Commission
Shannon O’Brien
Chair
Shannon.OBrien@cccmass.com
Chair Shannon O’Brien is the former State Treasurer and Receiver of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, serving in the role from 1999-2002. She also served as a State Representative and State Senator, where she authored landmark legislation to combat child abuse, worked on economic development issues, as well as reducing the cost of health insurance. As State Treasurer, she led efforts to improve fiscal controls, accountability, and management, created a statewide financial literacy program, and led improvements at the Lottery resulting in an increase of $100 million in local aid to cities and towns. Chair O’Brien was the 2002 Democratic nominee for Governor of Massachusetts.
She has also worked as a litigation attorney at Morrison Mahoney and Miller, an Emmy-nominated television journalist at Boston’s WB 56, and CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater Boston. She served on the board of a publicly traded investment bank in New York as well as a de novo community bank in Newton. From 2008-2010, she served as chair of the NY Pension Reform Commission to enhance transparency and accountability within one of the nation’s largest public funds.
Shannon was previously the founder and principal of the O’Brien Advisory Group, providing strategic advice, government affairs, and business development services for cutting edge technology companies primarily in clean energy, health care, telecommunications, voting access, and financial services. She also brings experience working with startup cannabis entrepreneurs.
Chair O’Brien is a graduate of Yale University and Boston University School of Law.
Nurys Camargo
Commissioner
Nurys.Camargo@CCCMass.com
Commissioner Nurys Camargo is a leader in community and political organizing in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She has dedicated her career to forging opportunities and access for communities of color.
In 2011, she founded Chica Project, a non-profit dedicated to closing the opportunity divide for young Latinas and other women of color by empowering them with the skills and tools necessary to thrive personally and professionally.
For more than 20 years, she has served as an adviser and strategist to local, statewide and congressional campaigns for women and candidates of color.
Commissioner Camargo most recently led statewide, municipal legislative, and community affairs for AT&T as the regional Director of External Affairs for Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Prior to her role at AT&T, she launched and led a statewide interagency program, Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI), for Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS). At SSYI, Commissioner Camargo established metric systems and managed program outcomes with non-profit leaders and community stakeholders to help reduce recidivism, by extending wrap-around services and transitional programming for proven-risk males ages 17-24 in 11 of the state’s gateway cities.
Commissioner Camargo holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Mount Ida College and a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College through the National Urban Fellows Program.
Ava Callender Concepcion
Commissioner
Ava.Concepcion@CCCMass.com
Ava Callender Concepcion was appointed to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission in 2021 by Attorney General Maura Healey. She has an extensive background in public safety and experience working with a range of stakeholders including law enforcement, advocacy organizations, and constituents on important policy matters.
As a lifelong resident of Boston, Commissioner Concepcion has dedicated her career to social justice. Prior to her tenure on the Commission, she served as the Director of Governmental Affairs and External Partnerships for Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins. As Counsel to State Senator William Brownsberger, Commissioner Concepcion served as staff to the Chair of the Joint Judiciary Committee and the Conference Committee on the Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2018, a comprehensive legislative package designed to reduce crime and improve public safety. There, she played a key role in drafting many of the bill’s original components and assembling the final language.
The Commissioner’s prior experience also includes working in the offices of U.S. Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley, and the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board. She is a former candidate for Boston City Council.
Commissioner Concepcion was recognized in 2022 as one of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Ten Outstanding Young Leaders and is one of Johnson C. Smith University’s 40 Under Forty extraordinary alumni. She currently serves on the boards of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley, the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, and the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus PAC.
Commissioner Concepcion is a graduate of New England Law in Boston and a member of the Massachusetts Bar. She holds a B.A. in Criminology from Johnson C. Smith University.
Kimberly Roy
Commissioner
Kimberly.Roy@CCCMass.com
Commissioner Kimberly Roy has an extensive background in public safety and substance use disorder prevention having served the past decade as a member of the leadership team at the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office. In her capacity as Director of External Affairs and Communications Director, Commissioner Roy oversaw the Department’s public and media relations and community outreach programs, and co-authored its Face2Face substance use disorder prevention and education program, which recognizes the impact of the addiction crisis on the criminal justice system and focuses on youth. In partnership with hundreds of local school districts, the Face2Face program has served more than 375,000 middle and high school students throughout Central Massachusetts by aiming to help them understand the potential long-term impacts of drugs and alcohol.
In addition, Commissioner Roy also served as Director of the Worcester County Reserve Deputy Sheriff’s Association, which sponsors annual charitable events including the Sheriff’s Annual Senior Picnic, Winter Coat Drive, Organic Farm Distribution Program, and Holiday Food Drive for at-risk communities in Worcester County. Previously, Roy worked as a Hospital Representative for Johnson & Johnson, working with major teaching hospitals for their anti-infective/analgesic division. She also served on the Board of Trustees for Quinsigamond Community College from 2017-2021.
Commissioner Roy holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Western New England University and Master’s Degree in Professional Communication from Clark University.
Bruce Stebbins
Commissioner
Bruce.Stebbins@CCCMass.com
Commissioner Bruce Stebbins most recently served as a Commissioner for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the agency responsible for implementing and overseeing the expanded gaming law. Commissioner Stebbins assisted with drafting regulations, operationalizing the agency, and awarding the first casino licenses. He focused on community mitigation and effectuating the Expanded Gaming Act, focusing on workforce development, employment, diversity goals, and small business opportunities.
