2016 Mid-Shore Woman of Distinction, Denise Perry Riley
Denise Perry Riley is editor emeritus of The Star Democrat, a daily newspaper serving the Mid-Shore, and writes a weekly column on the OpEd Page. She is the first woman named editor in the 200 year history of the newspaper. She also was the first woman to win the John Hay Whitney Fellowship which took her to Paris, France to work on the copy desk of the International Herald Tribune from 1986 to 1987.
During her career she received numerous awards from the Maryland Delaware D.C. Press Association and the Associated Press. For several years she chaired the Bill Perry Scholarship Fund and served two terms on the Board of Directors of the Waterfowl Festival. Her awards include the Calibre Certificate of Recognition for Valuable Contribution to Public Mental Health presented by the Mid Shore Mental Health Association, Talbot County Hall of Fame for American Association of University Women, Talbot County Businesswoman of the Year by the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce, Maryland’s Top 100 Women by The Daily Record in Baltimore, and inducted into Maryland Delaware D.C. Press Association Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the University of Maryland’s Merrill School of Journalism in College Park.
Denise and her husband of 26 years William J. Riley, a retired marine engineer, live near Trappe. They are members of Saint Peter and Paul Church in Easton.