Speakers (2017)
Ophelia Chong
FOUNDER @
Stock Pot Images
Santa Monica + San Francisco - 2017,2018
Ophelia Chong is the creative genius behind Stock Pot Images and Asian Americans for Cannabis Education (AACE). She is driven to help shape the new conversation of Cannabis and is guided by one mission: to advocate for the legalization of cannabis and offer truthful reflections of the faces and communities that embrace cannabis.
As well as StockPot Images, Ophelia is the Creative Consultant at PUSH Magazine the target audience is millennial women in cannabis. She is also the Community Outreach liaison for THC Design, one of the top premium cannabis growers in CA, she is responsible for LGBT, Veterans, Minorities and Disabled outreach.
Her career path has been formed by her 2 decades in photography, as a creative director in publishing, entertainment and as an adjunct professor in education; her path is non-ending because she believes that we all have at least five careers in our lifetimes.
Aaron Herzberg
FOUNDER @
Bud & Bloom Dispensary & Puzzle Group Law Firm
Santa Monica - 2017
Aaron Herzberg is a partner at CalCann Holdings, LLC, a California medical marijuana real estate company with a portfolio of licensed medical marijuana businesses and properties in California. Herzberg is also a strategist, corporate lawyer, cannabis policy expert, and entrepreneur, specializing in California’s nascent legal cannabis industry. Recognized for his influence, Herzberg has been interviewed by reporters including Forbes, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times for his insight into the emerging cannabis industry. Herzberg’s expertise has allowed him to successfully raised over $28 million in investment capital for his projects at CalCann since January of 2016.
These projects include two licensed dispensaries in Santa Ana, CA known as “OC3”and “Bud and Bloom” as well as a 50,000 square foot soon to be municipally licensed cultivation and processing facility in Lynwood California.
Herzberg’s experience and knowledge of the cannabis industry resulted in his serving on the City of Long Beach’s Medical Marijuana Task Force and being a founding member of the Nevada Cannabis Industry Association. In 2015, Herzberg was selected as a Super Lawyer, a distinction that is limited to the top five percent of lawyers nationwide. Furthermore, he is a recipient of an AV Preeminent® rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Whitney Beatty
CEO@
Apothecarry Brands
Santa Monica - 2017
Inspired by a lack of stylish, safe cannabis storage systems and a distain for storing medicine in a shoebox, Apothecarry Brands CEO Whitney Beatty is a successful entertainment industry executive turned cannabis storage designer that’s spearheading her quickly growing start-ups first financial raise. After meeting so many like minded cannabis users, who lamented about a lack of good storage system, worried about securing buds away from kids and pets and who were tired of searching around for their stash to discover it dried out from plastic baggies and non-airtight dispensary jars, Apothecarry was born. The brand seeks to redefining the image of cannabis users who take pride and pleasure in their stash, while filling a hole in the marijuana paraphernalia market for everyone from the attorneys who tokes after their high powered workday, to the “stiletto stoners” who are hosting ladies night, to the seniors using medication for health benefits and everyone in between who demands the best in all things. Their initial offering, the Apothecarry Case, is a sleek and sexy storage and humidity system designed to safely keep cannabis at its freshest, most optimum quality while providing luxury tools and humidity control for the discriminating connoisseur. Her company Apothecarry was in the first cohort of Canopy San Diego cannabis business accelerator, and won the best pitch award at the Arcview Group’s LA investor summit.
Jeffrey C. Raber Ph.D.
CEO @
The Wercshop
Santa Monica - 2017
Dr. Raber received his B.S. in biochemistry from Lebanon Valley College, PA and subsequently a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Southern California with an emphasis on developing new synthetic methodologies useful in pharmaceutical drug discovery and manufacturing efforts. Dr. Raber studied botanical phylogenetic relationships based on the RuBisCO enzyme’s evolution while in college and was named to the USA Today 1997 All-USA College Academic Team for his research accomplishments in this area. While at USC he was awarded the Harold and Lillian Moulton Fellowship for his efforts on the construction of novel heterocycles and peptidomimetics utilizing a proprietary boron-based multicomponent condensation reaction.
