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VACP Installs 2023-2024 Executive Board; Germanna Community College Chief Craig Branch Elected VACP President
Germanna Community College Chief Craig Branch becomes 2023-2024 President, the first campus police chief to serve as VACP President. Chesterfield County Chief Jeffrey Katz completes 2022-2023 term as VACP President.
The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police on September 12 elected the members of the 2023-2024 VACP Executive Board at the Association's 98h Annual Conference in Norfolk, Virginia. The board was installed during the Association's Valor Awards banquet. The new board members are:
PRESIDENT – Chief Craig Branch, Germanna Community College. Chief Branch was appointed Germanna Community College Chief of Police in 2011. He has more than 25 years of law enforcement and public safety 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.
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT – Chief Jeffrey Katz, Chesterfield County. Colonel Jeffrey S. Katz was sworn in as the Chesterfield County Police Chief in January 2018. He started his law enforcement career in 1989 as a police cadet with the Plantation, Florida, Police Department. Katz was later hired by Plantation as a community service officer. In 1994, he joined the City of Parkland, Florida, Public Safety Department as both a full-time police officer and professional firefighter. He joined the Boynton Beach, Florida, Police Department in 1998. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2001 and earned the rank of lieutenant in 2004. Katz assumed his role as chief of the Boynton Beach Police Department on an interim basis in July 2013. He was permanently appointed as the 32nd chief of the Boynton Beach Police Department in September 2013. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from St. Leo University, Katz earned a master's degree in business leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Chief Katz is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute's Command Officer Development Course and the FBI National Academy and has completed executive level courses in leadership and management through Harvard University and the University of Notre Dame. Chief Katz is also a graduate of the FBI's National Executive Institute and has completed his doctoral coursework in organizational psychology.
1ST VICE PRESIDENT – Chief Scott Booth, Danville. Scott C. Booth has 27 years of law enforcement experience, including 19 years with the Richmond Police Department, where he rose through the ranks to major. Booth previously served as deputy federal security director for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Transportation Security Administration in Charlotte, North Carolina. Prior to becoming Danville Chief of Police, he served as police chief of Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA). He also 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. Chief Booth is a VACP Certified Law Enforcement Chief Executive.
2ND VICE PRESIDENT – Chief John 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. Chief Clair was recently recognized as a VACP Certified Law Enforcement Chief Executive.
3RD VICE PRESIDENT – Chief Travis Christian, Petersburg. Chief Christian, a 30-year law enforcement veteran, joined the Petersburg Police Department as deputy chief, and was appointed chief in November 2020. He previously served as police chief in Waverly and deputy chief at Virginia Union University. Chief Christian holds a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Columbia Southern University and is a graduate of the Professional Executive Leadership School. Chief Christian is a VACP Certified Law Enforcement Chief Executive.
AT LARGE MEMBERS
Chief Angela Greene, Lexington. (Term: 2021-2025) 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 has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience and has earned a master's in public administration from Old Dominion University. She is currently working on her Ph.D. 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 Virginia's Maternal Mortality Review Team.
Chief Erin Schaible, Fairfax City. (Term: 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 Schaible was recognized in the VACP's inaugural class of VACP Certified Law Enforcement Chief Executives.
Chief Charles A. “Andy” Penn, Arlington County. (Term: 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 Penn has earned the designation of VACP Certified Law Enforcement Chief Executive Officer.
Chief Stephen Keatts, Poquoson. (Term: 2023-2027) A long-time member of the VACP, Chief Keatts recently was recognized in the VACP's inaugural class of VACP Certified Law Enforcement Chief 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 Kochis, Charlottesville. (Term: 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.
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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.
Contact: Ms. Dana Schrad, Executive Director – 804-338-9512 (mobile)
Photo Caption:
(Front, L to R) 2nd Vice President Chief John Clair, Marion Police Department; Immediate Past President Col. Jeffrey S. Katz, Chesterfield County Police Department; President Chief Craig Branch, Germanna Community College Police; 1st Vice President Chief Scott Booth, Danville Police Department; 3rd Vice President Chief Travis Christian, Petersburg Bureau of Police.
(Back, L to R) Chief Erin Schaible, City of Fairfax Police Department; Chief Michael Kochis, Charlottesville Police Department; Chief Charles “Andy” Penn, Arlington County Police Department; Chief Angela Greene, Lexington Police Department; Chief Stephen Keatts, Poquoson Police Department.
Photo Credit: Erin Schrad, VACP.
