Danielle Holmes, Esq
Danielle is a highly accomplished regulatory attorney with over a decade of experience in the gaming and cannabis sectors. She graduated summa cum laude from Albany Law School, where she was a senior editor of the Albany Law Review. Danielle began her career as a founding staff member of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, playing a pivotal role in establishing the state's casino gaming industry and serving as the Commission's primary horse racing attorney. She later moved to New York to support the New York State Gaming Commission with implementing casino gaming in New York State. After spending several years in Counsel's office for the Gaming Commission where she drafted the regulations governing casino gaming in the state and worked feverishly on opening the doors for the first commercial casino operations, she was subsequently appointed as the Director of Licensing, where she oversaw licensing operations for casino gaming, Indian gaming, sports wagering, the Lottery, horse racing, and charitable gaming.
Upon the passage of the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act in New York State, Danielle was appointed as one of the founding executive staff members for the Office of Cannabis Management where she was tasked with overseeing the licensing division. As Deputy Director for Licensing, Danielle played the pivotal role of creating the Office's licensing team, launching the first Adult Use Cannabis license applications for the state, and had the honor of facilitating the award of the first Adult Use Cannabis Licenses.
Through her time spent in these highly regulated industries, Danielle has become an expert at navigating complex regulatory structures and working through overly burdensome bureaucratic hurdles. With her unmatched experience in regulated industries she is able to offer her clients unique guidance and assistance for their operational needs.
In her time away from the office, Danielle lives on an 83 acre horse farm in upstate New York with her family and pets. With an undergraduate degree in Equine Science, Danielle has found that a passion for horses doesn't leave you, even when you chose a different career path. Danielle and her family enjoy being breeders and owners of racehorses, eventing horses, and recreational riding horses.