Driven by a desire to find his own medicine and make a positive contribution to society while creating American jobs, Dr. Raber founded The Werc Shop in 2010 with a focus on botanical analysis, new product developments and sustainability. The Werc Shop’s first goal was addressing unmet public health and safety needs within the medical cannabis community. Dr. Raber’s detailed investigations into the chemistry of cannabis, including 5 peer reviewed publications to date, provide him with a unique perspective and knowledge base useful in assisting state and local regulators in the construction and implementation of effective regulatory solutions for the safe and sustainable delivery of medical cannabis to qualified patients and adult consumers. His technical insights and understanding of the complex regulatory scope continue to prove very helpful in assisting many entrepreneurs in their efforts within the cannabis arena.
Joshua Shelton
Co-Founder @
Green Street Agency
Joshua Shelton is the Managing Attorney of Winston|Wolfe and partner at Green St. Agency. Mr. Shelton is a seasoned general counsel responsible for building and protecting various successful ventures. He advises on all things corporate governance, identifies and helps execute cross-branding strategies, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships across various sectors. He regularly manages and enforces portfolios of intellectual property including substantial experience in trademark and copyright.
Lindsay Kirk
Founder @
Prism Farms
Santa Monica- 2017
Lindsey Kirk is the founder of Prism Farms, California’s first branded CBD preroll. She enjoys sharing the benefits of cannabis, particularly CBD, with others. For nearly three years, Lindsey has been a brand ambassador for industry leader KIVA Confections. Prior to Kiva Confections, Lindsey worked as a freelance marketer for a number of small businesses in the New Orleans area.
Ron Kolb
Founder & CEO @
Sensi Media Group
Long Beach - 2017
Ron is the founder and CEO of Sensi Media Group. He has served in leadership roles in the Publishing arena for over 20 years and, most recently, was a partner, U.S. Director of Recruiting, and Southern Region Manager for Best Version Media, the country’s fastest-growing privately held media business. While at BVM, Ron managed the first national expansion efforts for the company, helping them scale from one market to hundreds in four years. Ron developed the number 1 leaders in every category of the BVM business (publisher, division, and region) every year he worked with the organization. Ron brings his skills at building value-added, rapid-scaling media culture to drive the Sensi platform.
Seibo Shen
FOUNDER @
VapeXhale + Hanu Labs
Santa Monica + San Francisco + Boulder, CO - 2017,2018
After a successful career in various revenue generating roles in the Silicon Valley and having 4 successful exits (Data.com, Successfactors, E2open, Yammer), Seibo Shen founded VapeXhale in 2010 and has served as CEO since the company’s inception. An active leader in the vaporizer community, Seibo works closely with VapeXhale’s product team to shape the technology behind the company’s products. The approach behind VapeXhale’s flagship product “The Cloud” was Seibo’s original concept, a technology that won five best product awards its first year on the market.
Seibo received a Bachelor of Science in Ethnic Studies from University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to VapeXhale, Seibo worked as integral part of the sales team at four successful companies in the Silicon Valley, including Jigsaw, Successfactors, E2open, Yammer, and Fliptop. Seibo spent the early part of his career as a stuntman and background dancer for various artists, such as Bone Thugs N Harmony, Mortal Kombat, Bush and The Grinch.
Kimberly Dillon
VP of Marketing @
Papa & Barkley
Santa Monica - 2017
Kimberly Dillon is the Vice President of Marketing at Papa & Barkley, a line of cannabis topicals and tinctures that focuses on pain relief and pain management. She has worked at several Blue Chip companies like Proctor&Gamble, the NFL, and Accenture. She left the corporate world, ten years ago and has raised millions of dollars for startups around the world and has developed growth strategies for digital brands such as YouTube stars Smosh, Scooter Braun’s Bkstg, and the SIRI spinout Desti. She has spoken at a number of key conferences including TedWoman, SXSW, Lean In and was named of the top leaders to watch in tech by the Huffington Post.
