Index of the Board of Directors
    Scott M. Schmidt
    Blanche A. Borzell
    Robert E. Cole
    Kevin M. Henderson
    Deborah G. Johnson
    Kenneth V. Lederhouse
    Margaret E. Luck
    Gregory S. Oakes
    John C. Prindle
    Warren H. Riles
    Gordon R. Terry
    Dianne R. Vertes
    Robert F. Waltman

Scott M. Schmidt, CFSP Training Officer-HHS/NDMS/DMORT II President-NYSACCME       Scott was born in Buffalo, New York and moved to the canal town of Middleport shortly after the Blizzard of ’77. A graduate of Royalton –Hartland Central School he went on to attend and graduate from the State University of New York Canton College of Technology where he received his A.A.S. degree in Mortuary Science. He received the designation of Certified Funeral Service Practitioner in 2006 from The Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice. Spending his entire Funeral Service Career in Albion, NY he was elected Orleans County Coroner in 1990. The Orleans County Legislature appointed him Chief Coroner in March 2007. Through his affiliation with the New York State Association of County Coroners and Medical Examiners, (an organization which he is now President of,) Scott became familiar with DMORT, joining the organization in 1996. He has been deployed as a Mortuary Officer to the Egypt Air 990 Crash in Rhode Island, the WTC attack on 9/11/01, to Gulfport, MS and St. Gabriel, LA following Hurricane Katrina and most recently to Buffalo, NY following the crash of Continental Flight 3407 in February 2009. He was appointed Training Officer of DMORT Region 2 in 2003 and is responsible for assuring preparedness of the team via annual team didactic training and requisite on-line training. Both training styles are designed to keep the members of the team in a constant state of readiness for future deployment. Scott has presented numerous programs about DMORT operations around the State of New York as well as Southern Ontario and has been an active participant in the Mass Fatality Workshops along with the New York State Emergency Management Office, New York State Police, New York State Department of Health, and the New York State Association of County Coroners and Medical Examiners. He is also an Accredited Medico-Legal Death Investigator. Mr. Schmidt is a full-time Funeral Director as well as a Church Organist. He is a member of numerous community and civic organizations and lives in Albion, New York with his wife Aleka and daughters Hayley and Danielle.

Blanche A. Borzell, MD - 2nd Vice Presiden      Blanche is a family physician who has practiced in Watkins Glen, New York for more than 32 years. She graduated from Cornell University, Upstate Medical Center and completed a residency in Family Medicine at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, New York. She is a Diplomat of the American Board of Family Medicine and is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Upstate Medical University. Dr. Borzell has been a coroner for Schuyler County for more than 30 years and has served as Chief Coroner for more than 20 years. She is interested in promoting quality forensic investigation throughout the state of New York.

Kevin M. Henderson      Kevin is a life long resident of Canandaigua, NY, a graduate of Canandaigua Academy, Finger Lakes Community College with an A.A.S. Degree in Criminal Justice, and Simmons School of Mortuary Science A.A.S. Degree in Mortuary Science. Kevin has been a licensed Funeral Director since August of 2002. In 2008 Kevin retired from the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office after 24 years as a road patrol deputy. In 2010 he sought the position of Ontario County Coroner and has been serving since January 1, 2011. Kevin is a self-employed funeral director working in numerous funeral homes in the area. He is very active in the community and serves on numerous boards and councils including the Ontario County Traffic Safety Council, Ontario County Safety Council, Ontario County Child Fatality Review Team, Board of Directors Canandaigua Emergency Squad and President of the Ontario-Wayne-Yates Funeral Directors Association.  Kevin is also a member of Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team Region 2 as a mortuary officer, as well as a member of Ontario County Mass Fatality committee helping develop and implement a response if a mass fatality should occur. Kevin is married to his wife Cindy and has two children.

