Board of Directors
Western Area Volunteer Emergency Service is a private, not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors.
Mary Earl
President
A Lemoyne College graduate, Mary Earl earned a BS in Business Administration and has been in banking for 20 years. She is senior branch manager and VP at M&T Bank in North Syracuse. Mary was also recognized as a 40-under-forty honoree.
David Philippone
Vice President
A former Camillus Town Board member, David Philippone is an attorney specializing in real estate; worker’s compensation, and Social Security disability. David has held many leadership positions in state and local legal organizations. He has been a member of WAVES since 1998.
Diane Dwire
Treasurer
A Camillus native, Diane Dwire served during the Vietnam era in the US Army Nurse Corps. After returning home, she joined the Reserves and retired from the 376th Combat Support Hospital Reserve Unit as Lt. Colonel with 24 years of service. She then went onto a 27 year career with the New York State Department of Health. She served as a Camillus town councilor from 2002-2007.
James McDonald Secretary
Jim McDonald became an EMT in 1999 and joined WAVES. He was one of six WAVES volunteers that responded to New York City for 9/11, receiving New York’s highest award for a civilian. He has been on WAVES Board of Directors for many years and served as treasurer, member-at-large, and secretary. Jim retired in 2018 after 26 years at Welch Allyn, where he was second in charge of the medical response team.
Roman Batyuk
Roman Batyuk joined WAVES in 2005 as an EMT. He quickly attained leadership roles on the Board of Directors, most recently as President, and served as advisor to WAVES’ Explorer post. He belonged to both the Fairmount and the Camillus fire departments. Roman obtained a degree in nursing and simultaneously became a paramedic, continued studies to become a family Nurse Practitioner, and is now a hospitalist NP with Crouse Health. Roman has been a nursing college professor, and is currently pursuing his post-masters degree in psychiatry.
Jeff Gancarz
Jeff Gancarz retired after a career that included 21 years at Upstate Medical University’s Dept. of Anesthesia in clinical and administrative roles. He also served three years as assistant director of nursing and memory care director at
American House Senior Living. Jeff is currently contracted by Rizzi Geriatric & Psychiatric as an admissions coordinator. He served 20 years with Solvay and Camillus fire departments as a volunteer firefighter, chief, and juvenile fire safety officer.
John DeRosier
Originally from Massachusetts, John is a graduate of Niagara University with a BA in Political Science and a Masters Degree in Human Resources from SUNY Empire State College. John has lived in the Camillus area for more than 20 years. He is currently Region Vice President of Human Resources for Sysco Foods. His overall HR experience spans both union and non-union facilities.
Eric Chase
A WAVES Board member since 2021, Eric R. Chase, is a partner in the Wolff, Goodrich & Goldman workers’ compensation defense firm. He is a 1999 graduate of Springfield College (B.S., summa cum laude) and Boston College Law School (J.D., 2002). He is a member of the Onondaga County and New York State Bar Associations.
Edward Healy
Edward Healy’s experience spans four decades, graduating from Syracuse University with a BA in Public Policy. He started his EMS career with Syracuse University Ambulance. He recently retired after 30 years with Onondaga County’s 911 Center. He is a past Director of WAVES and a past Chief of the Plainville Fire Company. Ed is currently Officer-in-Charge of the Jordan Police Department and a police officer for the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority.
David Rahner
A Camillus resident for more than 50 years, David Rahner is currently Senior Director of Global Manufacturing/Engineering for Belden Broadband Solutions/PPC in Syracuse. He has extensive experience in the team managerial process known as “Lean Six Sigma,” a concept that focuses on systematically removing operational waste in an organization. He has advised a number of projects in Onondaga County, including the St. Joseph’s Health Lakeview Amphitheater.
Naveen Seth MD Medical Director
Dr. Naveen Seth is an emergency physician at Buffalo General Medical Center. A graduate of the U.of Pennsylvania, he attended medical and business school at Vanderbilt University. After a year in internal medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, he completed his residency at SUNY Buffalo. An EMS fellowship brought him to Central NY. He was Emergency Department associate medical director at Faxton St. Lukes in Utica, then worked at Crouse Hospital before his recent move back to Buffalo. He has served as a medical director for WAVES since 2010.