Kimberly has two undergraduate degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and a MBA from the University of Michigan. She lives in Los Angeles, where she performs standup comedy in her free time and is working on her 42nd passport stamp.
Avis Bulbulyan
CEO @
SIVA
Hollywood - 2017
Avis Bulbulyan is the Chief Executive Officer of SIVA Enterprises, a full-service cannabis business development and solutions firm that provides turn-key management, venture opportunities, product and brand development, and licensing to entrepreneurs across the United States. He currently serves as the President of the Los Angeles Cannabis Task Force and the Education Chair for Cannabis Legal Accounting Law. As one of the industry’s leading cannabis business authorities, Avis is a highly sought after speaker and a valued expert resource for many national news sources and publications. Avis oversees corporate direction, business development and strategy at SIVA Enterprises, facilitating company activity in consulting, alliances and channels, marketing, investments and operations. Avis leads a high-caliber team who collectively provides clients with the highest level of support from ideation and concept, through execution. SIVA Enterprises’ clients are some of the most well-known and highest-grossing companies in the cannabis industry. For more information, please visit: http://www.sivallc.com/
Keira Fae
Founder @
Pregnancy & Cannabis
Long Beach - 2017
Keira entered the cannabis industry with one simple goal and that was to educate. After using cannabis to treat her illness late 2015, she had a passion for teaching patients and anyone interested in switching out their pills for pot.
In 2016, Keira collaborated with WeedmapsTv and hosted a cannabis cooking show, “Cooking with Keira”. There she made edibles and infused butters and oils teaching patients, dosing, how to infuse, and special tips. She also had an edible company “Ambrosia Edibles”, delicious infused treats that were low sugar, micro dosed (10-25mg) and occasionally gluten free. Shortly after, she began working on an Educational show, called “The Cannabis Pot”. A platform that focused on education and teaching all there is to know about this miraculous plant.
Since discovering she was pregnant early 2017, Keira immediately looked to cannabis to relieve her nausea, pain, and discomfort and found nothing. No information, limited studies, only black and white answers all without scientific evidence to back their claims. Frustrated and confused, Keira decided to put her pipe down and quit consuming cannabis all together. Instead of dwelling in self pity, she started a group on Facebook group, “Pregnant and Cannabis” a safe place for mothers, expecting mothers, and for those who are interested in the use of cannabis for women who are pregnant or may become pregnant. All my information is gathered via internet or anecdotal.
The consumption of cannabis whilst pregnant is a very controversial topic and surprisingly Keira is not for nor against the use of cannabis for expecting mothers and mothers who breastfeed. She is an advocate for what is safe, backed by science and is overall the best choice for the fetus (or the infant) and the mother.
What Keira wishes to accomplish with her website and social media is a ‘Movement’. For mothers to feel safe, comfortable and well informed when it comes to using cannabis as their alternative medicine. No one should feel scared for asking a questions, especially if it is with your doctor. Cannabis is a medicine and it’s time we all start treating it as such.
Alex Halperin
Journalist @
WeedWeek
Santa Monica - 2017
Alex Halperin has been covering the cannabis industry for three years for Fast Company, Slate, LA Weekly, and many other publications. Halperin also writes WeedWeek, the best cannabis industry newsletter. Subscriptions are free at WeedWeek.net.
Justin Braun
President @
Made by Science
Long Beach - 2017
Justin is the President of Made By Science, a pharma and technology company in the Cannabis industry. Prior
to joining Made By Science, Justin served as a President at MJIC focusing on strategic acquisitions within the
Cannabis industry and Operations. Before joining MJIC, Justin served as CEO for two public companies on the
OTC market; both in the Cannabis sector- Vape Holdings (OTCQB VAPE) and Agritek Holdings (OTCQB AGTK).
Justin is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy having earned a bachelor degree in Electrical
Engineering and a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering. While serving as a Lieutenant in the United
States Navy he operated nuclear reactors on the USS RONALD REAGAN until the completion of his
military commitment. Justin also has an MBA from the University of Southern California’s Marshall
School of Business. He currently resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife Ashley and daughter Brooklyn.
