Board of Directors

Matthew Gamette, M.S., C.P.M., Chair
ASCLD Representative

American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors – Mr. Gamette is the Laboratory System Director for the three labs of the Idaho State Police Forensic Services. Mr. Gamette did undergraduate work in Zoology and graduate work in Microbiology at Brigham Young University Mr. Gamette holds laboratory leadership and management certificates through West Virginia University Forensic Management Academy and the University of California at Davis, and graduated as a Certified Public Manager in the Idaho program. Mr. Gamette interned with the Utah State Crime Lab in Salt Lake City, Utah. He worked in the Spokane Laboratory of the Washington State Patrol from 2002 to 2008 as a biologist/DNA scientist and crime scene responder. He was promoted to Forensic Scientist 4 (Spokane DNA Technical Lead) in 2008. He has trained hundreds of detectives, crime scene responders, forensic nurses, and first responders in the collection of biological evidence. Mr. Gamette started his career with the Idaho State Police (ISP) in late 2008 as the Laboratory Improvement Manager/Quality Manager for the laboratory system. He was promoted to ISP Laboratory System Director in July 2014. Mr. Gamette served as an elected board member of the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD) for over seven years and served as President from 2018-2019. He Chaired or Co-chaired several ASCLD committees including Finance, Symposium Planning, Advocacy, the Sexual Assault Kit Task Force, and the ASCLD Accreditation Initiative. He currently serves as the Co-chair of the ASCLD Advocacy Committee and leads the ASCLD Accreditation Initiative. He was a certified assessor with the American Society of Crime Lab Directors-Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB), and has performed DNA laboratory assessments all over the United States as a certified FBI DNA assessor. He is also an audit panel reviewer for the FBI’s National DNA Index System (NDIS). He was selected and served a five year term on the NIST Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) Quality Infrastructure Committee (QIC). He currently serves as an affiliate OSAC member on the FSSB Terminology Task Group. He was selected by the US Department of Justice to participate as a member on the Forensic Laboratory Needs-Technology Working Group (FLN-TWG) where he currently serves. He is a member of the editorial board for the prestigious journal Forensic Science International-Synergy. He is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), Northwest Association of Forensic Scientists (NWAFS), American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD), and Association of Forensic Quality Assurance Managers (AFQAM).

Kenneth F. Martin, Vice Chair, Treasurer
IAI Representative

International Association for Identification – Kenneth Martin retired as a Detective Lieutenant and Commanding Officer of the Crime Scene Services Section (CSSS) of the Massachusetts State Police after serving with the department for almost 33 years. Mr. Martin then became the Quality Assurance Manager for the New York City Police Department Latent Fingerprint Section for two years. Mr. Martin is a past president of the International Association for Identification (IAI) and is presently the IAI’s representative to the Consortium of Forensic Sciences (CFSO). In addition to lecturing to various audiences and having been published in the Journal of Forensic Identification, he is certified by the International Association for Identification as a Footwear Examiner, Bloodstain Pattern Analyst, Senior Crime Scene Analyst and Crime Scene Reconstructionist. He has served as a member of various working groups including the Scientific Working Group on Friction Ridge Analysis, Study and Technology (SWGFAST). Mr. Martin has also served as a member of the Scientific Working Group on Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (SWGSTAIN), the NIJ/NIST Expert Working Group on Human Factors in Latent Print Analysis. He currently serves on the Bloodstain Pattern Analysis and Crime Scene Investigation working groups of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences’ Academy Standards Board. Mr. Martin has a B.A. in Biology; a B.S. in Criminal Justice; a M.S. in Criminal Justice and is a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy 192nd session. Currently, he works as a private examiner with Bevel, Gardner and Associates. He has taught Bloodstain Pattern Analysis for the Biomedical Forensic Sciences Program since 2007.

James R. Gill, M.D.
National Association of Medical Examiners Representative

National Association of Medical Examiners -Dr. Gill is a practicing board-certified forensic pathologist and Chief Medical Examiner of Connecticut.  He is the 2021 past President of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) and past chair of the Forensic Pathology Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP).  He has faculty medical school appointments at Yale, University of Connecticut, and Quinnipiac University.  He did his pathology training at Yale and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and his forensic pathology fellowship at the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner.  Prior to Connecticut, he was the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for Bronx County in New York City.  He was co-chair of autopsy standards committee of the Medicolegal Death Investigation subcommittee of the Crime Scene/Death Investigation Scientific Area Committee of the Organization of Scientific Area Committee (OSAC) from 2014-2016. He has published over 100 scientific articles, books, and book chapters on a variety of forensic pathology and public health topics.

