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 | Alison Holcomb, Author of Washington's I-502 Alison Holcomb was the primary author the initiative to legalized marijuana for recreational use in Washington – and directed the campaign that led to its passage. She has also served as a successful advocate for legislative and regulatory improvements to Washington's medical marijuana law. Alison practiced as a trial attorney for thirteen years, representing marijuana defendants in criminal and civil asset forfeiture proceedings in state and federal court. Currently the Drug Policy Director for the ACLU of Washington, she received her B.A. from Stanford University and her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law. |
 | Rob Kampia, Marijuana Policy Project Rob Kampia is co-founder and executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, a nonprofit organization that works to reform cannabis laws. He co-authored most of the medical marijuana laws currently on the books and has testified before a U.S. House subcommittee and legislative committees in California, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, Vermont and Washington State. He has been quoted in almost every newspaper in the U.S. and has also appeared on national TV dozens of times, including on the "Today Show," "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," "Anderson Cooper 360″ and the special "Marijuana: A Chronic History." |
 | Betty Aldworth, National Cannabis Industry Association Betty Aldworth is deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association and chair of the organizatin's Women's CannaBusiness Network. Since 2009, she has specialized in community outreach, public relations, advocacy and policy reform as a consultant to cannabis-related businesses and nonprofit organizations. Previously, Betty was a volunteer leadership professional with some of Denver's most well-respected nonprofit organizations. |
 | Chris Walsh, Medical Marijuana Business Daily As the editorial head of MMJ Business Daily, Chris Walsh covers daily financial and legal news of interest to cannabis dispensaries, investors, lawyers and related vendors. Walsh is a go-to source for the mainstream media on national industry trends and has been quoted in numerous publications including MarketWatch, USA Today and the Boston Globe. He also led the research team for the Marijuana Business Factbook 2013. Previously, Walsh worked for more than a decade as a business reporter and editor at daily newspapers. |
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 | Matthew Abel, Cannabis Counsel Matthew R. Abel founded Cannabis Counsel, P.L.C., a Michigan law firm entirely devoted to cannabis clients and cases, providing both advice and legal counseling to businesses as well as criminal defense of marijuana cases throughout the state. He is also the executive director of Michigan NORML, a lifetime member of the NORML Legal Committee and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He has lectured on Michigan's medical marijuana law for Oaksterdam University, the Michigan Cannabis College and MedGrow Cannabis College. |
 | Norton Arbelaez, RiverRock Norton Arbelaez is an entrepreneur and attorney who has been heavily involved with Colorado's medical cannabis industry since its inception 2009. He is the founder of the Medical Marijuana Industry Group; and is a principal in one of Colorado's largest medical cannabis companies, RiverRock. Arbelaez holds a seat on the Colorado Department of Revenue's Medical Marijuana Advisory Board, the City of Denver's Medical Marijuana Workgroup, and Governor Hickenlooper's Amendment 64 Regulatory Workgroup. |
 | Adam Bierman, MedMen Adam Bierman is the founder of MedMen, a medical marijuana consulting and marketing firm that works with startup dispensaries and assists existing MMJ businesses in everything from real estate and legal issues to compliance, interior design, construction and staffing. Previously, Bierman founded a sports agency that represented more than 70 professional baseball players before launching a branding, design and construction firm that quickly developed a niche in the MMJ industry |
 | Kerry Blasdel, Plant Medicines of Colorado LLC Kerry Blasdel is a real estate investor and dispensary landlord who got involved in the MMJ industry back in 2009, when he purchased a property specifically for its suitability to the cannabis industry. He has created new real estate concepts for the industry and is currently working on a dedicated-use property that will house a variety of MMJ businesses, including dispensaries, grow sites and infused-products manufacturers. |
 | Hilary Bricken, Canna Law Group Hilary Bricken is an attorney with Canna Law Group, a practice group of Harris & Moure PLLC. Regarded as one of Washington State's premier cannabis business attorneys, she helps cannabis companies of all sizes with everything from corporate structure and intellectual property protection to branding, licensing, and application of cannabis law. Her primary focus is helping cannabis companies navigate the increasingly confusing and murky legal climate surrounding state and local cannabis laws. Bricken currently sits the boards of both the National Cannabis Industry Association and the Cannabis Business Group (CBG). |
