CHAIRWOMAN, NEW YORK STATE CANNABIS CONTROL BOARD

Tremaine S. Wright is a former member of the New York State Assembly who thereafter, served as the first Director of the DFS Statewide Office of Financial Inclusion and Empowerment. Ms. Wright is an attorney, entrepreneur, and activist who is a second-generation Bedford Stuyvesant resident invested in preserving the rich legacy of her community and building a strong foundation for the future.

CEO & CHAIRMAN, ACREAGE HOLDINGS

Dennis Curran joined Acreage in March 2022 as the Chief Operating Officer and assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer on July 1, 2023. Mr. Curran brings over 35 years of leadership experience in multiple product categories, sales, trade channels, distributor management, marketing, and business maturity in both domestic and international markets. Before joining Acreage, he was the Chief Customer Officer at GSK Consumer Healthcare and had a career spanning 29 years with Procter and Gamble (P&G) in both the US and Europe working with some of the world’s leading consumer brands

EMERGING CATEGORIES, X (FORMERLY TWITTER)

Alexa currently leads the Cannabis vertical in Twitter’s US Sales & Partnerships organization and drives forward new business initiatives with a mission of furthering humanity. Most recently she has been spearheading Twitter’s efforts in the cannabis space, bridging the power of the Twitter platform with the needs of the industry. Her work has led Twitter to bring forward the most inclusive cannabis advertising policy of any social platform, opening the door for brands to join the conversation and grow their businesses.

DIRECTOR OF POLICY, OFFICE OF CANNABIS MANAGEMENT

John Kagia leads the team responsible for policy development and implementation for the medical, adult use, and cannabinoid hemp programs in New York. John also manages development of research and data systems to measure and track industry performance, and he oversees deployment of the Office’s educational public health campaigns.

PRESIDENT & CO-FOUNDER, UNION SQUARE AGENCY

Arana has over two decades of experience working in economic development policy and real estate development. She served as the NYS assistant commissioner for economic development, and the director of the Atlantic Yards Project for NYS Empire State Development.

MANAGING DIRECTOR, ARLINGTON CAPITAL ADVISORS

Dai joined Arlington in 2021 and is focused on growing the firm’s cannabis practice. Prior to joining Arlington, Dai served as VP Corporate Development for Left Coast Ventures, a diversified cannabis and hemp company specializing in cultivation, manufacturing, brand development and distribution. Prior to Left Coast Ventures, Dai held various corporate development and investment positions at MedMen, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Austin Ventures and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

HEAD OF CORPORATE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, AYR WELLNESS

Khari Edwards is an experienced leader in healthcare and government. During his 25 years of public service, Khari worked for several elected officials, non-profit organizations, and city agencies with a dedicated focus on strengthening communities by advocating and addressing racial, health and civic disparities. He most recently ran for Brooklyn Borough President after serving 8 years as the Vice President of External Affairs at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center – the hospital’s first Vice President of color. Khari has also served as the Brooklyn Council President for Make-A-Wish New York, where he led a two-year campaign to enlist volunteers to enroll over 400 wish granters for children in Brooklyn.

VICE PRESIDENT REVENUE, WEEDMAPS

Jackie Gonzalez-Becerra currently leads the Revenue function at Weedmaps and has grown in subsequent leadership roles during her more than eight years at the cannabis technology company. Prior to leading the Weedmaps sales and revenue teams, Jackie helped build the foundation for many of Weedmaps’ marketing programs still in effect today.

FOUNDING & FORMER SENIOR DIRECTOR, NYC MAYORS OFFICE OF NIGHTLIFE

Ariel Palitz was appointed New York’s City’s first ever “nightlife mayor” as the Founding Director of NYC Mayors Office of Nightlife from 2018-2023. During that time Ariel built the infrastructure of the office, developed non-enforcement solutions, navigated the industry through the Covid-19 pandemic, while serving under both Mayor de Blasio and Mayor Adams.

CEO & CO-FOUNDER, THE HAPPY MUNKEY

Vladimir Bautista is the CEO & Co-Founder of The Happy Munkey brand, an internationally recognized NYC lifestyle company synonymous with cannabis culture. Born and raised in Hamilton Heights, NYC, Vladimir and The Happy Munkey are formidable advocates and leaders in the cannabis space.

