Our Team | Sherry Black Foundation

Heidi Miller

Co-Founder

Heidi Miller’s advocacy for victims of violent crime began after the murder of her mother, Sherry Black, in 2010. During the 10 years it took to solve Sherry’s case, Heidi learned about gaps in our justice system and the resources needed to help advance homicide investigations. In 2014, she helped the nonprofit DNA Saves approach the State of Utah to pass legislation that allows for obtaining DNA samples from all persons arrested for felonies. In 2017, she co- founded the Sherry Black Foundation with her husband Greg to share the knowledge they gained on their journey for justice.

Miller is a champion for Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG). She worked tirelessly to pass Sherry’s Law in Utah in 2023, securing it as a tool for solving violent crime cases. She has used her platform to encourage members of the public to become “genetic witnesses” by uploading their DNA to approved databases and “opting in” to help professional genetic genealogists build family trees to generate leads for law enforcement.

Miller took part in several docuseries and podcasts to talk about the Sherry Black Foundation and IGG. These include “On the Case with Paula Zahn”, “Cold Case Files with Bill Kurtis”, “Bloodline Detectives”, and “The Deck” Podcast among others.

While Miller is very proud of the dozens of unsolved cases the foundation has helped to solve and the thousands of law enforcement agents trained in advanced investigative techniques, she is also proud of her family. She and Greg have six children and over 15 grandchildren.

Greg Miller

Co-Founder

Committed to enriching the lives of others, Greg and his wife established the Sherry Black Foundation, whose mission is to create safer communities by facilitating criminal justice investigations.

Miller is Vice Chair of the Larry H. Miller Company Board of Directors. He has served in various positions within the Miller organization since its 1979 inception, including as CEO from 2008 to 2015 and as a trustee since 2012. Greg’s entrepreneurial spirit has generated success in diverse industries through the years, the most recent of which being his acquisition and merger of two packaging businesses into a regional leader now known as Snowline Packaging Solutions. Greg serves on the Utah Water Ways Board, the Utah Highway Patrol’s Honorary Colonel Association, and the Sutherland Institute Board of Trustees. Past engagements include the Utah Office of Tourism Advisory Board, the Executive Partner Group of Solamere Capital, and the N.B.A. Board of Governors. He is also the founder and curator of the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum in Salt Lake City, which displays more than one hundred Toyota Land Cruisers. Time with family is a cherished priority for Greg and Heidi, proud parents of six children, and more than a 15 grandchildren.

Erin Ryan

Executive Director

Erin Ryan has been with the Sherry Black Foundation (SBF) since its inception in 2017 helping to create partnerships and provide training opportunities for law enforcement. Ryan’s experience crosses many types of violent crime. She started her career in Colorado working with struggling teens prior to relocating to Utah and focusing on prevention education for childhood sexual abuse. Ryan lead efforts to build community awareness and provide law enforcement with child friendly interviewing locations as well as trauma informed interviewing techniques. She then became a domestic violence advocate and developed community education programs supporting survivors while working alongside law enforcement to bring justice to victims. Prior to joining the SBF, she worked in fundraising for an anti-human trafficking nonprofit.

Ryan was instrumental in getting the Sherry Black law passed by the Utah State Legislature, collaborating with a cross-agency task force to create legislation that received bipartisan support.

She speaks on behalf of the Sherry Black Foundation by encouraging the public to get involved in solving violent crimes by uploading their DNA to approved databases and becoming genetic witnesses. She also works diligently to help bring resources to law enforcement agencies that are small or in rural areas that may be in need of additional training and resources.

Patrick J. Zirpoli

Senior Investigator

Patrick began his career 34 years ago within the law enforcement industry as a Correctional Officer with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, he ultimately joined the Pennsylvania State Police, from which he retired in January of 2015. Throughout his career with the state police, he worked primarily in the area of criminal investigation specializing in homicide investigation, cold case homicide investigation, child abduction, child abuse and missing persons. Patrick’s last duty assignment was as the Unit Supervisor of the Pennsylvania State Police, Criminal Investigation Assessment Unit. He was responsible for the coordination of a statewide Criminal Investigation Assessment Unit, which specialized in crimes of a violent or serial nature. Patrick also coordinated the efforts of the State Police in cold case homicide investigations across Pennsylvania. He supervised and participated in the investigation and analysis of crime assessments relating to homicides, suspicious deaths, and equivocal deaths on a statewide basis. Furthermore, he served as the Pennsylvania Amber Alert and the Missing Endangered Persons Advisory System Coordinator. During his tenure as the Amber Alert Coordinator, he worked on numerous child abduction cases throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Patrick represented the Pennsylvania State Police as a subject matter expert in the fields of Crime Scene Assessment, Criminal Behavior, Homicide Investigation, Equivocal Death Analysis, Cold Case Homicide Investigation, Child Abduction, Child Abuse, Interview and Interrogation, Sexual Assault Investigation, and the Prison Rape Elimination Act, and have since taken his experience and expertise into the classroom as both a teacher and a coordinator.

Along with his experience in the field, he served as the Training Coordinator for the Criminal Investigation Assessment Unit. Patrick has had the opportunity to create multiple courses in various subjects, including Crime Assessment, Homicide Investigation, Equivocal Death Analysis, Cold Case Homicide Investigation, Child Death Investigation, Sexual Assault Investigation, Amber Alert/Child Abduction, Missing and Endangered Persons Investigations, and the Prison Rape Elimination Act. These courses have been taught to law enforcement agencies and related groups throughout the United States and internationally. He has been a guest lecturer for the FBI at the Violent Crime Seminar, as well as a lecturer at numerous professional conferences, to include the American Academy of Forensic Science Conference.

Patrick has also provided expert testimony in his areas of expertise. Most recently he was recognized by the Indiana Supreme Court as an expert in Crime Scene Reconstruction, Crime Scene Assessment and Unsolved Homicide Investigation.