Deborah G. Johnson, MD, MS    Deborah is a board-certified forensic pathologist and Medical Examiner at the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office in Syracuse, New York, serving Cayuga, Madison, Oswego, and Oneida Counties in addition to Onondaga. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists and the National Association of Medical Examiners. Deborah is a native of Ohio but grew up in Lubbock, Texas, where her first job was as a church organist, and is a Viet Nam-era veteran achieving the rank of Captain in the USAF prior to leaving the military and settling in Colorado to raise a family. A 1990 graduate of the University of Colorado Medical School, she completed an anatomic and clinical pathology residency at University Hospital in Denver, with a one-year fellowship in pediatric pathology at The Children’s Hospital. After a fellowship in forensic pathology at the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Deborah has worked for over 17 years as a forensic pathologist in Kansas, Colorado, Texas, and most recently New Zealand, prior to moving to New York in June, 2011. A lover of the outdoors who has climbed 44 of the 54 Colorado 14’ers, Deborah was a member of Park County Search and Rescue while in Colorado and certified in open water SCUBA diving in Australia at the Great Barrier Reef. She is enjoying exploring the Adirondacks and the many historic sites of New York on foot and mountain bike. Deborah is the proud mother of two children and two grandchildren.

Kenneth V. Lederhouse  NYSCCME President 1999-2007  NYSCCME Vice President 1993-1999  Niagara County Coroner since 1986  A.O.S. degree, SUNY at Alfred 1973  Lifelong resident of Lockport  Married to Laurie Dieter Lederhouse for 33 years

Margaret E. Luck, D-ABMDI/Coroner ● Lifeline Coordinator Nathan Littauer Hospital 1980-present Autopsy ● Assistant 2000-present Resides in Gloversville NY, Fulton County     ● Elected, Fulton County Coroner 1981-present Education: Graduated Johnstown High School 1978 Graduated with an Associate in Arts degree from Fulton Montgomery Community College ● Emergency Medical Technician Since 1978-present ●  Diplomat American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigations – (St.Lewis University School of Medicine. 2005-present. ● Boards and Committee: Board Member of NYSACCME since 2005 - present ● NYSACCME member since 1982-present ● Fulton County Traffic Safety Board –1995-present ● Fulton County Emergency Medical Service Board 1999-present ● Fulton County Sexual Abuse Investigation Team 1999-present ● Hamilton, Fulton, Montgomery County Critical Incident Debriefing         Team. 1999-present ● Community Service: Active member of the Business of         Professional Women for Fulton County ● Active member of the St. Monica Chapter of the Eastern Star ● Active member and 1st vice of the Republican Women of Fulton County ● Member of the Loyal of the Moose ● Taught Advance First Aide & Water Safety Instruction for 10 years. ● YMCA Teen Center director from 1990-2002

John C. Prindle, MD, At-Large Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, Graduated 1966 Wilson Memorial Hospital, Johnson City, NY, Rotating Intern 1967 U.S. Army Medical Corp., Vietnam 8th Field Hospital, ER Physician in Charge 4th Artillery Group, Group Surgeon Fort Bragg, NC, General Medical Officer, Captain 1967-1969 Lisle Medical Office, Lisle, NY, Family Practice 1969-1972 Wilson Memorial Hospital, Johnson City, NY, Emergency Medicine 1972-1978 Chenango Bridge Medical Group, Binghamton, NY, Family Practice 1978-1997 Chair of Medical Group, 1995-1997 Guthrie Clinic Inc., Binghamton, NY, Family Practice & Regional Medical Director, 1997-2000 United Medical Assoc., Johnson City, NY, Family Practice 2000-Present Broome County, Binghamton, NY, Coroner 1985-Present N.Y.S. Medical Society, Broome County Medical Society, Member 1966-Present MedNet Ltd, Binghamton, NY, Member & CEO 1992-1999 DMORT (Disaster Response Team under NDMS), Physician/Member 1995-Present

