Gretchen Smith, who specializes in investigating internet crimes against children for the Indiana State Police covering northeast Indiana, was one of several women talking about their careers at the N.E.W. Workshop.

SYRACUSE — Leslie Cook is an advocate for the deceased. Standing alone, it may sound odd but when put in context with her job as a coroner it is much more understandable.

Cook was the keynote speaker at the annual N.E.W. (nontraditional employment for women) Workshop sponsored by the Warsaw Area Career Center and Wawasee Area Career and Technical Cooperative Thursday, Oct. 27, at Quaker Haven Camp, Dewart Lake. The all day workshop brings in sophomore girls from Wawasee, Fairfield, West Noble, Warsaw, Tippecanoe Valley and Whitko high schools to give them an opportunity to explore various career fields traditionally dominated by males.

Cook is a regional forensic nurse examiner with the Fort Wayne Sexual Assault Treatment Center and is also the Adams County Coroner. In addition, she is a registered nurse and is responsible for organizing and conducting specialized training on the Sexual Assault Response Team offered to nurses, physicians, law enforcement, advocates and attorneys throughout the United States.

She noted her career path turned out to be “absolutely nothing like I thought it would be.” A family member operated a wrecker service and Cook learned at an early age to be ready to go when called upon. She graduated from college with a degree in nursing and began working in the emergency room at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne.

While working in the emergency room, she met three nurses exploring forensic nursing. “That sounded really cool back in 1995,” she said. She defined forensic nursing as nursing as it pertains to the law. Cook said at the time, health care needs were being met very well “but we were not quite meeting the legal needs” of patients.

“It bridges the gap between medical and legal,” Cook added about forensic nursing.

Later the Fort Wayne Sexual Assault Treatment Center was started and was a new type of facility in the area. “Sexual assault nurse examiner is my specialty,” she said, “and we also learned about death investigation.” She noted she provides forensic care to victims of sexual violence.

Another opportunity developed when Cook was approached by a local coroner who asked if she would be interested in becoming a coroner. A position became available because a coroner had moved out of their county. Cook, who said “I am not a political person,” eventually decided to pursue the opportunity and was appointed by a caucus to fill the position in late 1997.

“It (becoming coroner) was a game changer in my life,” she said.

She was elected as coroner in 2000 and 2004, served as deputy coroner 2008-2012 and was elected again in 2012. This year, she will be elected once again as she is running unopposed.

When she began as coroner in the late 1990s, there were only three female coroners or appointed coroners statewide, but now there are 20, Cook said.

A coroner is often associated with being at a crime scene involving murder, but Cook noted the majority of coroner cases are natural deaths. “An ultimate responsibility of a coroner is to determine the cause and manner of death,” she said. “We are advocates for the deceased. Our job is to write the final chapter of a person’s life and to do it accurately.”

This year’s workshop had 47 careers represented by 43 women. Jon Everingham, director of WACTC, noted compared to last year there was an increase in the number of career presenters, students and number of career options presented.

Firefighter Amanda Weimer of the Fort Wayne Fire Department was a presenter at the N.E.W. Workshop at Quaker Haven Camp.