Speakers

• Ian Scott

  Ian Scott has spent over 15 years at the intersection of software development and professional training, helping organizations modernize how they collect, manage, and analyze operational data. He is the founder of Stonehouse Media, a technology consultancy specializing in custom software solutions, workflow automation, and digital tools for professional development programs across industries including public safety, insurance, and legal services.

  Ian's technical background spans full-stack web development, database architecture, and systems integration — with particular expertise in building case management platforms, evidence tracking tools, and reporting systems tailored to investigative workflows. He has partnered with fire investigation organizations, insurance carriers, and law enforcement agencies to design software that bridges field documentation with back-office reporting requirements.

  Beyond client work, Ian is a frequent contributor to conversations around digital transformation in the fire investigation space — including how mobile data collection, cloud-based case management, and AI-assisted pattern recognition are beginning to reshape how investigators document and present findings. He brings a practitioner's perspective to the technical side of the profession, having built tools used daily by investigators across the country.

  In the classroom, Ian focuses on the practical: how to use technology without letting it slow you down, how to build documentation habits that hold up in court, and how to evaluate new tools critically rather than chasing every shiny object. His sessions are hands-on, jargon-light, and built around the real workflows investigators already use.

• Ms. Cathleen Elise Corbitt-Dipierro, MPP

  Cathy DiPierro is a seasoned content strategist and technical writer with over a decade of experience translating complex subject matter into clear, compelling material for professional audiences. She has developed curriculum, training guides, instructional content, and published articles across a range of specialized fields, with a particular focus on public safety, legal, and insurance sectors.

  Cathy's work sits at the crossroads of accuracy and accessibility — she has a talent for absorbing dense technical information and reshaping it for the reader who needs to understand it quickly and apply it confidently. Her project portfolio includes course materials for professional certification programs, procedural documentation for investigative agencies, and long-form editorial content for trade publications serving the fire and forensic communities.

  She holds a background in journalism and communications, and brings a reporter's instinct for the right question and a writer's discipline for the well-placed word. Cathy has collaborated closely with subject matter experts, attorneys, investigators, and educators to ensure that every piece of content she produces is not only readable but defensible — a standard she considers non-negotiable when the audience is made up of professionals whose work ends up in courtrooms.

  Outside of client projects, Cathy is an advocate for plain-language standards in professional training and has written on the gap between how investigators are trained and how they are expected to communicate their findings to juries, adjusters, and the public.

  When she is not writing, she is probably editing someone else's writing — and making it significantly better.

• Robert Schaal

  Robert Schaal brings over 24 years of fire investigation experience spanning municipal fire service, private forensic consulting, and law enforcement collaboration. He began his career as a firefighter with the Phoenix Fire Department before transitioning to the Fire Marshal's Office, where he spent 14 years conducting origin and cause investigations on residential, commercial, and wildland fires. During that time he handled more than 1,200 investigations and testified as an expert witness in over 60 civil and criminal proceedings.

  Robert holds certifications as an IAAI Certified Fire Investigator (CFI) and Certified Fire Officer (CFO), and has completed advanced training through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) National Center for Explosives Training and Research. He is an active member of the International Association of Arson Investigators and has contributed to NFPA 921 working groups focused on electrical fire investigation methodology.

  In his consulting practice, Robert has worked with insurance carriers, defense attorneys, and public agencies on complex loss cases involving suspected arson, product liability, and construction defect. He has been a featured speaker at regional IAAI chapters and state fire marshal conferences, and has developed curriculum for fire investigation certificate programs at two community colleges in the Southwest. Robert is known for his ability to translate dense technical material into practical, field-ready skills — and for his frank, no-nonsense approach to preparing investigators for the adversarial environment of the courtroom.