REPORTER, BLOOMBERG

Tiffany Kary covers cannabis, alcohol and tobacco for Bloomberg News and Businessweek Magazine. Her feature stories on environmental and health issues have won awards from the New York Press Club, The Deadline Club, and the Newswoman’s Club of New York. She has a Masters Degree in Journalism from Columbia University, and lives in Westchester, New York.

CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, TRESS CAPITAL

In 2013, David established TRESS Capital, a strategic boutique private investment firm embedded at the core of the global cannabis sector originating and managing investments for HNW, family office, and institutional investors. The TRESS portfolio includes impactful industry leaders such as SC Labs, Headset, TILT, Cannabis Now, WasteTrakr, Grownetics, NorthBud Farms, Infusion Biosciences, iCAN, Tyson2.0, Highsman and Tical.

CEO, CONBUD

Coss co-founded a non-profit organization called Second Chance Studios, and launched CONBUD, which is looking to hire formerly incarcerated individuals that have been affected by the war on drugs to build a personal and impactful presence in the cannabis market in New York State.

CANNABIS ATTORNEY, JEFFREY HOFFMAN & ASSOCIATES PLLC

Jeffrey is a cannabis attorney and legalization activist with over 25 years of experience starting, operating, advising, and selling businesses. He is a leader in promoting pro bono advocacy for the rights of those impacted by anti-cannabis enforcement in the United States. Jeffrey holds a JD from the University of North Carolina School of Law and a BA in Russian and East European Studies from the University of North Carolina.

REPORTER, POLITICO

Mona Zhang is the states cannabis policy reporter for POLITICO Pro. Previously, she was the founder and editor of the cannabis newsletter Word on the Tree. She also spent four years covering the cannabis beat as a freelance journalist for Forbes, The Outline, High Times and more. Before that, she served as Social Editor for Adweek and worked in various roles for Mediabistro.

PUBLISHER & FOUNDER, HONEYSUCKLE MAGAZINE

Ronit Pinto is the publisher and founder of Honeysuckle Media, a CLIO & social justice award-winning platform providing highly-lauded and ROI driven services in print, digital, creative and OOH platform. Honeysuckle explores gender, sexuality, racial politics, plant medicine, and pop culture. Today, one of the most trusted cannabis media sources, Ronit began Honeysuckle in Detroit, now in NYC, as a source for encouraging hope in extraordinary circumstances. Ronit was the first in history to place cannabis and hemp brands on Times Square billboards and has pioneered several initiatives in cannabis culture. Honeysuckle is currently in production on their first feature film and series ‘Girls Are Playas Too,’ telling the fictionalized stories of real women in the cannabis industry.

CEO & CHAIR, ISO & CEN VAPING STANDARDS COMMITTEES

Arnaud (Arno) Dumas de Rauly stands as co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Blinc Group, a pioneering enterprise reshaping the cannabis vaping landscape through an unwavering commitment to safety, innovation, and exceptional quality. Trained as an engineer, Arnaud embeds a culture of scientific rigor within Blinc, ensuring that its offerings epitomize market-leading safety and quality.

POLITICAL & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, LOCAL 338

Nikki Kateman is the Political & Communications Director for Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW, a labor union that represents approximately 13,000 men and women working in a variety of industries throughout New York State and Northern New Jersey.

FOUNDER, ZUANIC & ASSOCIATES

Pablo Zuanic is a well known and highly rated equity analyst most recently following the cannabis and psychedelics sector. Over the past four years he launched coverage of over 35 companies (US MSOs, Canadian LPs, CBD, ancillary service providers), kept close track of sectoral trends globally, and followed the reform process in the US and Germany.

FOUNDER & CEO, PARK JORDAN & ASIAN CANNABIS ROUNDTABLE

Kristin Jordan is the founder and CEO of Park Jordan, a commercial real estate firm for the cannabis industry. She previously served as Acreage Holdings' Director of Real Estate. Her passion for cannabis reform drives her roles as CEO of Mannada, a NYC-based cannabis event company, co-founder of the Cannabis Cultural Association, and founder of the Asian Cannabis Roundtable. Kristin is also part of the New York State Bar Association's Cannabis Committee and the Minority Cannabis Business Association Policy Committee.

