Agency Leadership

Dr. Jason Graham

Chief Medical Examiner

Dr. Michele S. Slone

First Deputy Chief Medical Examiner
Michele S. Slone, MD was appointed Acting First Deputy Chief Medical Examiner of New York City in December 2021 and subsequently First Deputy Chief Medical Examiner in June 2022. Serving in the second highest leadership position at OCME, she oversees the Forensic Pathology division, which includes citywide medical examiner operations and supporting departments such as Forensic Anthropology, Forensic Radiography and Forensic Photography. She previously served as Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for Manhattan.

Dr. Slone has been with OCME since 2003 after completing her residency training at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She completed fellowships in Forensic Neuropathology/Cardiovascular Pathology and General Forensic Pathology at OCME in New York City. Dr. Slone is board certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic Pathology and Forensic Pathology. She holds a faculty appointment as Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Forensic Medicine at New York University School of Medicine.

Dr. Terra A. Cederroth

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner
Terra. A. Cederroth, MD was appointed Acting Deputy Chief Medical Examiner in December 2021 and subsequently Deputy Chief Medical Examiner in July 2022. She has served at OCME since 2016 and in her current role, she oversees the medical examiner operations at the Manhattan site.

After receiving her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts, Dr. Cederroth completed her Pathology residency training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School, followed by her fellowship in Forensic Pathology at OCME in New York City. Dr. Cederroth also served as Associate Program Director for the Forensic Pathology Fellowship program at OCME and holds a faculty appointment as Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Forensic Medicine at New York University School of Medicine.

Dr. Melissa Pasquale-Styles

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner
Melissa Pasquale, MD has served as a Deputy Chief Medical Examiner at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner since 2016. She oversees the medical examiner operations at the Brooklyn site.

Dr. Pasquale is a graduate of Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. She has over 15 years of experience as a forensic pathologist and previously served as Director of Medicolegal Investigations at the NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner.

Dr. Michael Greenberg

Deputy Chief Medical Examiner
Michael J. Greenberg, MD has served as a Deputy Chief Medical Examiner since 2017 and has been with the Office of Chief Medical Examiner since 2005. He oversees the medical examiner operations at the Queens site.

After graduating from Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel, Dr. Greenberg has spent his entire career practicing medicine in New York City, completing his residency at Mount Sinai Hospital and his forensic fellowship at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner.

Yvonne Williams

Deputy Commissioner of Administration and Finance
Yvonne Williams serves as the Deputy Commissioner of Administration and Finance. In this role, Williams oversees Procurement, Budget, Audit, Medical Facilities and Material Logistics for the Office of Chief Medical Examiner. Prior to her appointment as Deputy Commissioner, Williams served as the Executive Agency Chief Contracting Officer and Chief Performance Officer at OCME.

Williams brings more than a decade of outstanding service to our city, leading the procurement and operational functions at various New York City agencies including the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Department of Sanitation, and Department of City Planning. A native New Yorker, Williams holds a deep passion for the NYC M/WBE Program and her work is motivated by an adamant belief in the necessity to expand opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses in New York City. She has illustrated her commitment to this imperative while serving as the Chief Diversity Officer, M/WBE Officer and Director of Contracts and Administration for the Financial Empowerment Centers at NYC agencies.

Williams holds a Master of Arts in Urban Affairs from Queens College, City University of New York.

Nicholas Schultz

Deputy Commissioner of Forensic Operations & Investigations
Nicholas Schultz assumed the role of Acting Deputy Commissioner of Forensic Operations and Investigations in September 2023, and was subsequently appointed as Deputy Commissioner in February 2024.

Schultz leads the Division of Forensic Operations and Investigations, overseeing a comprehensive structure that includes Forensic Investigations, Forensic Operations, and Mortuary Operations. These departments encompass a wide array of units including Medicolegal Investigations, Identifications, Fingerprint, Outreach/City Burial Operations, Special Operations, Communications, Forensic Autopsy Services, Forensic Photography, Forensic Radiography, Forensic Quality Control, Emergency Management, City Mortuary Services, Fleet/Logistics, and Forensic Operations Administration. In his role, Schultz is responsible for directing the specialized mass fatality management team, coordinating all aspects of emergency planning, preparedness, and response 24/7/365 to mass fatality incidents across New York City.

Joining the OCME in 2015, Schultz previously served in the positions of Deputy Director of Forensic Investigations and Assistant Director of Mortuary Services. He is board certified by the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI) and holds a faculty appointment as Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Forensic Medicine at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine.

