NYS ASSEMBLY MAJORITY LEADER, NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY

Peoples-Stokes has served Buffalo’s 141st Assembly District since 2003 and was elevated to the position of Majority Leader in 2018. In 2019, Peoples-Stokes passed a law to decriminalize possession and to expunge minor marijuana convictions from New Yorkers’ criminal records, and passed The Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA) in March 2021.

CHIEF OF STAFF & SENIOR POLICY DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF CANNABIS MANAGEMENT

Former Assistant Counsel to the NY State Governor for Health, Axel Bernabe leads the Office of Cannabis Management. The new state agency oversees the implementation of all licensing, enforcement, economic development, clinical, and reinvestment goals of the medical, hemp, and adult-use cannabis economy in the state of New York.

CHAIR, NEW YORK STATE CANNABIS CONTROL BOARD

Tremaine Wright is the Chairwoman of the New York State Cannabis Control Board and is a former member of the New York State Assembly from the 56th district, which includes parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn.

CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER, MERIDA CAPITAL HOLDINGS

Mitch has 12 years’ experience investing in cannabis and over twenty years of entrepreneurial, legal, regulatory, and financial experience in highly regulated industries. He is an expert in the regulatory component of cannabis limited licensing and multi-state cultivation operations, and is a frequent speaker and author on cannabis investment strategy and diligence.

CEO, LEAFLY

Yoko Miyashita was appointed CEO of Leafly in August 2020 after serving as the company’s General Counsel since 2019. Yoko has spent her career serving mission-driven companies navigating complex global regulatory environments in order to bring meaningful and compelling products to market.

OWNER, KENZOLL

Corné Melissen founded and manages Kenzoll, a recent carve-out of Ramphastos, a 2B EUR investment firm in the Netherlands. The Kenzoll portfolio comprises business activities in energy, technology and cannabis. Kenzoll acquired majority stakes in Canadian and African licensed producers and owns one of the 10 recently awarded Dutch recreational cannabis production licenses.

FOUNDER, FRANK WHITE & THINK BIG

CJ is a social entrepreneur, actor, photographer, and producer. He is the founder of Frank White & Think BIG and is an advocate for cannabis legalization, Black ownership in the cannabis industry, and restorative justice to communities most harmed by cannabis prohibition.

GENERAL PARTER & FOUNDER, SUBVERSIVE CAPITAL

Michael is founder of Subversive Capital, which is dedicated to investing in radical companies whose core missions subvert the status quo and require sophisticated government and regulatory strategies for success. He is also General Partner of Subversive’s venture platform and Opportunity Fund, and Chairman of Subversive REIT LP and Subversive Capital Acquisition Corp.

VISUAL ARTIST & FILMMAKER, ADVOCATE & FOUNDER OF B NOBLE

Fab started his career as a renowned graffiti artist in NYC and was one of the driving forces behind the rise of street art in the eighties. In 2020, B NOBLE announced a first-of-its-kind brand partnership with Curaleaf to raise awareness and financially support organizations dedicated to defending people from cannabis-related criminalization.

CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING MEMBER, ARTEMIS GROWTH PARTNERS LLC

Will Muecke is a co-founding managing member of Artemis Growth Partners, an ESG and impact-oriented private equity platform dedicated to investing 100% in the cannabis industry on a worldwide basis. Artemis Growth Partners oversees US$350 million+ in mission-driven discretionary assets under management (AUM) invested in the global cannabis value chain.

PRESIDENT, THE SALES JOINT

Francesca is the President of The Sales Joint, a sales agency that helps bring professional sales strategies, tools, and best practices to the cannabis industry on behalf of license holders. She believes that professional sales should be every company's second priority, second only to product quality, and that an effective, strong sales cycle is tied to better patient care as well as better business.

CHEF & RESTAURATUER , FORK KNIFE

One of the youngest and most dynamic BIPOC chefs in the industry, Jordan Andino began his foray into the culinary world at the young age of nine, learning under his father. Andino impacted the NYC restaurant world with his Filipino Taqueria, Flip Sigi, which has been integral in bringing Filipino food to the American masses.

PARTNER, MILLENNIAL STRATEGIES

Jeff Guillot is a founding partner of Millennial Strategies. At Millennial, Jeff has workedon some of New York State’s most successful, forward-thinking public policy endeavors such as the passing of Universal Pre-K, Paid Family Leave Legislation, and ushering in the legalization of ridesharing services statewide.

