ForensisGroup leaders earn 2026 LA Times Studios Inspirational Women nominations

ForensisGroup Founder and CEO Mercy Tolentino Steenwyk and Managing Director Emily Lou Steenwyk were each named nominees for the 2026 LA Times Studios Inspirational Women Forum & Leadership Awards. The recognition highlights two generations of leadership at the Pasadena expert-witness firm ahead of the Nov. 5 awards event in Santa Monica.

Why it matters: - The nominations spotlight ForensisGroup’s leadership pipeline at a time when law firms and insurers are looking for expert-witness support earlier in complex cases. - The recognition also puts a public spotlight on women-led leadership in California’s business community.

What happened: - ForensisGroup announced that Founder and CEO Mercy Tolentino Steenwyk and Managing Director Emily Lou Steenwyk were independently selected as nominees for the 2026 LA Times Studios Inspirational Women Forum & Leadership Awards. - The awards recognize achievements and leadership over the past 24 months. - Finalists and honorees will be announced at the live event on Nov. 5, 2026, at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica.

The details: - Mercy Tolentino Steenwyk founded ForensisGroup in 1991 after seeing a need in the legal community for better access to rigorously vetted, conflict-conscious expert witnesses. - She started with a telephone, a desk at the Pasadena Public Library and her Altadena dining table. - ForensisGroup is built around the principle “Nothing But the Truth®.” - Over 35 years, Mercy expanded the company into a nationwide expert-witness provider serving attorneys, law firms, insurance companies, government agencies and corporations. - ForensisGroup says it has supported more than 20,000 clients in more than 30,000 cases. - Mercy oversees the firm’s strategic direction as litigation becomes more complex and attorneys seek expert insight earlier in the case process. - She has pushed the company’s High Touch High Tech™ approach, which uses technology to improve efficiency while keeping human judgment in expert vetting, conflict checks, qualification review, attorney communication and expert selection. - Emily Lou Steenwyk is managing director and leads across growth, operations, technology and culture. - Emily previously worked as an elementary and middle-school teacher, and she brings that background into leadership by focusing on listening, clarity and people-centered change. - Emily has helped advance the firm’s digital experience and internal systems while preserving the personal judgment needed to match experts with matters. - Her approach centers on using technology to free staff for higher-value human work rather than replace it. - Emily also leads many of ForensisGroup’s Force for Good™ initiatives. - Those efforts include environmental work with One Tree Planted, which has resulted in more than 8,500 trees planted worldwide. - Her community-focused initiatives also support humanitarian aid, education, equity, sustainability and community well-being. - The company says the two nominations reflect two generations of leadership and two different contributions to ForensisGroup’s evolution.

Between the lines: - Mercy’s nomination underscores the value of founder-led continuity in a service business built on trust and judgment. - Emily’s nomination suggests the company is positioning digital modernization as complementary to, not a replacement for, human expertise. - The dual recognition frames ForensisGroup as trying to preserve its original mission while adapting to newer operational demands.

What’s next: - The Inspirational Women Forum & Leadership Awards will reveal finalists and honorees on Nov. 5, 2026. - ForensisGroup is likely to continue emphasizing expert vetting, digital workflow improvements and community initiatives as part of its next phase.

The bottom line: - The nominations validate both the company’s founding ethos and its next-generation operating model.