Kenneth E. Melson
AAFS Representative

American Academy of Forensic Sciences – Kenneth E. Melson currently works for the Inspector General’s Office of the U.S. Postal Service advising the Office of Investigation on legal matters relating to its administrative and criminal cases. Prior to retiring from the U.S. Department of Justice in 2012, he was the Senior Advisor on Forensic Science in the Office of Legal Policy. He also served as a co-chair of the Subcommittee on Forensic Science, Committee on Science of the National Science and Technology Council within the Executive Office of the President. In April of 2009, he was named as Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) by President Obama, where he served until August of 2011. Prior to his service at ATF, Mr. Melson was appointed by the Attorney General as the Director of the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) in 2007, where he was responsible for administrative oversight of the 94 U.S. Attorneys Offices and for liaison between the U.S. Attorneys and other Federal agencies and Department of Justice (DOJ) components. Prior to being Director of EOUSA, Mr. Melson worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia beginning in 1983. He became the First Assistant United States Attorney in 1986, a post he held until his departure in 2007. Several times during his career, including on September 11, 2001, he served as the United States Attorney. He was also a state prosecutor for ten years. Mr. Melson is a Past President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) and a past chair of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents. He was the Chair of the AAFS Ethics Committee and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Forensic Sciences. He is currently serving on the NIST Expert Human Factors Working Group on Handwriting Examination. Mr. Melson represented the Department of Justice as a board member of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB) for over a decade. He has been an adjunct professor at The George Washington University for over 35 years, teaching law and forensic science courses at both the law school and the Department of Forensic Sciences, and has published in scientific texts and legal journals.

Marc A. LeBeau, PhD F-ABFT
SOFT Representative

Society of Forenic Toxicologists/American Board of Forensic Toxicology –

Marc A. LeBeau, PhD, is the President of LeBeau Forensic Toxicology Consulting, LLC. He retired in 2024 after a distinguished 30-year career at the FBI Laboratory. Dr. LeBeau earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Criminal Justice from Central Missouri State University, a Master’s in Forensic Science from the University of New Haven, and a Doctorate in Toxicology from the University of Maryland – Baltimore. He is a Fellow of the American Board of Forensic Toxicology and has held leadership roles in several scientific associations, including the Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT) and The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT). Dr. LeBeau has also led various national scientific working groups and committees, contributing significantly to the advancement of forensic toxicology and other forensic sciences. He has received numerous accolades, including the FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Scientific Advancement, the AAFS Toxicology Section’s Alexander O. Gettler Award, as well as the Rolla Harger Award, and the International Visionary Award from End Violence Against Women International.

Bobbi Jo O’Neal
IACME Representative

International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners – Bobbi Jo O’Neal, a Registered Nurse and a Board-Certified Fellow with the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators, has served in the Coroner’s Office since 1998, including serving as Chief Deputy Coroner from 2011-2020. She was elected Charleston County Coroner in 2020.  With her leadership, the Charleston County Coroner’s Office is one of only 34 coroner offices in the country that is accredited by the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. Additionally, as a grant writer for the Coroner’s Office, O’Neal has successfully brought in over $2 Million in funds to Charleston County.  O’Neal is the President of the South Carolina Coroner’s Association, the immediate past President of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners (IACME) and the current Chair of the IACME Board of Directors. She serves on the Executive Committee for the Lowcountry Healthcare Coalition, and numerous other Boards and Commissions. She is also a President’s Appointee to the Public Safety, Corrections and Judicial Steering Committee for the South Carolina Association of Counties.  An experienced emergency room nurse, O’Neal received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. She is and has been actively involved in the specialty of forensic nursing, first in the area of sexual assault and then as a death investigator.  She is a member of the National Association of Medical Examiners, a Fellow with the American Academy of Forensic Science, a member of the South Carolina Coroner’s Association, and a member of numerous national committees which seek to develop protocols and training material for medicolegal death investigator.  A former Director-at-Large for the International Association of Forensic Nurses, O’Neal is the author of the book “Investigating Infant Deaths” and has had the unfortunate distinction of working the mass fatalities of the Charleston Super Store fire and the Emanuel AME mass shooting.  Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal was awarded the 2022 Coroner of the Year by the South Carolina Coroner’s Association.  Coroner O’Neal was awarded the 2023 Partner Award from We Are Sharing Hope for her support of organ and tissue donation.

Email: bobbijooneal@thecfso.org

Beth Lavach