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December 28, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dr. Daniel Garner, the Houston Forensic Science Center’s first president, executive
director and CEO, will be leaving effective December 31 pursuant to the terms of his
employment contract.
The HFSC Board of Directors at a meeting on Wednesday appointed Dr. Peter Stout,
currently HFSC’s COO and vice president, interim CEO and president.
The board appointed Dr. Garner CEO and president in 2013, shortly before HFSC took
over management of what had previously been the Houston Police Department’s Crime
Lab, Crime Scene Unit and parts of its Identification Division.
Dr. Garner played a crucial role in ensuring the smooth transition of Houston’s forensic
services from law enforcement management to a civilian agency. He has overseen the
implementation of new processes and procedures, as well as guided seven of HFSC’s
eight disciplines to accreditation under international standards.
“Dr. Garner’s contributions and leadership during HFSC’s early years were absolutely
essential to making the Center what it is today, and to ensuring its long-term success,”
said Nicole Casarez, board chairwoman.
Dr. Garner joined HFSC after a more than 40-year-long forensic career. He had
previously served as chief of the forensic services section of the International Criminal
Investigative Training Assistance Program, a component of the U.S. Department of
Justice’s Criminal Division. He also had been president of Cellmark Diagnostics Inc.,
which he helped transform into a market leader in forensic DNA testing. Dr. Garner
began his career in the Forensic Science Laboratory of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco
and Firearms.
HFSC is a local government corporation that provides forensic services to the City of
Houston and other local agencies. HFSC is overseen by a Board of Directors appointed
by the Mayor of Houston and confirmed by the Houston City Council. Its management
structure is designed to be responsive to a 2009 recommendation by the National
Academy of Sciences that called for crime laboratories to be independent of law
enforcement and prosecutorial branches of government.
HFSC operates in eight forensic disciplines.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Ramit Plushnick-Masti
Director of Communications/PIO
media@houstonforensicscience.org

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