Nick Kovacevich
CEO @
Kush Bottles
Long Beach - 2017
Nick Kovacevich is a seasoned entrepreneur who has built several successful businesses, including Kush Bottles, a dynamic sales and distribution platform that provides unique products and services in the cannabis industry, where he currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer.
Nick’s first venture was in 2007 with PackMyDorm, a moving and storage company operating on four major campuses, including Stanford and the University of California. He successfully sold that company in 2010, and proceeded on to his next venture - Kush Bottles.
With the understanding that the legal cannabis industry presented an unprecedented opportunity, Nick’s focus was to build an ancillary business that didn’t touch the plant, yet was integral to the marketplace. Kush Bottles was created in order to provide pharmaceutical grade, child-resistant packaging to the then-emerging medical cannabis
industry. With the trend toward legal, adult-use cannabis happening in 2012, the business began to flourish. Now, Kush employs more than 60 people and has facilities in three states. The company is fully compliant with the SEC and publicly traded on the OTC exchange under the symbol KSHB.
As one of the only nationally recognized brands in the cannabis space, Kush Bottles has emerged as an approved and trusted partner for the licensed cannabis business. AS CEO, Nick has become a well-respected executive by both the industry and regulators. As such, he has often asked to speak at various cannabis conferences and has been featured on major media outlets such as CNBC, Inc., Cheddar and TheStreet.
Adam Hijazi
Founder @
LBGR
Long Beach - 2017
Adam is the founder of LBGR , an originally licensed medical cannabis dispensary in Long Beach , CA, and has been working diligently in every facet of the medical cannabis industry since 2010. He worked in partnership with the city to help craft best practices and compliance standards for the industry, he was appointed by the mayor and city council as one of the commissioner's on the City task-force. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Long Beach Collective Association (the “LBCA”) and is extremely active within the community, law enforcement and patients to professionalize the industry. His working relationships with dispensaries, manufactures, and cannabis brands both statewide and nationally, are well established, as are his political contacts at the local and state levels. Adam graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a business finance degree.
Lance Ott
CEO @
Guardian Data Systems
Hollywood - 2017
Lance Ott, CEO of Guardian Data Systems and former Director of National Bank of California, is a 17-year veteran of the cannabis, banking and financial services industries. He has expertise in FinTech, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), merchant services, operations, compliance and consulting. Ott also is a Certified Payments Professional “CPP” through the Electronic Transactions Association.
Ott founded Guardian Data Systems in 2008 with the specific intent of providing secure, reliable and transparent financial services for our cannabis community. He is a cancer survivor and fierce advocate of alternative medicine, including medicinal cannabis. Lance Ott firmly believes that safe access to medical cannabis must be provided as medicine for any patient in need.
Since the inception of Guardian Data Systems, Mr. Ott has become a ubiquitous presence at cannabis industry conferences and events produced by the MMJ Business Daily, National Cannabis Industry Association, International Cannabis Association/Cannabis World Conference, Israel Cannabis/CannaTech, Native Nations Events and Secure Cash Transport Association. He has been regularly featured in national media and his profile is highlighted in the third edition of ArcView’s Annual State of Legal Marijuana Markets Report. Last year, Mr. Ott was ranked #38 in the top 100 most influential cannabis business executives by Cannabis Business Executive.
Lance Ott has demonstrated the courage of his convictions by fashioning a network infrastructure of cannabis friendly banks, institutions, processors and technology providers in order to provide the cannabis industry with a safe, legitimate venue for all commerce related and logistical challenges they may encounter. He has taken it upon himself to offer preeminent expertise for a unique and complex business model. Ott believes that proper regulation coupled with technology will bring credibility, legitimacy and transparency to our emerging and evolving industry.
Tamar Maritz
California Regional Director @
BDS Analytics
Hollywood - 2017
Tamar heads up the California market for leading cannabis market research firm, BDS Analytics. Using our collective skills and experience in market research across a variety of consumer goods industries, BDS Analytics provides cannabis industry professionals with accurate and actionable data on the cannabis market and consumer.
