Robert England, President and CEO
Robert C. England has served as a Professor of Criminal Justice since 2005, where he designs curriculum, teaches on campus and online, and founded the Professional Leadership Academy, a partnership between MECC and the Southwest Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy. His career spans both sides of the profession: he began in law enforcement in 1987 with the Big Stone Gap Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and Drug Task Force, served as a police officer with the Wise Police Department, and has been a reserve deputy with the Wise County Sheriff’s Office since 1997, and also serving as Police Chief at MECC. In higher education administration he has served as Dean of Health Sciences and Industrial Technology at MECC — managing several million dollars in grants and more than 100 employees, including the workforce training program for the Dominion Power plant in St. Paul, Virginia — and as a school administrator overseeing 126 faculty and staff.
He holds a PhD in Leadership and Policy Studies and a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Virginia Tech, a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice and Criminology from East Tennessee State University, and degrees from ETSU. He is the author of “An Ethic for the Future” in the widely used text Justice, Crime and Ethics, now in its 9th edition with LexisNexis.
His service includes the University of Virginia’s College at Wise Foundation Board of Directors, president of the Nick England Foundation and the Lonesome Pine Country Club board, and recognition as UVA-Wise Foundation Volunteer of the Year, a VCCS Master Teacher, and an NISOD Excellence in College Education Award recipient.
Daniel England, Technical Services Consultant
Daniel is a Doctor of Physical Therapy specializing in orthopedics and sports medicine, with advanced credentials as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and a Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator (TSAC-F). That combination allows him to treat patients across the full arc of recovery — from the first stages of rehabilitation through a return to full performance — whether the goal is walking without pain, getting back on the field, or meeting the physical demands of military, law enforcement, fire, and EMS work. He is also certified through the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI), the industry standard in golf-specific assessment, giving him the ability to evaluate how a player’s body movement affects the golf swing and to build individualized programs that improve mobility, stability, and power while reducing the risk of injury.
Daniel earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from East Tennessee State University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Science from the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. He is known for an evidence-based, hands-on approach and for taking the time to educate his patients about their own bodies, so the progress made in the clinic carries over into everyday life. Outside of work, Daniel enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, and running marathons — pursuits that keep him personally invested in the same balance of strength, mobility, and endurance he works to build in his patients.
Justin McAfee, Technical Services Consultant
Justin is a former Navy SEAL who now serves as a government contractor working with SEALs transitioning out of the teams and into civilian life. Drawing on his own experience in one of the most demanding communities in the military, he helps operators navigate a shift that few outside that world fully understand — translating hard-won skills into new careers, preparing for life beyond the mission, and building the habits and support structures that make the transition successful. It is work that calls for both credibility and patience, and Justin brings both: he has walked the same road his students are walking, and he approaches each of them as an individual rather than a case file.
Justin holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Christian Theology, an academic path that reflects the same interest in service and purpose that shapes his professional work. Away from work, he spends his time with his family, trains in Jiu Jitsu, and helps others pursue a healthy lifestyle — a commitment to discipline, resilience, and looking after the people around him that runs through every part of his life.
Cassie McAmis, Technical Services Consultant
Cassie McAmis serves her local Sheriff’s Office where she wears several hats: 911 GIS Coordinator, Accreditation Manager, Community Outreach Director, and Grant Writer and Grant Manager. In those roles she manages the agency’s VLEPSC accreditation process, develops and revises written directives, researches and writes federal, state, and private grant applications and administers awarded funds through closeout, and leads community policing initiatives including National Night Out, school safety events, and youth engagement programs. She also works as an Emergency Services Crisis Specialist with Dickenson County Behavioral Health Services, bringing more than a decade of behavioral health experience that spans mobile crisis response, clinical direction of a multi-disciplinary outpatient practice, case management and state hospital liaison work, and jail-based counseling — grounded in nearly a decade as a 911 telecommunicator. Cassie holds a Master of Education in Counseling and Human Development from Lindsey Wilson College and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice from the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. She is a DBHDS Certified Prescreener, a Crisis Intervention Team trainer, certified in TF-CBT and CBT, and a Notary Public for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
