Cannabis Industry Interviews

Leah Sera, PharmD, MA, BCPS, is the program director of the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy’s MS in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics.

Chris Van Leeuwen is the Vice President of Agency Development for Insurance Canopy, an online insurance marketplace helping businesses and entrepreneurs access top-rated and low-cost professional, product, and general liability insurance.

Ivan Suslov is the Chief Operating Officer for IndicaOnline, a seed-to-sale software platform used by dispensaries throughout the United States and Canada.

Breck Speed is COO and Cameron Meshell is President of Farmington Research, which specializes in water-soluble hemp extracts for creating CBD-infused beverage products.

Dr. Thomas Macsay is a naturopath and medical advisor for Neurogan, a health-minded CBD company with Scandinavian roots.

Tylor Couch is the founder of PolyCanna, a Colorado company focused on creative recycling and upcycling strategies to improve sustainable packaging options for the cannabis industry.

Jen Jackson is the founder and CEO of Be Jubie, a Baltimore-based CBD brand that emphasizes restoration, general wellness, and social justice.

Eric Kaufman is the Chief Revenue Officer for Dama Financial, an organization that provides cannabis businesses access to sustainable banking with FDIC-Insured banks eager to cooperate with the cannabis space.

Scott Goldie is the Chief Executive Officer of Goldenseed, a vertically and horizontally integrated California cannabis company.

Angela Grelle is the VP of Marketing for CannaCon, one of the country’s largest, oldest, and most successful cannabis trade shows.

Dr. Genester Wilson-King is an obstetrician-gynecologist who, alongside urologist Dr. Michael Eisenberg, is gathering data on cannabis and sexual health, an area of cannabis medicine where little research has been conducted.

Dale Sky Jones of Oaksterdam University and Malcolm Youngren of the Pacific College of Health & Science recently partnered up on a medical cannabis certificate program for health professionals.

Christos Nicolaidis is the founder and CEO of Philter Labs, a company offering attachable filters for handheld vaporizers.

Stephen Rechif is the General Manager of Bloom Room, a popular cannabis dispensary located in downtown San Francisco.

Ben Britton is the CEO and lead engineer at PurePressure, a leading rosin press developer and manufacturer based out of Denver, Colorado.

Michael Catudal is a Managing Partner at Capital Business Collective, a private equity advisory that emphasizes unique ideas in the cannabis industry by helping connect investors with ripe opportunities.

Laurel Friesen, or “Lo” as she’s known in the industry, is the founder and CEO of Heylo, a Washington cannabis extraction company known for crafting whole-bud, full-spectrum extracts curated to enhance everyday experiences.

Jon Trauben is a partner at Altitude Investment Management, an investment banking and asset fund management firm working directly in the cannabis space.

Tina Ulman is the NV Brand Manager for Old Pal, a multistage cannabis brand that emphasizes communal cannabis, and the Director of Development for NORML’s Nevada + Las Vegas chapters.

Mike Sassano is CEO and Founder of Solaris Farms, one of the largest greenhouse cannabis cultivators in Nevada.

Amanda Mac is a founding partner of Bellingham Budfest, the first-ever cannabis festival in Bellingham, WA happening on July 14, 2019.

Jay Burns is the founder and lab director of Treeline Analytics, a cannabis testing lab that operates in Washington’s pioneering I-502 adult-use market.

Katherine Long is the CEO of Illustria, a branding agency based in Washington DC that has worked with cannabis industry clients like New Frontier Data and Bluebird Botanicals.