Our Speakers 2024
Every year, our speaker lineup is ON FIRE!!!
Bryant Mitchell
CEO, Blaqstar Farms
Bryant is founder & CEO of Blaqstar Farms in California with 10+ years of hands on experience in the cannabis industry. In 2013 he established Blaqstar Farms after owning a Los Angeles dispensary where he realized the need for consistent, clean medicinal cannabis. Blaqstar is a renown trusted cannabis brand.
Hawaii Mike Salman
CEO, Chef For Higher
Hawaii Mike is the first legal THC infused product producer in NYC, launching his ChefForHigher line of cooking oils and more. Mike is an experienced cannabis entrepreneur and brand builder, with several lounges, shops, eateries and more. Mike will be teaching you how to launch a cannabis brand.
Tara Misu
Edibles Expert
Founder of Blazin' Bakery one of the first DIY herbal edibles brownie mix in a box product lines. Awarded best new product at Seattle Hempfest and glowing reviews in High Times magazine.
India Johnson
Head Buyer, Ascend Wellness
India is the head buyer for Ascend Wellness Columbus OH and has worked in almost every capacity in cannabis retail. From budtender, to dispensary manager, inventory manager and more India is super experienced in retail operations and will be teaching a detailed bootcamp on it all!
Chris Reid
Cova POS Head of Sales
Has worked extensively in the cannabis software industry and now heads off sales for one of the largest cannabis POS companies in North America (Cova). Chris works closely with retailers helping them interpret their data and numbers, which in turn gives him the uncanny ability to deliver insider information that is based on FACTS!
Thunder Walker
Cannabis Appraiser
Thunder is a media personality, author, event producer, Oklahoma cannabis dispensary owner, psychedelics educator, mushroom farmer and cannabis valuation appraising expert. Thunder has a long resume of experience in both cannabis & psychedelics and will be teaching you how to become a cannabis appraiser.
Jed Ande, Esq
Cannabis M&A Attorney
Jed has represented numerous companies in structuring and related equity/debt financings. Due to his extensive M&A background Jed has become a subject matter expert in cannabis M&A transactions, including numerous consummated exits with an aggregate deal value exceeding $1 billion dollars.
Justin Esquivel
Cannabis Geneticist
Justin Esquivel is CEO & Geneticist, of Green Luster Phenos™ for the past 15 years. Specializing in creating superlative genetics that provide growers predictability & uniformity. He is known for his plasticity breeding which provides pest & bacteria resistant varieties for growers & cannabis tissue culture tech.
Joshua Krane
Hemp & Cannabis
Processor/Manufacturer
Seasoned cannabis operator from California with a vast background including VP of Operations at 4Front Ventures managing a 173,000 sq ft manufacturing facility producing a variety of products across 11 brands. Josh is now the head of operations at NJ's own Garden Greens responsible for producing top shelf bud ongoing!
Jillian Xavier
Testing Lab Owner
Jillian is Founder & CEO of DREGLO Cannabis Testing Laboratories in California & the first woman and social equity entrepreneur to attempt to break into this segment of the industry. Jillian advocates for social equity inclusions, adequate funding and government transparency. Jillian has extensive experience in cannabis science.
Nicole N'Diaye
Hemp Cultivator
Nicole is Bronx native and founder of NAHE Hemp & Cannabis Farms managing a dozen+ outdoor farms in upstate New York. Nicole built a thriving agricultural hemp cultivation business from scratch, built relationships with Amish farmers in upstate New York and manages numerous grow sites.
Olivia Giles-Johnson
Head Grower (GTI Industries)
Olivia is Head Grower at Green Thumb Industries (GTI) in Hackettstown, NJ with an impressive trajectory starting from the bottom working up to the top. From operations, to assistant Head Grower to Head Grower for one of the largest MSO's in the world Olivia knows her stuff!
Max Juhasz
SEO Expert
Max is founder & CEO of DOPE SEO a cannabis focused SEO firm that has serviced 1,000's of clients! Max has spent decades ranking sites & creating tech based solutions to facilitate better ranking & conversion for his cannabis clients. He'll be teaching little known secrets you can't find anywhere else!
Dr David Cunic
Investor Relations Expert
Highly sought after Cannabis industry business consultant specializing in raising capital, marketing and operations. He has consulted with over sixty companies and raised over $10 million dollars collectively.