Warren H. Riles, CFSP - 1st Vice President      Warren was born in Canonsburg, PA and moved to Palmyra, New York in 1956. He is a graduate of Palmyra-Macedon Central School and the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. In 1970 he purchased a funeral home in Forestville, New York re-naming it Riles Funeral Home. It operated under that name until October 2002 at which time Riles & Woolley, Inc. was formed. Warren serves as the president of the corporation which operates Riles & Woolley Funeral Home and Riles & Woolley Monuments. Warren was first appointed a Chautauqua County Coroner in 1975 and today serves as Chief Coroner. He is a member and current President of the Chautauqua County Funeral Director’s Association and serves on the Disaster Preparedness Commission for Chautauqua County, a member and director of the New York State Funeral Director’s Association where he serves on the Family Assistance Commission, the Budget and Finance Committee and also as Secretary/Treasurer for the Director’s Choice Credit Union. In addition Warren is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association. He belongs to many fraternal organizations and has served on many local committees. An accomplished church organist, Warren has severed many local churches.

Gordon R. Terry, CFSP, At-Large      Gordon was born in the Bronx, NY and raised in New Hyde Park on Long Island. He is a graduate of the State University College at Buffalo with a B.S., Ed degree and in addition obtained an A.A.S. degree in Mortuary Science from the State University College of Agriculture and Technology at Farmingdale. He served in the New York Army National Guard from 1970 - 1976. Prior to becoming a licensed funeral director he was a high school instructor on Long Island and after licensure continued in the high school position and also served as an Assistant Professor of Mortuary Science at SUNY, Farmingdale. In July of 1990 he, and his wife, Joan, also a licensed funeral director, purchased their funeral home in Edmeston, NY. Gordon was appointed Otsego County Coroner in 1997 to fill a vacancy and was elected in the general election of 1997 and reelected in 2001, 2005 and 2009 to the position. He is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association, New York State Funeral Directors Association, Leatherstocking Funeral Directors Association and NYSACCME. Gordon was the President of the New York State Funeral Directors Association in 2008-2009. He obtained his NYSACCME certification in 2009 and recertified in 2012. In his community, Gordon serves as a firefighter, Explorer Post advisor and Secretary of the Edmeston Volunteer Fire Department, Adjutant of the Wharton Valley American Legion Post #1311, brother of Farmer's Lodge #553, F&AM, Trustee of the School Funds for the Town of Edmeston and treasurer of the Cooperstown Lions Club.

Dianne R. Vertes, PhD, MD - Executive Secretary      Dr. Vertes, a board-certified forensic pathologist, is the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner at the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office (ECMEO) in Buffalo, New York. The ECMEO offers its services to coroners in adjacent Niagara, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties. Dr. Vertes is a relative newcomer to New York state, moving to Buffalo in 2003 from the Bay area in California where she practiced in both coroner's and medical examiner's offices. Here in New York, Dr. Vertes quickly became involved with NYSACCME and is happy to serve as the Executive Secretary; she has also hosted a meeting and spoken at several conferences. Dr. Vertes is an active participant of numerous committees and organizations at the county and regional level involved with mass fatality preparedness, forensics and ethics and child death review. She collaborates with Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania in forensic anthropology projects. Dr. Vertes is an adjunct faculty member at the University of New York at Buffalo and enjoys teaching in the classroom and around the autopsy 'table'.

Robert F. Waltman      Robert is a life long resident of Dansville, NY, a graduate of Dansville Central School, Herkimer County Community College with an A.A.S. Degree, and Simmons School of Mortuary Science in Syracuse, NY. Rob has been a licensed Funeral Director since October 1983. In 1993 he sought the position of Livingston County Coroner and has been serving since January 1, 1994. Rob is a self-employed funeral director working in numerous funeral homes in the area. He is very active in the community. He has been an active member of the Union Hose Co No.1 of the Dansville Fire Department for 28 years, having served in numerous positions including Department Fire Chief, in 2003-2005, and as a former Emergency Medical Technician. He is a member and has served as Deacon for the Dansville Presbyterian Church. Robert just completed 3 years of serving as the Commander of the Sons of the American Legion Squadron # 87of the Daniel Goho American Legion Post #87 in Dansville.