FOUNDER & CEO, TREEZ

John Yang co-founded Treez in 2016. Prior to Treez, John was a consultant at Slalom Consulting - ranked #3 in the world for business technology consulting and specializing in program management, business process improvement, software development, CRM solutions, and business intelligence.

CSO & CO-FOUNDER, CANNDELTA CANNABIS LICENSING CONSULTANTS

Dr. Lucas C. McCann is the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at CannDelta Inc., a cannabis consulting firm with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Toronto. Lucas provides scientific oversight on all CannDelta projects, assists clients through state and federal regulatory frameworks with license applications, and provides clients with business strategy & operational efficiency advice.

CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, PELORUS EQUITY GROUP

Rob brings nearly 23 years’ experience in the real estate finance industry. Since the formation of Pelorus in 2010, he has raised more than $550 million in secured real estate transactions.

PARTNER, DELOITTE

Karina is a partner in Deloitte’s Global Cannabis Practice with a focus on support for cannabis businesses and government in modernization, transformation, and resilience initiatives. Karina’s passion is working to bridge the gap between policy/regulation and the practical implementation and impact on businesses in this emerging industry.

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, TRULIEVE

Mr. Jhala has over 20 years' experience in information technology roles at large public and private high-tech and national CPG companies. Mr. Jhala previously held leadership positions at companies including Hallmark Cards, Dollar Tree Inc, Lowes, and Office Depot.

CONTRIBUTOR, FORBES

Iris is an East Coast-based business journalist who has covered the emerging legal cannabis sector for outlets including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Crain's New York Business, Venture Capital Journal, Buyouts, and Investopedia. In addition to legal cannabis, Iris also writes about private equity/venture capital, small business, politics, media, and the arts.

SENIOR EDITOR, LEAFLY

Leafly Senior Editor Bruce Barcott oversees news, investigations, and feature projects. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and author of Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America.

HEAD OF STRATEGIC GROWTH, DUTCHIE

As Head of Strategic Growth at Dutchie, Anne plays a key role in new market expansion opportunities. She also sits on the Board as Technical Advisor at ACCRES (Association of Canadian Cannabis Retailers) and is an active member on the Retail and Policy Committees at CANY (Cannabis Association of New York).

PHYSICIAN, CANNABIS SPECIALIST, GRINSPOON WELLNESS CONSULTING

Peter Grinspoon, M.D. is a primary care physician and cannabis specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, an Instructor at Harvard Medical School and a certified Health and Wellness Coach. He is a Contributing Editor to Harvard Health Publications as well as a TEDx Speaker.

CO-FOUNDER, CANNACLUSIVE & CMO, TRICOLLA GARDENS

Mary Pryor is a passionate and vocal media expert. Raised in Detroit, Michigan, Mary received exposure to automotive design, electrical engineering, music, digital arts and marketing at an early age. Today Mary is a powerful and accomplished Digital and Marketing Specialist who has worked for major brands such as Sony Music Group, CBS News and The Rolling Stones.

HEAD OF IMPACT & ESG, VICENTE SEDERBERG

Marc Ross is the Head of Impact & ESG and co-chair of the Environmental, Health and Safety Practice Group at Vicente Sederberg LLP. He provides counselling and consulting to the cannabis, hemp, and entheogen industries on all things ESG, CSR, JEDI, community engagement, strategic philanthropy, sustainability, and other associated areas.

EDITOR IN CHIEF, GREEN MARKET REPORT

Debra Borchardt is the CEO, co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of the cannabis financial news website Green Market Report. Debra is an award-winning journalist who began her career on Wall Street, where she was a Vice President at Bear Stearns.

CONTENT LEAD, NJ.COM

Jelani Gibson is the content lead for NJ Cannabis Insider, a section of NJ.com & The Star-Ledger, where he focuses on content moderation, newsletters, events, and longform journalism exploring issues of criminal justice and equity at the intersection of business.

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, AYR WELLNESS

Jeff Finnerty is a CPG Senior Executive with over 20 years’ success in marketing, brand building, innovation, and customer & commercial leadership. As Head of Marketing at Ayr, Jeff is responsible for overseeing the development and execution of all marketing and advertising strategies.

CO-FOUNDER & CEO, FRANK WHITE

Willie Mack is a brand marketing executive, creative director and photographer with over 20 years’ experience in creative and executive leadership in New York City and Los Angeles. He is also a co-founder of Think BIG, where he serves as the company’s president and leads its executive management and strategic vision.