Donnie Madden
Principle Product Specialist @
Cannacraft
Hollywood - 2017
Donnie Madden currently serves as Principal Product Specialist and Manager of the team of product specialists/brand ambassadors deployed throughout California. His team drives the education initiatives for each Brand in the Cannacraft Family Tree. Donnie is passionate about individuals knowing how their body and brains work and has a unique way of explaining plant medicines and how they interact with our bodies systems. He is often referred to as the company Unicorn. You can find him at many of our Events, Dispensary Staff educations, Demos, and speaking to special groups seeking to connect to the cannabis industry.
Roy McFarland
COO @
Plus
Hollywood - 2017
Roy McFarland is a member of the founding team at Plus, which makes THC and CBD infused edibles for patients throughout California, and has been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, San Francisco Chronicle, Green Market Report, New Cannabis Ventures, High Times, MG, and DOPE magazines. He currently oversees the company's manufacturing operations in SoCal and manages its material requirements planning, supply chain, purchasing, and production scheduling across all SKUs and production lines.
Roy is a full stack Javascript developer and licensed lawyer. After launching Plus in 2015, he relocated to California from Colorado, where he previously co-founded several software startups, a multi-state law firm, and a “volun-tourism" non-profit organization.
Roy is also a mentor at Canopy (in both Colorado and California), which provides venture capital to seed-stage companies in the cannabis industry. He's a life long Denver Broncos fan, who loves dogs and building legos with his daughter, Gigi.
Kelsey Barney
Marketing Manager @
Rose Collective
Hollywood - 2017
Kelsey Barney started at the Farmacy Venice in 2009 on Abbot Kinney serving patients in a global organic pharmacy that included Chinese herbs and herbalists. She then ran the social media for Farmacy West Hollywood and now The Rose Collective in Venice, where she is currently the marketing director. As a representative for Truely Happy Capsules, she's had the pleasure of working with White Rabbit High Tea, Sunnyside Collective, Fountain of Well Being, and Women's Grow. Graduated Cum Laude from Loyola Marymount University in Communications. A patient since 2009, Kelsey uses marijuana medically for depression, IBS, and back pain following a survival from a three story fall. She's also used marijuana successfully to ease the dimensia of her grandmother's Alzheimers.
Jennessa Lea
Founder & Owner @
Break the Stigma Fitness and Fit Cannabis Girl
Boulder - 2017
Jennessa Lea is the Founder & Owner of Break the Stigma Fitness and Fit Cannabis Girl. She is an activist, advocate, entrepreneur, influencer, model and sponsored cannabis athlete. With cannabis, fitness, and clean eating, she lost 110lbs, ended a ten year span of over 20 pharmaceuticals, and worked herself out of a wheelchair Ehlers Danlos Syndrome brought into her life. Because of her success, she opened the first cannabis friendly fitness facility, Break the Stigma Fitness, in Wheat Ridge Colorado in July of 2017! She also started a cannabis inspired active wear clothing line to help promote a healthy lifestyle with cannabis and fitness called Fit Cannabis Girl! It is her mission to medicate, educate, motivate & inspire as many people as she can reach, to regain control over their own health and wellness through cannabis, fitness and clean eating! She wants to remind everyone: YOU have the power! If YOU want it, YOU can achieve it!
Blunts Talks 2017 Speakers
Mason Levy
CEO @
Swivl
Boulder - 2017
Mason has a Focus in the ag-tech and consumer technology sectors. Mason has over 8 years of leading lean projects. B.S. Mechanical Engineering, M.B.A., and Lean Six-Sigma Green Belt. He also played a leadership role in leading the University of Kentucky cheerleading squad to two National Championships. He's personally launched two companies that help over 2M people achieve wellness and employ 20+ people. He is also extremely proud of the mentoring work he's done with founders in early stage cannabis ventures from within his position as CanopyBoulder's Program Manager. Canopy has made investments in 37 companies in the fastest growing industry in America.