PRESIDENT, VIRIDIAN CAPITAL ADVISORS

Scott has had a highly successful 30-year career on Wall Street and in his own businesses, with a track record of helping to identify, advise, finance and buy/sell best of breed emerging growth companies in newly emerging industries.

He is the founder and President of Viridian Capital Advisors, launched in June 2014 as one of the earliest institutional financial and strategic advisory firms in the legal cannabis sector.

To date, the Viridian team has closed 16 financing transactions totaling approximately $185 million, and 10 M&A transactions with total consideration of approximately $400 million. Viridian has performed several dozen valuation, financial modeling and board development assignments for its cannabis and hemp client companies.

CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER, CANNDELTA

Lucas McCann, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at CannDelta, leads science and business strategy. He's a regulatory expert, aiding clients in licensing, strategy, and operations. With 300+ successful ventures in pharmaceuticals, food, and cannabis across North America, his expertise covers commercial cultivation, manufacturing, testing, and retail. Lucas gained regulatory insight at Health Canada, specifically in the Regulatory and Operations Enforcement Branch (Health Products).

PRESIDENT, NEW YORK CANNABIS RETAIL ASSOCIATION

Britni is a woman minority New York State CAURD applicant looking to obtain a retail dispensary license as Flower City Dispensary. She is also the co-founder and President of the New York Cannabis Retail Association, an organization that aims to create educational pathways in cannabis and ensure access to resources in order to create a sustainable, equitable, and inclusive cannabis industry. Britni holds a bachelor's degree from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in finance and economics and an MBA from St. John Fisher University in accounting.

FVP, DIRECTOR OF SPECIALTY RELATIONSHIP BANKING

As the Director of Cannabis Banking at Berkshire Bank - New England's Largest Bank serving the cannabis space - Ryan brings expert knowledge and energy to the evolving financial services field within the industry.

Ryan has worked with over 100 banks nationwide to successfully build, grow, and scale their cannabis banking programs. As a pioneer in the space, he has dramatically improved accessibility of financial services for cannabis businesses.

REPORTER, CULTIVATED

Jeremy is a senior reporter at Cultivated, 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.

CEO, THE ARCVIEW GROUP

Jeffrey was named one of the "25 Angel Investors in New York You Need to Know" by AlleyWatch in 2014. He has been a venture investor for ten years and an angel investor for eight years. Jeffrey currently serves as the CEO of the Arcview Group and Arcview Ventures. He is also a co-founder of the Arcview Collective Fund, the first member-managed fund in the cannabis industry.

CO-FOUNDER & CEO, NCIA

Aaron Smith is Co-founder and CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Association, the largest trade association representing legal cannabis businesses in the U.S and the only one focusing on ensuring that the interests of small and independent businesses are represented in the national dialogue surrounding marijuana policy reform.

CEO & CO-FOUNDER, SKIP INTRO ADVISORS

David is a leading authority on non-traditional IPOs. He authored "Regulation A+ and “Other Alternatives to a Traditional IPO" and has represented clients in the emerging cannabis industry since 2013. Recognized by Chambers & Partners, Cannabis Law Report, and the National Law Journal, David is a trailblazer in cannabis law. He's also an accomplished author, frequent speaker on cannabis and corporate matters, and a Managing Partner at Feldman Legal Advisors. David teaches cannabis finance at New York University and co-hosts the "Fast Forward to Growth" podcast.

DIRECTOR OF INTERNAL POLICY, NEW YORK CANNABIS RETAIL ASSOCIATION

Shanduke Mcphatter is a Community Leader who has helped create social change in the City of New York. He spent the last decade helping to build non profits focused on preventing gun violence. Shanduke is a Legacy Operator who believes in diversity and inclusion for all and believes Cannabis should be no different. Shanduke is the CEO of, Legacy Lifestyle Cannabusiness LLC and now the Director of Internal Policy for the New York Cannabis Retail Association.