Timothy Kupferschmid

Chief of Laboratories
Timothy Kupferschmid, MBA, MFS has over 30 years of executive management and forensic DNA testing experience. Before joining the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, he worked as a senior DNA Analyst at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL). He additionally served as the Laboratory Director of the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory, as well as the Forensic Technical Director at Myriad Genetic Laboratories, Inc.

Kupferschmid leads the Division of Laboratories, which consists of four laboratories - Forensic Biology, Forensic Toxicology, Molecular Genetics, and Histology, and the Departments of Evidence, Records, and Health and Safety.

Kupferschmid is the President-Elect of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) and serves on the Forensic Laboratory Needs Technical Working Group, which was created by Congress to assess the forensic technology needs of federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to accomplish the mission of the Department of Justice National Institute of Justice.

Naeem Ullah

Deputy Commissioner / Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Naeem Ullah, PMP is the Chief Information Officer for Office of Chief Medical Examiner, a role he has held since 2011. He is responsible for leading and managing the agency's Information Technology portfolio, which helps support the strategic and tactical needs of the agency. He is also the Head of Security and Fire Safety.

As the CIO Ullah's responsibilities include IT policy, IT portfolio management and capital investment review, IT security and critical infrastructure protection, IT architecture, information quality, information dissemination through the Next Generation Internet, and oversight of IT operations.

As the Head of Security and Fire Safety Ullah is responsible for the safeguarding of OCME's assets to include its staff, buildings, and information. Directly addressing any physical security, local risks, vulnerabilities, and threats to the day-to-day operations.

Ullah has over 25 years of Senior IT Management and CTO experience. He has provided technology leadership to a range of senior management teams in a variety of industries, such as public service, hospitality, high-tech manufacturing, financial services, publishing, and healthcare.

Mirtha Sabio

General Counsel
Mirtha Camille Sabio was appointed the General Counsel at OCME in December 2022. Mirtha oversees all legal affairs to ensure the agency consistently executes its authority and mission, responsibly, ethically, and impartially.

Mirtha was previously General Counsel at the Office of the Bronx Borough President strategically advising leadership on all agency matters related to housing, education policy, workforce initiative, and economic empowerment. In that capacity, she served two administrations as representative on the NYC Franchise and Concession Review Committee and as Trustee on the New York City Employees Retirement System, championing greater MWBE investment firm participation in managing the fund's $89 billion in assets under management for the City's municipal workforce. Prior to her City service, Mirtha had been counsel to a real estate organization and its affiliated companies, managed her own law firm, and provided financial advisory services as a licensed securities and investment consultant for high-net-worth individuals at a Wall Street firm.

Mirtha received her Juris Doctor degree from New York Law School and earned her dual Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Marketing from New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business. She holds a Master Certificate in Human Resource Management from Cornell University as well as professional certification in EEO and Employment Law. Mirtha is licensed to practice law in the state and federal courts of New York and New Jersey.

Robert D. Van Pelt

Chief of Staff
Robert D. Van Pelt serves as the agency’s Chief of Staff. In this role, he provides counsel and guidance in the strategic initiatives that the Chief Medical Examiner has set for the agency and in ensuring that the administration’s priorities and the Chief’s vision are achieved. As Chief of Staff, Van Pelt oversees all legislative, intergovernmental and stakeholder affairs initiatives.

Van Pelt, an attorney by trade, brings more than 20 years of managerial, team building and interagency coordination experience to the OCME, including more than a decade of leadership in citywide disaster planning, preparedness, and emergency response.

Van Pelt came to the OCME from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and NYC Emergency Management, where he led multi-sector partnerships to shape policy and oversee large citywide initiatives to improve the lives of New Yorkers.

Julie Bolcer

Executive Director of Public Affairs and Senior Advisor
Julie Bolcer is the Executive Director of Public Affairs and Senior Advisor for the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, where she leads strategic communications, media relations and external affairs. She brings more than a decade of experience in managing public affairs at all levels of government.

Most recently, Bolcer served as Senior Director of Communications for the Test & Trace Corps at NYC Health + Hospitals, where she led the team responsible for marketing and communications initiatives for the nation's largest COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and safe isolation program. Previously, as Communications Advisor to the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, she oversaw communications for the portfolio of agencies protecting the health of all New Yorkers and serving the City's most vulnerable populations.

Bolcer has also represented the City's equity agenda to the global diplomatic community based at the United Nations as Deputy Commissioner for Policy and Communications at the Mayor's Office for International Affairs, served as a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, and worked in the New York State Senate.