Abby Benjamin
Media Coordinator @
Arcview Group
Boulder - 2017
Abby began her career in the music industry on the East Coast before moving to Colorado in 2012 and joining the cannabis industry in 2014. Abby’s entry point into cannabis was as an Administrative Assistant with O.penVAPE, one of the largest national branded companies in the legal cannabis industry. By February 2014, Abby had been promoted to Events Coordinator where she planned and executed many successful events including CannaSearch (first cannabis industry job fair in the U.S.), O.penVAPE’s High Times Cannabis Cup booth, and O.penVAPE’s sponsorship of The String Cheese Incident’s concert in Boulder, CO. By May of 2014 Abby was the Logistic’s Coordinator for O.penVAPE maintaining inventory flow from overseas manufacturers to all four US distributors (CO, CA, WA, OR). She began working with The Arcview Group in October of 2014 supporting the CEO Troy Dayton, and her role has evolved to include media relations, events, sales support, and recruiting. Abby has her Bachelor of Arts in Arts Management from the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. In her free time she enjoys hiking, yoga, snowboarding, and attending concerts, particularly at Red Rocks Amphitheater in CO.
Jimi Devine
Cannabis Industry Writer @
Cannabis Now + Greenstate.com
San Francisco - 2017
Abby began her career in the music industry on the East Coast before moving to Colorado in 2012 and joining the cannabis industry in 2014. Abby’s entry point into cannabis was as an Administrative Assistant with O.penVAPE, one of the largest national branded companies in the legal cannabis industry. By February 2014, Abby had been promoted to Events Coordinator where she planned and executed many successful events including CannaSearch (first cannabis industry job fair in the U.S.), O.penVAPE’s High Times Cannabis Cup booth, and O.penVAPE’s sponsorship of The String Cheese Incident’s concert in Boulder, CO. By May of 2014 Abby was the Logistic’s Coordinator for O.penVAPE maintaining inventory flow from overseas manufacturers to all four US distributors (CO, CA, WA, OR). She began working with The Arcview Group in October of 2014 supporting the CEO Troy Dayton, and her role has evolved to include media relations, events, sales support, and recruiting. Abby has her Bachelor of Arts in Arts Management from the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. In her free time she enjoys hiking, yoga, snowboarding, and attending concerts, particularly at Red Rocks Amphitheater in CO.
Adelia Carrillo
Founder & CEO @
Direct Cannabis Network
Hollywood 2017
Adelia Carrillo is the Founder & CEO of Direct Cannabis Network. Direct Cannabis Network is the leading digital B2B news networking highlighting the latest tech, entrepreneurs and innovative companies in the cannabis industry.
With her roots in the corporate and consumer electronics industry, her passion for technology, startups, and innovation has been a key strength in her transition into the cannabis space. Becoming a voice for the upcoming startups, uniting the cannabis business community, Adelia is building an inspiring yet prominent voice in the world on the topic of cannabis entrepreneurship.
For more information on Adelia Carrillo or Direct Cannabis Network, you can visit.
www.directcannabisnetwork.com
Twitter/Instagram: @_dcnetwork_ / @missadelia
Robert invested the last decade working in every facet of the cannabis cultivation industry. Starting as a medical grower in Southern California, he developed a deep love, respect and relationship with the plant. His technical background, including IBM and other internet startups, contribute to his systematic approach to cultivation, plant health diagnostics and nutrition optimization.
Robert has traveled through 43 states and 5 countries helping growers improve their operations, from basement hobbyists to commercial cultivators. He has visited hundreds of hydroponics retailers and evangelized products used by thousands of growers. Multiple brands in the industry bear his knowledge-first approach.
His unique and diverse professional experience sparked the inspiration to create Botana, a smarter way for growers to gain insight from the valuable information they generate during their daily work. Robert is passionate about elevating growers who care about their consumers, the plant and the environment.