 | Jay Czarkowski, Canna Advisors Jay Czarkowski and his wife run Canna Advisors, a Boulder, Colo.-based firm that provides consulting to dispensaries and cultivation operations in states with medical marijuana laws. Jay previously ran Boulder Kind Care, a dispensary and grow operation with $2.5 million in annual sales. He and his wife sold their interest in the business to a group of investors in 2012. |
 | Troy Dayton, The ArcView Group Troy Dayton is CEO of the The ArcView Group, which facilitates the legal cannabis industry by investors and entrepreneurs in an effort to meet the expanding and changing needs of responsible cultivators, dispensaries, and customers nationwide. Dayton spends most of his time meeting with angel investors and cannabis entrepreneurs seeking funding in states across the US, ranging from Washington State to New York. |
 | Shawn DeNae Eddy, Washington BUD Company Shawn DeNae Eddy and her family established Washington BUD Company , a thriving cultivation business providing artisan grown medicine to dispensaries and patients in Washington under the ReLeaf Meds brand. Shawn has a keen understanding of the many challenges involved in preserving the well-established cottage cannabis industry and a clear path on how to succeed in this highly competitive legal market. She has a professional business background is in residential and communication, sales and marketing. |
 | Cassandra Farrington, National Marijuana Business Conference Cassandra Farrington has headed MMJ Business Daily's publishing and event operations since its launch in 2011. She has been featured in The Boston Globe, and has appeared at industry events including MMJ Business Daily's East Coast Seminar in June 2013 and the National Marijuana Business Conference in November 2012. Farrington has an MBA from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. Previously she was a vice president at Citigroup. |
 | Scott Hawkins, GRÜN Strategic LLC Scott Hawkins formed GRÜN Strategic LLC in 2011 to offer consulting services to medical cannabis businesses. The firm – which now has offices in Oakland, Calif., and Boston – specializes in helping startup MMJ firms find financing to get their operations off the ground. Scott has spent much of his career focused on food and farming, communications, non-profit management, fundraising, public affairs and strategic development issues. |
 | Robert Hunt, GrowLife Hydroponics Robert Hunt currently serves as the president of Growlife Hydroponics, a publicly traded firm in the cannabis cultivation space. Rob has more than five years of experience in the gardening Industry, specializing in organic and hydroponic growing methods. An active attorney in Colorado, Rob is also the principal of Robert E. Hunt Consulting and chairman of the Coalition for Responsible Patient Care, both based in Massachusetts, where he has taken an active role in helping to develop and implement the state's fledgling medical marijuana market. |
 | Andy Joseph, Apeks Supercritical Andy Joseph is president and chief executive officer of Ohio-based Apeks Supercritical, which makes CO2 botanical oil extraction systems for the medical cannabis industry. He founded its parent company, Apeks Fabrication, more than 12 years ago to make stainless steel extraction and distillation systems for the food processing and medical industries. |
 | Aaron Justis, Buds and Roses Aaron Justis is the CEO at Buds and Roses Collective, one of the oldest medical cannabis dispensaries in Southern California. Under Aaron's direction, Buds and Roses has won 18 High Times Cannabis Cup awards in the last 24 months and has developed a non-profit model that produces high-quality medical cannabis and displays a strong commitment to activism and best practices. Aaron also sits on the steering committee of GLACA (the Greater Los Angeles Collectives Alliance) and is part of the Americans for Safe Access Los Angeles Advisory Committee. |
 | Tripp Keber, Dixie Elixirs and Edibles Tripp Keber is managing director of Dixie Elixirs & Edibles – one of the largest infused products companies in the nation – and president and CEO of its parent company, Red Dice Holdings, where he is responsible for the overall strategy, licensing, branding and expansion efforts related to the firm's various MMJ and hemp-related portfolio companies. He is a founding member and current director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, and board member of both the Medical Marijuana Industry Group in Colorado and the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. |
 | Brendan Kennedy, Privateer Holdings Inc. Brendan Kennedy leads a private equity firm strategically investing in the emerging legal cannabis field. His team enlists years of hands-on investment and entrepreneurial experience with trusted advisors, investors and partners to navigate this promising new marketplace. Previously he was president of Leafly, chief operating officer of SVB Analytics an president/CEO of Mindability. |
