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VACP Installs 2024-2025 Executive Board
Roanoke Police Chief Scott Booth Elected VACP President; Germanna Community College Chief Craig Branch Completes 2023-2024 Term as President
The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police on August 26, 2024 elected the members of the 2024-2025 VACP Executive Board at the Association's 99th Annual Conference in Roanoke, Virginia. The board was installed during the Association's Valor Awards banquet on August 27, 2024. The new board members are:
PRESIDENT — Chief Scott C. Booth, Roanoke — Chief Scott Booth joined the Roanoke Police Department in October of 2023. He started his law enforcement career with the Richmond, Virginia, Police Department in 1996, where he served for nearly 20 years. In August of 2015, he joined the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority in Washington, DC, where he served as the Deputy Chief of Operations and then as the Chief of Police. In July of 2017, he took a position with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where he served as the Deputy Federal Security Director for the Charlotte, NC region. He coordinated transportation security efforts for the Federal Government in western North Carolina until he became the Chief of Police for Danville, Virginia, in February 2018. He serves on the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Accreditation Executive Board. Chief Booth has a bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond in human resource management and leadership studies, a master's degree in criminal justice from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a doctorate in criminal justice from Pennsylvania Western University.
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT — Chief Craig L. Branch, Germanna Community College — Chief Branch was appointed Germanna Community College Chief of Police in 2011. He has more than 20 years of law enforcement and security experience in Virginia and the District of Columbia. He previously worked for the J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Police Department where he served as an Interim Chief and Deputy Chief of Police. He also has worked for the Virginia State University Police Department and the Virginia Commonwealth University Police Department Chief Branch has a bachelor's degree from Virginia State University. He currently serves as Chairman of the Virginia Criminal Justice Services Board, and previously served on the state Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice. Chief Branch served as 2014-2015 president of the Virginia Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. (2017-2021 term)
1ST VICE PRESIDENT —. Chief John P. Clair, Marion — Chief Clair began his career in the U.S. Army, graduating from that military branch's police academy in 1999. As a military police officer, he undertook traditional law enforcement work at Fort Sam Houston in Texas and then was transferred to Korea, where his work focused on black market investigations and drug suppression. He returned to Fort Myer, a U.S. Army post associated with Arlington National Cemetery, where his duties ranged from dog handler to presidential support missions. During Operation Enduring Freedom, he was sent to Guantanamo Bay. Clair was honorably discharged in 2005. He then worked as a private contractor providing protective services for the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Department of Justice. Clair entered municipal law enforcement with the town of Dumfries' police department. He was working for the Prince William County Police Department when he was appointed Quantico police chief in 2013 and currently serves as the Chief of Police for the Town of Marion.
2ND VICE PRESIDENT — Chief Travis C. Christian, Petersburg — Chief Christian has over 34 years of law enforcement experience. Chief Christian joined the Petersburg Bureau of Police over ten years ago, served as Deputy Chief, and was appointed Chief of Police in 2020. He has a BA degree in Criminal Justice Administration and is pursuing a Master's in Public Safety with a concentration in Public Administration from the University of Virginia. Chief Christian graduated from the FBI LEEDS, session 80, Professional Executive Leadership School (PELS), University of Richmond, and the VACP New Chief/Deputy Chiefs school. Chief Christian is also a VACP Certified Chief Law Enforcement Executive. He is also a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), and Police Executive Research Forum.
3RD VICE PRESIDENT — Chief Angela M. Greene, Lexington — Appointed Lexington Chief of Police in May 2020, Chief Greene previously served as deputy chief and chief of the Portsmouth Police Department. She started her law enforcement career in 2001 at the Richmond Police Department, where she rose to the rank of Captain. Chief Greene is working on a master's degree in public administration from Old Dominion University, Chief Greene has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience and a master's in public administration from ODU. She is currently working on her PhD in Public Administration at Liberty University. Chief Greene graduated Magna Cum Laude from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a B.A. in Pre-Law and Political Science. She currently serves on the Virginia Maternal Mortality Review Board.
AT-LARGE MEMBERS
Chief Erin F. Schaible, Fairfax City (2022-2026) — Chief Schaible was appointed Chief of Police in Fairfax City in February 2019 after starting her police career with the Fairfax County Police Department. She has a master's degree in Public Administration from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Science from Virginia Tech. Chief Schaible is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and a member of the Police Executive Research Forum.
Chief Charles A. “Andy” Penn, Arlington County (2022-2026) — Chief Penn has worked for the Arlington Police Department since 1992, rising to the appointment as Chief of Police in June 2021. He is an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Forensic and Legal Psychology at Marymount University. Chief Penn is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Police Executive Research Forum's Senior Management Institute for Police. He has a Master of Arts in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Radford University.
Chief Stephen E. Keatts, Poquoson (2023-2027) — A long-time member of the VACP, Chief Keatts recently was recognized in the VACP's inaugural class of Virginia Certified Chief Law Enforcement Executives. He has more than 28 years of law enforcement experience, working for Roanoke City Police Department and now serving as the Poquoson Chief of Police. He has a master's degree in public administration and is a graduate of the FBI-LEEDA Executive Leadership Institute and the National Criminal Justice Command College at the University of Virginia. Chief Keatts is a certified police academy instructor and a member of the Executive Committee of the Hampton Roads Criminal Justice Training Academy Board of Directors.
Chief Michael P. Kochis, Charlottesville (2023-2027) — Chief Kochis has nearly 25 years of experience in law enforcement. After retiring as a commander with the Alexandria Police Department he spent 3 years as the Chief of Police for the Town of Warrenton. Chief Kochis currently serves as the Chief of Police for the City of Charlottesville. He has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice administration and a master's degree in public safety. Chief Kochis is a graduate of the FBI National Academy Class 274 for Law Enforcement Executives, the Senior Management Institute for Police, and the VACP New Chiefs School. He also holds the designation of Certified Public Manager, CPM, from George Washington University and is an Army Veteran. Chief Kochis is currently a member of the Virginia Professional Standards Commission and has been active in the VACP for several years.
Chief Wayne Sager, Strasburg (2024-2028) — Chief Sager began his law enforcement career with the Strasburg Police Department in 2006 and rose through the ranks to become Chief of Police in 2018. He has an associate degree from Potomac State College and is a graduate of the FBI Academy and the VACP's Professional Executive Leadership School. Chief Sager chairs the VACP Awards Committee and holds numerous law enforcement specialization certificates.
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The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police & Foundation (www.vachiefs.org) is a statewide charitable organization of federal, state and local police chiefs and other law enforcement executives dedicated to improving the professionalism of police agencies in Virginia and to providing training and education programs for law enforcement executives. The Association was founded in 1926.
Photo Caption:
(front row, L to R) Chief Greene, Chief Christian, Chief Booth, Chief Clair, and Chief Branch. (second row, L to R) Chief Schaible, Chief Kochis, Chief Penn, Chief Keatts, Chief Sager.
Photo Credit: Erin Schrad, VACP.
Contact: Ms. Dana Schrad, Executive Director – 804-338-9512 (mobile)