Ruben Honig
Executive Director@
LA Cannabis Task Force
Hollywood - 2017
Ruben Honig, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Cannabis Task Force, is a business owner and advocate working to ensure the City of Los Angeles creates a fair and equitable cannabis licensing system. Ruben is a founder and principal at Ceres Strategies consultancy, and a recognized leader in the Los Angeles cannabis industry. At Ceres Strategies, Ruben specializes in local licensing, and governmental affairs throughout the state of California. A Massachusetts native and medical cannabis patient, Ruben previously operated a successful national copywriting business and spent 3 years in sports and brand management. Ruben holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Emory University.
Jennifer Mascari
Director of Marketing, Brand Strategy @
Origin House
Hollywood - 2017
Jennifer Mascari was the Vice President of Marketing for SIVA. She lead all marketing, public relations and strategic brand initiatives for the company, as well as overseeing strategy, product development and launch for clients. Jennifer has been connecting people with brands and ‘moving businesses forward’ across the restaurant, lifestyle and hospitality industries since 2002.
Jennifer began her career in Chicago, where she helped launch the Innovations division at Levy Restaurants. Her team was responsible for building custom restaurant plans within the sports and entertainment industries. In 2006, Jennifer relocated to Los Angeles where she joined Organic To Go (OTG) as their Senior Director of Business Development. In her tenure at OTG, Jennifer built a wholesale division from ground up while expanding the retail business nationally. In addition, she played an integral role in taking the company public. Later, Jennifer joined LifeWorks Restaurant Group, a division of Aramark Corporation, as their Marketing Director and oversaw the groups’ portfolio nationwide. Some of her clients included: Nike, Caesars Hotels, Goldman Sachs, J.P Morgan Chase, Fidelity, and Cisco.
Education: Bachelors of Science, Marketing and Merchandise Management, International Academy of Design
Kim Geraghty
Founder/CEO @
Madame Munchie
Hollywood - 2017
Kim Geraghty started her career in finance. After obtaining a Masters in Finance from France’s leading international business school (Sciences Po, Paris), she went on to work in Asset Management at Lazard (Paris), Investment Banking at Credit Suisse (New York), and Venture Capital at Next World Capital (San Francisco). She then went on to found Madame Munchie, which has established itself as California’s leading premium edible brand, winning multiple awards and recognition in national and international news outlets. Kim herself has been recognized as a successful cannabis entrepreneur and industry leader, speaking at numerous conferences, being widely quoted, and consulting for leading cannabis entrepreneurs and investors.
Jessica Kristof
Director of Research @ Phylos Bioscience
Jessica Kristof is the Director of Research for Phylos Bioscience, a position she has held since the company's inception. Prior to this role, Jessica served as a Clinical Development Scientist for Molecular MD and before that as a scientist for Synthetic Genomics. At Molecular MD Jessica designed highly specific quantitative assays to aid in early identification of small-cell lung cancer. By testing from blood instead of tissue biopsies this work has progressed the field of low stress monitoring in late stage cancer patients. At Synthetic Genomics she worked on a variety of projects generating patents focused on biofuel production in microbes. Today, Jessica works with the Phylos team to develop high-throughput assays to support cannabis growers. She was instrumental in developing both the Phylos Sex Test and Phylos Genotype. Moving forward, Jessica's goals center on partnering with cultivators to develop new genetic tests that will propel the industry.
Jeffrey D. Welsh
Partner@
Frontera Law Group
Born and raised just outside of Philadelphia, Jeffrey D. Welsh began his career on the performance side of the entertainment industry. Following undergraduate studies at The Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, Connecticut, Mr. Welsh moved to Los Angeles to pursue his first love as a professional saxophonist while earning a
Masters of Music degree from the University of Southern California. After several years of recording for television and film, as well as touring internationally, Mr. Welsh decided his skill set would be best served on the business side of the entertainment industry, and headed to Pepperdine Law School in Malibu, California
in 2010.
It was at Pepperdine where Mr. Welsh met Luke Stanton and began his foray into the legal cannabis community, entrenching himself into California corporate formation and criminal defense in both Los Angeles and Ventura Counties during law school and into his first year of professional practice.
