PRESIDENT

Brian Hanna was named the Executive Director of Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) by Governor Whitmer in December 2022. The CRA oversees the medical and adult-use marijuana industries, regulates hemp-derived products, and runs the state’s medical marijuana registry card program. CRA’s mission is to establish Michigan as the national model for a regulatory program that stimulates business growth while preserving safe consumer access to cannabis. Brian previously spent five years with the CRA as the manager of field operations, inspections, and investigations. He has a law enforcement and military intelligence/civil affairs background, having previously served as a criminal intelligence manager with the Michigan State Police, a Deputy Sheriff for Kalamazoo County, and a Captain in the United States Army Reserve with a combat deployment to Afghanistan in 2010-2011. Brian has served on the CANNRA board since 2024.

IMMEDIATE PAST-PRESIDENT

Adria Berry is Secretary of Licensing and Regulation for the State of Oklahoma, which includes serving as the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. Berry is a licensed attorney in Oklahoma and Texas with extensive experience in government affairs and public policy. She was a member of Governor Stitt’s senior staff, serving Oklahomans as a policy advisor and counselor. During that time, she advised the Governor on cannabis policy, building on her previous experience working with cannabis businesses and attorneys as Vice President of Government Affairs for the State Chamber of Oklahoma. She was appointed as the first Executive Director of the standalone Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority on November 1st, 2022 and confirmed by the state senate in May of 2023 after nearly two years of overseeing the program. Adria’s goal is to ensure consistent and equitable regulation of medical cannabis in Oklahoma.

BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE

Kirsten Davis-Franklin is the Deputy Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer (CROO), Legislation & Policy at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Davis-Franklin joined the IL CROO, which coordinates cannabis regulation and taxation across ten state agencies, in 2022. Previously, Davis-Franklin was the Legislative Liaison for the Office of the IL Lieutenant Governor. Prior to her tenure in state government, she began her career in government relations and communications for business trade associations like the Illinois Independent Insurance Association and the Illinois Banker’s Association. In addition to her role on the board, Davis-Franklin also serves at the co-chair of CANNRA’s Social and Economic Equity Committee. Davis-Franklin earned her Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Master of Communications at the University of Illinois.

BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE

Shawn Casey serves as the Chief Government & External Affairs Officer at the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority. Before joining the CCA in 2022, Shawn was a Senior Assistant Attorney General in Colorado, where she advised the state’s Marijuana and Liquor Enforcement Divisions for five years. She began her legal career as a judicial law clerk at the Colorado Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Shawn holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the University of Arizona. She is also a graduate of the Virginia Executive Institute.

BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE

Andrew is the Branch Chief for the Hawaiʻi Department of Health’s Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation (OMCCR), where he oversees the state’s medical cannabis and hemp programs. A former Deputy Attorney General with over a decade of legal experience, he advised multiple state agencies on emerging cannabis and hemp policy, helping to shape Hawaiʻi’s regulatory approach with a focus on clear, actionable guidance for policymakers. Andrew has led cross-agency coordination on cannabis and hemp issues, balancing public health, enforcement, and industry considerations, while prioritizing community outreach with patients, providers, and stakeholders. He has also contributed to national scholarship as a co-author of the hemp chapters in the Cannabis Law Deskbook, and teaching on federal and state cannabis law.

BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE

Lila McKinley is the Director of the Cannabis Division within the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (CT DCP). Ms. McKinley oversees Connecticut’s adult-use cannabis, cannabinoid, and medical marijuana programs, directing policy, enforcement and licensing processes. Ms. McKinley has worked at the CT DCP for over a decade. In addition to serving as a CANNRA Board Member, Ms. McKinley co-chairs CANNRA’s Packaging, Labeling, and Advertising Committee and has served in that role since the Committee’s inception in 2021. Prior to joining CT DCP, Ms. McKinley practiced at a large insurance defense law firm for five years in the areas of professional liability and legal malpractice. Ms. McKinley obtained her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law and her B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Connecticut.

BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE

Amy Moore is the Director of the Division of Cannabis Regulation at the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which is the sole regulatory authority for Missouri’s medical and adult-use cannabis industry. She joined the program at its inception in December 2018 as Deputy Director and Counsel and became its Director in February 2023. Before joining the Department, Moore worked in public utility regulation at the Missouri Public Service Commission, serving first a legal counsel for the Commission’s subject matter experts and then as legal and policy advisor to the Chair of the Commission. Moore holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri and Bachelor’s degrees in Business and Psychology from the University of Tennessee - Chattanooga.

BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE

Owen Parker serves as Bureau Chief of Cannabis Regulation for the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, where he leads the state’s medical cannabis and consumable hemp programs. He has overseen Iowa’s medical cannabis program since its implementation in 2018, and has led the state’s consumable hemp program since 2023. Prior to public service, Owen worked in the private sector supporting multi-state cannabis operations in retail, fundraising, and licensing and market entry. He holds a Master of Public Health degree and has spent his career in cannabis policy and regulation. Iowa represents one of CANNRA’s original 19 member states and Owen previously served as the inaugural co-chair of the CANNRA Medical Cannabis Committee.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Gillian Schauer, PhD, MPH was elected CANNRA’s first Executive Director in 2021, and served as a Senior Advisor to CANNRA before the Association’s founding. She has worked in drug policy and public health research for more than two decades, including work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and several other state and international governments. Dr. Schauer has testified before the U.S. Congress twice on issues related to cannabis and hemp. Through work with the CDC Foundation and CDC, Dr. Schauer founded and led the Multi-State Collaborative on Cannabis and Public Health from 2014-2020, convening State Health Officials to conduct policy tracking and discuss public health data monitoring and policy needs as cannabis policy evolved. Prior to working on cannabis policy, Dr. Schauer spent more than a decade working on tobacco control policy. She was a Senior Editor and Author on the 2020 Surgeon General's Report on Smoking Cessation. Dr. Schauer is an Affiliate Researcher at the University of Washington and has more than 75 peer-reviewed research publications on cannabis and other substances. She has a PhD from Emory University, a Master of Public Health from University of Washington, and a Bachelors of Science from Northwestern University.

ADMINISTRATIVE CONSULTANT

Amber Virkler serves as an Administrative Consultant for CANNRA. Prior to consulting, she worked for the State of Nevada in administrative support roles across multiple agencies for nearly 15 years. Most recently, Virkler served as the Executive Assistant at the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) and was one of the agency’s inaugural staff members. During her four years as Executive Assistant, Virkler worked closely with the CCB's Executive Director in managing the work of the agency and was integral in the establishment of agency practices. Virkler holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

PROJECT CONSULTANT

Sara Cooley Broschart is a public health leader with nearly twenty years of experience in alcohol and cannabis policy at local, regional and state levels. In her previous role, she led the development of a nationwide, CDC-funded technical assistance and training center for alcohol policy. Prior to that she was Public Health Liaison at the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board. Her experience includes advising alcohol and cannabis regulators on policy and best practices, developing innovative methods to engage community voices in policy making activities, building a statewide alcohol policy alliance from the ground up, and establishing a health network in rural Nicaragua. Sara has an MPH from the University of Arizona and has done extensive graduate work in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Michigan.