dell.

Ghandi, M. (1948). Mohandus Ghandi Quotes. BrainyQuote. Retrieved July 27, 2007, from http://www.brainyquote.com/ quotes/authors/m/mohandas_gandhi. html

Millan, C. (2007). Cesar Millan: Achieving balance between people and dogs. Retrieved August 24, 2007, from http://www. cesarmillaninc.com/dogwhisperer/aboutshow.php

Rabinoff, M.A., and Holmes, S.P. (1996). The forensic expert's guide to litigation: The anatomy of a lawsuit. Danvers, MA: LRP Publications.

Roberts, M. (1999). The man who listens to horses. New York: First Ballantine Books.

The CFC course online alternative

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Dr. Marc Rabinoff has drawn widespread acclaim for his fiery lectures as part of the Certified Forensic Consultant (CFC) course, which has been offered at ACFEI meetings for several years.

An advantage of attending the ACFEI national meeting and taking the live course taught by Rabinoff is the chance to meet fellow students and make professional connections that will last a lifetime.

There is now an alternative way to view Rabinoff's lectures without leaving the comfort of your own home or office.

The CFC course is now available online, featuring hours of video lectures covering the same information presented in the classic live course.

The timed examination can be taken online, without the need to go to a proctoring facility.

You can find out more about the online course by going to www.acfei.com/ about_forensics/cfc.php.

You can talk to a member services representative by calling 1-800-423-9737.

By Darrell Barr, CFC

Darrell Barr, CFC, lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and works as a software consultant and trainer while he completes work on a master's degree in forensic psychology. He is originally from Pennsylvania and finished his undergraduate work in communications at Penn State. His chief forensic interests are in victimology and criminal profiling. He is regularly involved in Crisis Intervention Team training for law enforcement and other first-responders in his local and state community. Darrell can be reached via e-mail at dlbarr1954@yahoo.com.