In June of 2014, Jeffrey accepted a position in Corporate Business Affairs at the largest talent agency in the world, William Morris Endeavor, now WME | IMG, while simultaneously continuing to work in the legal cannabis industry part time. In this unique position, Mr. Welsh’s goal was to develop an understanding of the nuanced entertainment industry while concurrently connecting entertainer-advocates with projects and groups actively working in the cannabis space. Mr. Welsh was able to develop relationships with
some of the most visible entertainers under WME representation, and is currently facilitating deals for several of those entertainers in the legal cannabis industry.
In an effort to return to his musical roots, Mr. Welsh moved to the Personal Appearance Department at WME in March of 2015. In that same month Mr. Welsh co-founded the Frontera Law Group with Luke Stanton, and joined Frontera full time in July of 2015. Through aggressive networking and an unrelenting desire to be the first mover in the cannabis to entertainment/media space, Mr. Welsh fostered an extensive network with the current and future tastemakers of the entertainment industry to facilitate deal flow between these two industries. By navigating this unique path, Mr. Welsh is sensitive to specific legal issues involved in entertainment and cannabis coming together, such as intellectual property, endorsements, licensing, criminal and civil liability and other business and legal
considerations.
Music has always remained a tremendously positive outlet of creativity for Mr. Welsh, and he continues to utilize that passion for creative expression by performing as frequently as possible in the greater Los Angeles area with a variety of different performance artists, with a particular focus in the electronic music community.
Hollywood - 2017
David Hua
CEO @
Meadow
San Francisco - 2017
Version 1: David Hua: CEO, Co-Founder of Meadow. Dim Sum Connoisseur. Amateur Charcuterie Maker. Passionate about Startups.
Version 2: David Hua is an entrepreneur, marketer, problem solver, and catalyst. In 2014 Hua co-founded Meadow, a cannabis technology company and Y-Combinator's first start-up to operate in the cannabis space. Prior to founding Meadow, Hua was Head of Platform at Sincerely, Head of Content and Contributors at Healthcentral, co-founded a startup called GotGame, and traded Foreign Exchange and Latin American Equities at Citigroup.
Robert Schneider
Founder/CEO @
Botana
Hollywood- 2017
Merril Gilbert
Co-Founder @
TraceTrust Partners
San Francisco - 2017
The catalyst of creative development and investment for everything food and beverage. As a food and
beverage industry expert, Merril is always at the forefront of emerging trends on the future of food,
technology, health and wellness. Merril leverages her 25 years of experience to help companies develop
and launch innovative new products, establish brand identity, and grow categories. Merril’s clients vary
from the start-up incubator to full scale, established companies within the retail, restaurant, hotel, and
food manufacturing industries. As a leader and advocate for food safety and transparency, Merril is the
co-founder of TraceTrust Partners, providing cannabis edible manufacturers the confidence to manage
their production and supply chain with a validated dosing methodology to provide the highest quality
products to their consumers and distribution partners.
Holly Alberti
Co-Founder @
Healthy Headie Lifestyle + Marketing at Harborside
San Francisco - 2017
Holly Alberti - Visionary, creator and current CEO of Healthy Headie Lifestyle, a direct to consumer marketing and sales program for the cannabis lifestyle. Awarded Best Pitch for Healthy Headie at Arcview Denver 2015, NewWest Summit SF, Weedclub.com and CBWXE 420 Pitch.
Recently joining the Flrish Marketing team, supporting the Harborside Family of companies, heading up Integrated Customer Experience.
Leveraging her 15+ years in customer service, branding and communications and her expert knowledge of the cannabis space, Holly began imparting her business insight and hands-on experience navigating the budding industry as a consultant. Working with industry titans such as Harborside, GoldDrop Extracts, New England Cannabis Convention and many more on community engagement and business development strategies. She has been interviewed by many local and national publications including Huffington Post, Dope Magazine, International Business Times and has appeared in local programing and nationally on CBS This Morning & VICE. Holly is also a 2011 Oaksterdam Alumni, as well as recipient of Cape and Island 40 Under 40 Award at age 29.
She continues to inspire, create change, spread inspiration and education through social entrepreneurship. Leading by example, being a mentor, a mentee, a connector and bridging the chasm in cannabis.