Bukweetz
Organic Soil Consultants
Experienced cannabis soil & nutrient experts teaching the masses how to build your own superior living soil. The Bukweetz spent years of trial and error producing top quality soil for growers across the country learning how to properly adjust to region, climate, water quality and more.
Scheril Murray Powell, ESQ
Cannabis Attorney
Voted High Times 100 Top Influencers in Cannabis, Scheril is a pillar in the cannabis industry and dynamic attorney specializing in cannabis, agriculture & dietary supplements. She's also COO of the Justus Foundation where she helps legacy operators transition to the legal side by offering an array of pro-bono services! Scheril's background is too extensive to possibly cover here.
Aslan Zadeh
CEO, Jersey Smooth Vapes
CEO of Jersey Smooth Vapes, a licensed cannabis manufacturing facility pumping out 1,000 of vapes and vape carts daily after recently launching live in NJ. Aslan has extensive experience in cannabis working as a medical caregiver in Rhode Island for 6 years, to starting a large grow in MA for 3 years.
D’Quan Young
Manufacturer / Processor
Owner of an independent hemp & cannabis extraction, production and manufacturing facility. D'Quan launched one of the first medical marijuana caregiver companies in PA responsible for 100's of patient signups. He now works extensively in R&D to develop revolutionary new products with minimal overhead & expense.
Minh Mai
Cultivation/ Manufacturing Expert
Minh has over 2 decades of cultivation, manufacturing & wholesale experience. His expertise spans across various cultivation methods, specializing in indoor, outdoor & greenhouse facilities. Responsible for construction of 600,000 square feet of compliant indoor cultivation facilities from ground up, vertical integration specialist with deep insight about cannabis product manufacturing & wholesaling.
Kym B
TribeTokes
Kym B is one of the biggest influencers in the cannabis industry. She's co-founder of TribeTokes alongside founder Degelis Tufts, a sexy smoke and vape brand out of NYC.
David Nicolas
CEO, Prolific Growhouse
David is founder & CEO of Prolific Growhouse, a licensed NJ cannabis cultivator with multiple strains available at your local dispensary. David is black owned operator out of Trenton & one of the first independent cultivators in NJ to go live. He will be sharing insider info about his startup experience.
Gary George
Cannabis Marketing Expert
Founder & CEO of 21 year old Digital Marketing Agency Blazin Multimedia. Generated more than $27 million dollars for his clients in the past 3 years, servicing high profile celebrity and Fortune 500 clientele.
Tony Gallo
Cannabis Security Guru
Managing partner of Sapphire Risk Advisory Group & top cannabis security expert specializing in security & loss prevention for high-risk businesses.
Ryan Magee, Esq
Cannabis Attorney
Ryan has a large cannabis practice & counsels (both large companies and small cannapreneurs) on the licensing process, cultivation, manufacturing, distribution and more. Ryan serves on the Cannabis Editorial Board for Law360 & ranked #22 on InsiderNJ’s Cannabis Power 100 List.
Teresa Kearney
Panacea Payroll
Meet Teresa Kearney from Panacea Payroll, one of few cannabis & hemp focused payroll services on the east coast.
Dr Joseph Rosado, MD
Integrative Medicine Physician
Is a leading physician, author & speaker featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Rolling Stone, Green Entrepreneur and more. Dr. Joseph Rosado is one of the United States’ most well-respected scientists working with Medical Cannabis & Ketamine. He's one of the few Integrative medicine doctors to embrace and push plant medicine.
Dr. Marcus Hinson, MD
Internist & Naturopath
Dr Hinson is a General Internist by training, Naturopath in spirit who utilizes the clinical applications of cannabis and psychedelics in the prevention and treatment of common chronic disorders like heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, depression/anxiety, PTSD, dementia, and cancer.
Jesse Marie Villars
CEO, Baked By the River Dispensary
Jessie is CEO and owner of Baked By the River Dispensary in Lambertville NJ. For over a decade, Jesse has been a medical cannabis patient and psychedelics advocate. She has first hand experience using both to treat a variety of ailments, chronic pain and more.
Nichelle Santos
Risk Management Expert
Founder and CEO of CannaCoverage the premier premier national risk management consultant & insurance brokerage firm, specializing in the CannaBusiness industry. Nichelle and her partner Jeff Booker are leading the forces for cannabis risk management.