Before joining the Gaming Commission, Commissioner Stebbins was the Business Development Administrator for the City of Springfield and served two terms on the Springfield City Council from 2006 through 2009. He also served as Senior Regional Manager for the National Association of Manufacturers in the New England region from 1999 through 2010.
Bruce served in two Massachusetts administrations as a regional director, deputy director, and then head of the Massachusetts Office of Business Development. His government experience also includes work in the Office of Political Affairs at the White House.
Commissioner Stebbins holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from The George Washington University.
Leadership Team
Shawn Collins
Executive Director
Shawn.Collins@CCCMass.com
The Cannabis Control Commission unanimously appointed Shawn Collins to serve as its first Executive Director in October 2017.
Previously, he served as Assistant Treasurer and Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs to Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg. In that role, he spearheaded the research and policy agenda to help prepare Massachusetts for the legalization of marijuana, prior to and following the passage of Chapter 334 of the Acts of 2016, The Regulation of Marijuana Act.
Collins also served as Chief of Staff and General Counsel to former Sen. Richard T. Moore (D-Uxbridge). In that role, he served as a key advisor to the Senator during the drafting of several versions of the Commonwealth’s landmark health care reform efforts.
A Webster native, Collins was elected to serve on the town’s School Committee for eight years and served as Chair for five years. He is a graduate of Suffolk University and Suffolk University Law School.
Paul Clark
Chief Technology and Innovation Officer
Paul.Clark@CCCMass.com
Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Paul Clark comes to the Cannabis Control Commission after spending more than 25 years in senior IT leadership roles across a variety of industries including healthcare, management consulting, print and marketing services, warehouse and distribution, and business web hosting. Most recently he was Chief Information and Technology Officer/Privacy Compliance Officer for a global healthcare company focused on medical second opinions.
Paul has extensive experience in all aspects of information technology including infrastructure, system administration, security, cloud platforms, and customer service. In addition, he brings a background of overseeing global patient and individual privacy and compliance programs.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Yaw Gyebi, Jr.
Chief of Investigations and Enforcement
Yaw.Gyebi@CCCMass.com
Chief of Investigations and Enforcement Yaw Gyebi, Jr. leads the Cannabis Control Commission’s enforcement team, which is responsible for the evaluation of license applications and processes for Marijuana Establishments, conducting background checks for establishments and agents, as well as ensuring compliance with state regulations.
Gyebi comes to the Commission after working most recently as Chief of Enforcement at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. A graduate of Connecticut College and Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Gyebi served for nearly a decade as an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County, working with the office’s gang unit, major felony unit, and gun task force.
Julie K. Johnson
Chief of Research
Julie.Johnson@CCCMass.com
Chief of Research Julie K. Johnson, PhD, is a former National Institute of Health (NIH) Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Fellow at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. She formerly worked at Boston Children’s Hospital as a Research Study Coordinator at the Center of Adolescent Substance Abuse Research and Brandeis University as a Research Associate at the Prescription Drug Monitoring Center of Excellence.
During her 10-year academic career, she taught health policy courses at Brandeis University and Simmons College and authored varying peer-review papers and editorials, textbook chapters, reports, and professional meeting presentations to advance the knowledge and understanding of marijuana laws, youth and emerging adult health, and substance use prevention.
Johnson graduated from Simmons College with a BA in Society and Health, Sociology, and Communications, Brandeis University with a PhD in Social Policy, and completed her Postdoc in the Drug Dependence Epidemiology Training program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Adriana Leon
Chief Financial and Accounting Officer
Adriana.Leon@CCCMass.com
Chief Financial and Accounting Officer Adriana Campos comes to the Cannabis Control Commission after working for the Massachusetts Senate Ways and Means Committee for more than six years.
In her previous position as Budget Director, she led the development of the Senate’s spending and revenue recommendations for the state’s $40 billion-plus operating budget. Prior to that, Campos served as a fiscal policy analyst, a role in which she focused primarily on state funding for health and human services programs.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brandeis University and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Cedric Sinclair
Chief Communications Officer
Cedric.Sinclair@CCCMass.com
Director of Communications Cedric Sinclair comes to the Cannabis Control Commission after serving as the Director or Communications, Marketing, and Strategic Alliances at the University of Massachusetts Boston, College of Advancing and Professional Studies. At the University, he led brand-building and lead-generation efforts for nontraditional programs that generated $35 million in annual revenue.
Sinclair brings nearly 20 years of integrated marketing communications experience in the higher education and government sectors. He also taught marketing and branding courses as an adjunct faculty at Emerson College. Sinclair graduated from Emerson College with a Master of Arts in Integrated Marketing Communications and the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Alisa Stack
Chief Operating Officer
Alisa.Stack@CCCMass.com
Chief Operating Officer Alisa Stack joined the Cannabis Control Commission in September 2019, after serving as the General Manager of Takoma Wellness Center, the oldest medical marijuana dispensary in Washington, D.C.
Stack had an extensive career with the U.S. Department of Defense, where she led organizations with $150+ million budgets and global staffing, including two years in Afghanistan, managing detention policy, consolidating the POW/MIA offices, and developing counterterrorism policy and strategy. Prior to joining the Department of Defense, Stack worked on Capitol Hill and in national security think tanks.
Stack is a graduate of the University of Washington, Columbia University, and the National War College, where she also served as a guest faculty member.
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