PRESIDENT, WOMEN GROW

Gia Morón is the President of Women Grow. She began working with the company in January 2017 as Director of Communications, after transitioning from the Women Grow New York City market in 2016. Under her leadership the company has formed partnerships with leading companies in the industry such as Curaleaf, Weedmaps, Columbia Care, Etain, and more.

PARTNER, HIGHLANDS VENTURE PARTNERS

Tahira Rehmatullah is a partner at Highlands Venture Partners, co-founder & CEO of Commons, and member of the board of directors of Akerna Corp (NASDAQ: KERN) and the Last Prisoner Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to cannabis criminal justice reform.

CHIEF CREATIVE DIRECTOR, JUSHI

Before joining Jushi, Dre served as Creative Director and Head of Content for Idean, a leading global design agency, and was instrumental in building out Idean’s US footprint with key clients such as IBM, HP, Rolls-Royce, and Ericsson.

CEO & FOUNDER, THE HAPPY MUNKEY

Born and raised in Hamilton Heights, NYC, Vlad and The Happy Munkey are formidable advocates and leaders in the cannabis space. Vlad is widely recognized for his deep relationships with the international cannabis elite and his successful experience in music, hospitality, and event production.

REPORTER, INSIDER

Jeremy is a senior reporter at Insider, where he focuses on the cannabis industry. Jeremy has covered the boom in cannabis companies going public, multi-billion-dollar mergers between cannabis companies and corporations from other industries, and how the world's largest financial, legal, and political institutions are reacting to and planning for legalization.

REPORTER, POLITICO

Mona Zhang is the States Cannabis Policy Reporter for POLITICO. Before joining POLITICO, she founded and edited the daily cannabis newsletter Word on the Tree. She was also a freelance journalist on the cannabis beat, and her work has appeared in Forbes, The Outline, Vice, and High Times.

SENIOR CANNABIS REPORTER, LAW360

Sam is a senior reporter at Law360, where he covers policy, regulation, and litigation in the cannabis industry. He focuses on the emerging body of cannabis case law, marijuana reform efforts, and how lawyers who work with the industry have navigated the tensions between federal and state policy.

FOUNDER & CEO, TEMEKA GROUP

Mike Wilson is a veteran entrepreneur as the founder & CEO of Temeka Group, an interior design and construction company serving international brands. Temeka Group was founded in 1991 and has grown into a world class market leading company. Mike has 31 years of experience helping major retail brands expand throughout the United States.

JOURNALIST, PROFESSOR & AUTHOR

Elena Romero is Assistant Professor in the Marketing Communications department at the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY) and an award-winning TV Correspondent and Producer for LATiNAS on CUNY TV. A journalist for over 25 years, Romero currently tells the stories of nuestra mujeres on a wide range of topics including health & wellness, fashion and food.

CANNABIS REPORTER & COPYWRITER, FREELANCE

Andrew Ward is a New York City-based cannabis copywriter, content writer and reporter. Andrew is the author of The Art of Marijuana Etiquette (2021) and Cannabis Jobs (2019). His work can be found on High Times, Business Insider, Benzinga and many others.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR & BRAND STRATEGIST

Matthew is a multi-disciplinary creative within the fashion, retail and art space, a goal-driven designer working with artists of diverse practices. He designed and launched first-of-its-kind luxury cannabis retail space in Barneys New York Beverly Hills store in Beverly Hills in partnership with Scott Campbell/Beboe.

CEO, CANNABIS NOW

Eugenio Garcia is the co-founder and publisher of Cannabis Now Media. He has been a long-time advocate for cannabis and entrepreneur since he began working as a cannabis industry consultant in 2008. In all his work, Garcia feels a responsibility to provide the public with information on the tectonic national paradigm shift about the marijuana industry currently underway across the nation.

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WOMEN GROW

Tanya Osborne is a true Renaissance woman! From the Music Industry to Financial Services, Business Coaching and now...Cannabis, the common theme here is women and community. She entered the cannabis industry working as an Event coordinator for Women Grow in 2015.

CO-FOUNDER & CEO, PROHIBITION PARTNERS

Stephen is Co-Founder & CEO of Prohibition Partners, a global leader in cannabis tech, data and media. Stephen is a highly regarded cannabis thought leader, who frequently contributes to Bloomberg, Financial Times and The Economist on the industry and is a regular public speaker, having presented at over 100 events including – SXSW and Adweek.