Jeff Booker Sr
Cannabis Insurance Expert
Jeff is the COO of CannaCoverage with decades of experience providing customized Risk Management consulting with business solutions and CannaInsurance programs, designed to mitigate threats inherent to cannabis, to protect businesses from failure.
Ben Richardson
Director of 7Thirty Capital
Ben is a highly decorated financial analyst & cannabis private investor. Currently serving as research director for private equity investment firm 7thirty.
Andrew Cooper, ESQ
Cannabis Attorney
Is a Falcon Rappaport & Berkman cannabis attorney with 32 years of experience in intellectual property & commercial litigation. Andrew is heavily engrained in both the NJ and NY cannabis markets representing everyone from retailers, hemp cultivators, processors, distributors, beverage companies and more.
Tom Spooner
ATM & Payment Processing Expert
Tom is a Payment Processing & ATM expert! CEO of Dispensary ProPay and US Payments, Tom has outfitted 40%+ of all cannabis retail locations in NJ with ATM's and payment processing solutions. More than 40 years of experience and rock solid solutions that do not get flagged, banned and shut down!
Brian Fleming
Business Credit Expert
Small business funding strategist teaches CannaCompanies how to build & use business credit to get a guaranteed $50k+ loan without personal credit or a personal guarantee! Cash flow is king and Brian will show you how to GET IT!
Shayla Cabrera
Plant Medicine Advocate
Shayla is CEO and Founder of TiaPlanta, a licensed Adult-Use Cultivator & Manufacturer. Shayla leveraged her years of plant knowledge to produce high-quality cannabis products. She is an advocate for the benefits of plant medicine including cannabis, psychedelics and functional mushrooms.
Estefania Valencia
Cannabis & Psychedelics Educator
Estefania is a cannabis & psychedelics educator & advocate who uses endocannabinoid system education, yoga, meditation and breathing techniques to introduce practitioners to the health benefits of the Cannabis plant. Co-Founder of SannaOhana Wellness & Yoga & HudHaus Dispensary Estefania is the truth!
Gaetano Lardieri
Cannabis & Psychedelics Educator
Gaetano is a pillar in both the NJ cannabis and psychedelics scene hosting one of the first psychedelic virtual conferences in 2022 with Stockton University. Frequently speaking at conferences and hosting panels for functional mushrooms, psychedelics and harm reduction.
Jon Frank
CEO, Dirty Dank Jersey
Jon Frank of Dirty Dank Jersey is a NJ Certified Peer Recovery Coach, Cannabis Inclusive Recovery Advocate & owner of “The Beast Coast Consumption Experience. Jon is a Stage 2 Non Hodgkins Lymphoma Cancer Survivor.
Jim Furey
Integrative Herbalist
Jim is a Clinical Herbalist, Traditional Naturopath, enthusiastic Forager, and avid gardener. With 4+ years of clinical herbal school & over a decade of foraging and gardening experience, he has always had a deep connection with the rhythm of the planet.
Ayesha Dolasa
CEO, Nobel Mushrooms
Ayesha is CEO & Co-Founder of Noble Mushrooms the premier source for certified ORGANIC mushroom grow kits, spawn & top-quality growing materials. Ayesha has been dedicated to providing enthusiasts & cultivators with the finest tools to cultivate their own organic mushrooms.
Denise Rue
Founder, NJ Psychedelics
Therapy Association
Denise is a licensed Clinical Social Worker, Clinical Hypnotherapist, and founder of the New Jersey Psychedelic Therapy Association. For 3+ years she has worked as a retreat leader & lead therapist at a legal psilocybin retreat center in Jamaica, overseeing 1,500+ sessions.
Alex Brass
Passionate Neo Fight Activist
Passionate neo fight activist dedicated to curbing the opioid epidemic, ending homelessness, and fixing the mental health system with the aid of cannabis, psychedelics and plant medicine.
Julian Smith
Cultivator
Cultivator with 17+ years experience in the commercial cannabis industry. Whether outdoor, greenhouse or indoor Julian has successfully managed over 197,000 sqft of canopy. His expertise in cultivation, facility design, and strategic operations has consistently driven growth and set industry standards.
Rico Lamitte
Happy Cabbage Analytics
Rico is a long time pillar in the cannabis industry responsible for growth of CannaGather and now working with Happy Cabbage Analytics to bring ai based solutions for managing dispenary operations and optimization