ACADEMIC DIRECTOR: BUSINESS OF CANNABIS, LIM COLLEGE

In tandem with being the Academic Director of the first accredited Cannabis Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs offered in New York State, Mike Z has been a committed and impactful Cannabis education advocate since 2014, when he founded High NY, now one of the world’s largest cannabis community education and business networking groups. Mike also hosts “The Cannabis Business Coach Podcast” and is the best selling author of “The Cannabis Business Book”.

CO-FOUNDER, THE CANNABIS COLLECTIVE

Shahbaaz has spent the last five years working with North American Cannabis tech and media co's, specializing in go-to-market strategy, execution & scale During his time in Cannabis, he´s helped scale multiple orgs including Lift, Dutchie, Spiffy and KIND. He is currently the Co-Founder of The Cannabis Collective and CEO of retail acquistion platform CannAcquire.

CEO & FOUNDER, HOUSE OF PUFF

Kristina Lopez Adduci is an entrepreneur, speaker, art collector, and media personality. She is the founder and CEO of House of Puff, a New York-based cannabis lifestyle brand. Kristina initially created the company to offer cannabis products that resonated with her personal preferences. Over time, she has transformed the brand, harnessing the power of art to drive social change.

CHAIRMAN - CULTIVATION, CANNABIS ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK

As a seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience in tightly regulated industries, including healthcare, Joann brings a wealth of expertise to Ravens View Genetics in the ever-evolving cannabis industry. Her focus on operational and financial efficiencies, strict compliance protocols, and scalability ensures maximum profitability while maintaining the highest standards of quality. Joann's commitment to developing a positive corporate culture and investing in the growth and success of her team is reflected in the company's commitment to sustainable and ethical practices. With her deep respect for regulation and a passion for innovation, Joann is a driving force behind RVG's success.

As Chair of the Cannabis Association of NY, (CANY) Cultivation Committee, Joann and her committee advocate and lobby for change in support of the NYS small farmer Cannabis Cultivation Community.

CEO & FOUNDER, CANNABIS NOW MAGAZINE

Eugenio Garcia is the CEO and founder of Cannabis Now, a media group that offers reliable, compelling and creative content to today’s cannabis consumer by way of print, digital, broadcast and social mediums. At Cannabis Now, Garcia is closely involved with the editorial process and manages the sales/revenue, distribution, marketing and investment departments.As a long-time entrepreneur and advocate, Garcia became interested in the space when consulting in the cannabis industry. Realizing the lack of a strong and balanced voice for today’s consumer, Cannabis Now became the solution by focusing on the most relevant news, political happenings, cannabis legislation, horticultural advancements, social change, economic trends and medical information available.

SENIOR CANNABIS REPORTER, LAW360

Sam Reisman is a senior reporter at Law360 covering the changing relationship between drugs and the law. He writes about policy and litigation in the cannabis and psychedelics spaces with a focus on the emerging body of caselaw, legislation to reform drug policy, and the lawyers, advocates, and policymakers that work in the field of controlled substances.

CEO, ASTRO MANAGEMENT & NEW YORK CANNABIS RETAIL ASSOCATION

Jillian serves as the CEO and Co-Founder of Astro Management, a proud recipient of a CAURD license located in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to her leadership at Astro Management, she holds the positions of Chair of the Regulations & Law Committee and Co-chair of the Women's Committee of the New York Cannabis Retail Association (NYCRA). With a strong commitment to education and outreach, Jillian is dedicated to advocating for the rights of all stakeholders within the retail sector, particularly in the context of the ever-evolving regulatory framework. Jillian actively promotes equality and the inclusion of women in every aspect of the cannabis industry. She accomplishes this by sharing valuable resources and fostering connections to bolster the presence of women across the entire cannabis ecosystem.

CHAIR OF THE SOCIAL EQUITY COMMITTEE, NEW YORK CANNABIS RETAIL ASSOCIATION

Roger Thomas is a remarkable entrepreneur who embodies the core values of education, community engagement, and unwavering perseverance. His journey is a testament to his dedication to personal and professional growth.