Pasadena Firm’s Founder and Managing Director Both Earn Nominations for LA Women’s Leadership Awards

Two leaders of a Pasadena expert witness firm have both been nominated for the Los Angeles Business Journal‘s 2026 Women’s Leadership Awards, the company announced Monday.

Mercy Tolentino Steenwyk, who founded ForensisGroup in 1991, was nominated as a Champion of Women. Emily Lou Steenwyk, the firm’s managing director, was nominated as an Emerging Leader. Finalists and honorees will be announced at the Women’s Leadership Symposium and Awards on June 9 in Los Angeles.

ForensisGroup, headquartered in Pasadena, provides expert witness and consulting services to attorneys, law firms and insurance professionals. The company says it has supported more than 20,000 clients in over 30,000 cases across technical, scientific, medical, financial and engineering fields.

Mercy Steenwyk started the firm 35 years ago and built it into what the company describes as a woman-owned and minority-owned business recognized among the Top 100 in Los Angeles. The firm also received the Journal‘s 2025 Social Responsibility Award.

Emily Lou Steenwyk credited the firm’s founder in her statement.

“Mercy built ForensisGroup with conviction, courage and a belief that truth should guide the work we do,” she said. “Her leadership has opened doors for others, including me, and has shown that business success and service to others can grow together.”

The Women’s Leadership Symposium and Awards is a half-day event featuring panel discussions and a luncheon awards program.

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