About Us

Chief (Ret.) John Keohane has 36 years of police experience and currently serves a part-time Deputy with the Powhatan County Sheriff’s Office and as a consultant with the Virginia Police Chief’s Association. He retired from full-time law enforcement in September, 2018. He served as the Chief of the City of Hopewell Police Department and retired after eight years of service. His major projects and accomplishments include obtaining Virginia State Accreditation, reduction in crime, and improved relationships with the community and all criminal justice agencies. Hopewell had a 21% reduction in total major crime during the Chief’s tenure.

Prior to becoming Chief, he served in the Richmond Police Department for 28 years and retired as a Major. In his last assignment he commanded over 200 personnel within the Support Services Division. His favorite assignment with RPD was serving as a Sergeant at the Police Training Academy for over five years.  

He holds a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute of Police, Session #44. He also is a State certified general, firearms, and defensive tactics law enforcement trainer.

He has been married for 35 years and has three children and one grandchild.

Neil Amin started his career at Goldman Sachs & Co. where he advised public and private technology companies on merger and acquisition transactions and capital markets activities. Since 2008, he has served as Chief Executive Officer of Shamin Hotels, which owns and operates over 60 hotels under the Hilton, Marriott, Intercontinental Hotels, and Hyatt brands. He has previously served on the Virginia Treasury Board, Virginia Small Business Financing Authority, and the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates. Mr. Amin graduated summa cum laude from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and a Master of Business Administration.

Bette Brand has served in several roles at the United States Department of Agriculture, including: Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development, Administrator of Rural Business Cooperative Service, and Acting Administrator of Rural Utility Service.  Prior to her federal service, Bette held senior leadership positions at Farm Credit of the Virginias for more than 35 years. She is currently Founder and CEO of Strategic Consulting LLC. Bette earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from Virginia Tech and a Master of Business Administration from Virginia Tech.

Michael Massie, Esq. is a trial lawyer with experience at every level of Virginia’s courts and federal courts. He is currently the owner of Michael Jerome Massie, PC. He started his practice of law as a Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Portsmouth and has served as a Substitute Judge. Michael earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Government from the University of Virginia, a Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado, and a Master of Divinity from Virginia Union University.

Anthony D. Williams is a 34-year career public servant, including 30 years in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He served as Chief of Operations for the DEA from January 2016 through January 2019. As Chief of Operations he was responsible for DEA’s global drug enforcement efforts in 222 domestic offices and 91 foreign offices in 70 countries, as well as DEA’s Special Operation and Aviation Divisions. As Chief of Operations, Mr. Williams also served as the principal advisor to the DEA Administrator and Deputy Administrator on all matters pertaining to the daily worldwide operations of DEA.

During his distinguished career Mr. Williams served in many leadership positions, both domestic and foreign. In 1988, after he began his career with DEA at the Philadelphia Field Division, he held domestic assignments at the New Orleans, Washington D.C., and Houston Field Divisions as well as at DEA’s headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Internationally he has served in Mumbai, India as DEA’s Resident Agent-in-Charge, and for two years as Assistant Country Attaché at DEA’s Kingston, Jamaica office.

From 2005 to 2009 Mr. Williams was DEA’s Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge of the Honolulu District Office, in DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division. In that position he was responsible for DEA operations in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Belau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

In 2009, Mr. Williams was promoted to the position of Special Agent-in-Charge (SAC) of the San Francisco Field Division where he served until his appointment in 2012 as the SAC of DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division, where he remained until his appointment as Chief of Operations in 2016. As SAC of the Los Angeles Field Division, Mr. Williams managed operations conducted by DEA personnel assigned throughout seven California counties, the states of Nevada and Hawaii, and the areas covered by the Honolulu District Office.

Mr. Williams is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Wilmington College in Wilmington, Delaware. He previously served as a Boys and Girls Club board member for Southeastern Virginia, and state of Virginia congressional district volunteer for AARP.

Jeremy Preiss joined the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (“CCA” or “Authority”) as its second employee in January 2022. He serves as the Authority’s Chief Officer - Regulatory, Policy, and External Affairs, leading the CCA’s work on policy, legislation, regulation, and public affairs.  He also currently serves as the Acting Head of the CCA. 

Before joining the CCA, Preiss worked as an executive attorney on ethics, compliance, and international business matters for over 20 years for two aerospace and defense companies, United Technologies and Raytheon Technologies. Prior to that corporate experience, Jeremy was international trade counsel for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and an attorney with the firm Sidley Austin.

Jeremy has Bachelor's and Master's Degrees, respectively, from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and JHU's School of Advanced International Studies, and a law degree (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Law. He is married and has two adult children.

• jeremy.preiss@cca.virginia.gov

Jamie Patten is an accomplished public servant whose 21-year career includes numerous leadership roles that span across different state agencies within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Previously, she was at the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) as its deputy director of administration and finance. During her tenure, Patten was critical in developing the strategy for funding and sustaining a seven-year transformation effort for the agency. While at DJJ, she also served on the department’s Future Planning Group, which was formed to address its most pressing administrative challenges.

Jamie received her Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Longwood University. She is a graduate of the Virginia Executive Institute and the Virginia Public Safety Leadership Institute.

• jamie.patten@cca.virginia.gov

Shawn serves as the Director of Regulation and Policy for the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. At the CCA she leads a team tasked with developing regulations, analyzing legislative proposals, and preparing resources to support the CCA’s public safety and public health initiatives. Before joining the CCA, Shawn practiced law for a decade, most recently as a Senior Assistant Attorney General in Colorado, where she advised the state’s Marijuana and Liquor Enforcement Divisions for five years. Shawn holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the University of Arizona Rogers College of law.

• shawn.casey@cca.virginia.gov

Robin Hollenbeck is a veteran of the United States Air Force. Once out of the military she continued her role as a servant leader and began a career in Human Resources. In her 10 years of human resources experience, Robin has worked in both private and government sectors. She has experience in a variety of facets, ranging from talent acquisition, classification and compensation, employee relations, benefits administration, policy administration, training and development, employee engagement, data analytics, organizational development, and payroll. Robin has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Management with a concentration in Information Technology and Project Management.

• robin.hollenbeck@cca.virginia.gov