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.

Rasheeda Creighton is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the JWC Foundation, a nonprofit that provides individualized business coaching to Black business owners in the Richmond region. She is also Founder and CEO of Killing Superwoman®, where she focuses on supporting women on their personal finance journeys through workshops and budget coaching. Prior to her entrepreneurial ventures, Rasheeda worked in a variety of leadership capacities during her 15-year career at Capital One, most recently as the Executive Director of the 1717 Innovation Center. Rasheeda graduated cum laude from Spelman College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, and earned her Juris Doctor from The University of Michigan Law School, where she served as a Clarence Darrow Merit Scholar.

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.

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