 | Kayvan Khalatbari, Denver Relief and Denver Relief Consulting Kayvan Khalatbari is co-owner of Denver Relief, one of the oldest dispensaries in Colorado, and co-founder of Denver Relief Consulting, which assists clients in nine states, Washington D.C., Canada and the UK with everything from application assistance and facility design to employee training and municipality. Previously, he worked in electrical engineering. |
 | Jason Lauve, Hemp Cleans Jason Lauve is founder and executive director of Hemp Cleans, a nonprofit organization striving for the regulation and cultivation of industrial hemp. He was instrumental in the creation of the successful bill in Colorado paving the way for industrial hemp cultivation. Jason is a nationally recognized expert on the business opportunities of industrial hemp and serves as a consultant to entrepreneurs looking to get involved in the industry. |
 | Sean Luse, Berkeley Patients Group Sean Luse is the chief operating officer of Berkeley Patients Group, one of the oldest and most respected medical cannabis dispensaries in California. He is also a co-founder and board member of the Emerald Growers Association, a trade group that advocates for public policies that foster a healthy, sustainable medical cannabis industry. Luse lobbies heavily for socially responsible business practices, which he sees as key to the industry's future. |
 | Michael Miller, BioTrackTHC Michael Miller is the vice president of sales and communications at BioTrackTHC, which provides inventory tracking and point-of-sale software to the cannabis industry. A long-time entrepreneur, Michael founded National Membership and Retention Consultants – which contracted to over 45 Better Business Bureaus nationally – and helped build two of the largest Chambers of Commerce in the country. |
 | Lance Ott, Guardian Data Systems Inc. Lance Ott is chief executive officer of Guardian Data Systems, which provides merchant services and consulting services to medical cannabis businesses. A 14-year veteran of the payment processing industry, Lance has broad knowledge of the industry and has developed expertise covering everything from credit and debit card processing and chargeback management to technology implementation, pricing, operations and workflow. Previously, he served as vice president of National Bank of California Merchant Services. |
 | Luke Ramirez, Walking Raven MMC and Cannabis Talks Luke Ramirez is co-owner and managing director of the Denver dispensary Walking Raven MMC and founder of Cannabis Talks. Within both of his organizations he is responsible for all finance management, staffing, compliance reporting, marketing/inventory control, sales and public relations. Since taking over Walking Raven's operations in February 2011, he has changed the entire culture of the center and successfully completed long-term campaigns to fix dire financial situations within the organization. |
 | Ean Seeb, Denver Relief and Denver Relief Consulting Ean Seeb is co-owner of Denver Relief – one of the longest-running dispensaries in Colorado – and Denver Relief Consulting, which provides advice and guidance to startups across the country. Ean helps clients with successful marketing and branding in the medical marijuana industry in addition to networking, central management and infused product manufacturing. He also has years of real estate experience which has provided him with unique insight into leases, contract negotiations, business acquisitions and prime retail locations. |
 | Jamen Shively, Diego Pellicer Inc. Jamen Shively is the founder and CEO of Diego Pellicer, which is looking to create a national brand of cannabis stores. Previously, he was corporate strategy manager at Microsoft, and he has held engineering and marketing roles with specialties in artificial intelligence, complex systems, operations and new product development. Jamen completed his undergraduate work at U.C. Berkeley in civil engineering, and did graduate work at M.I.T. and U.C. Berkeley in civil engineering and materials science. He is a Fellow of the National Science Foundation. |
 | Angel Swanson, Naturally Green Access Point & The Cannabis Emporium Angel Swanson is co-owner of two dispensaries in Washington State: Naturally Green Access Point and The Cannabis Emporium, which launches in July. Previously, Angel worked in the real estate field and started several other companies. |
 | Scott Van Rixel, Bhang Chocolate Scott Van Rixel is the founder and president of Bhang Chocolate Company – one of the biggest and most well-known makers of marijuana-infused edibles – and CEO of Founder Fathers Hemp Company. He is a European Certified Master Chocolatier and Chef d'Cuisine as well as a founding member of the National Cannabis Industry Association. |
 | Aimee "Ah" Warner, Cannabis Basics Ah Warner is the founder and CEO of Cannabis Basics, a Seattle-based company that develops hemp body products and cannabis-infused topicals. Winner of the Hemp Times 1999 Bioneer award for "Outstanding Achievement in Body Care," Ah also is a Washington sales representative for Dixie Botanicals and Wicked Wick and is co-founder of Women of Weed. |
