Damian Solomon
Damian has had a successful career during his 16+ years in the greenhouse and controlled environment growing industry. Having graduated in 1998 from The University of Arizona’s College of Agriculture with a degree in Plant Sciences and Crop Production, he has worked with some of North America’s largest high technology greenhouse operations. This includes working as a grower for Eurofresh Farms, which had 350 acres of hydroponic greenhouses. Damian was fortunate enough to be able to design, supervise the construction of, and manage a large Dutch style glass greenhouses for the purpose of both conventional hydroponic and organic crop systems. He has extensive knowledge of plant nutrition, irrigation/fertilization, crop physiology, pest & disease management, crop growth management, labor efficiency, and agri-business. He has also worked for a global vegetable seed company, where he learned many aspects of plant genetics and breeding, as well as seed production, sales, and marketing. Damian has often been asked to participate in industry panel discussion groups and has lectured in university sponsored workshops on such topics as crop registration, crop growth management, proper climate strategies, and integrated pest management. He has a respected reputation in the greenhouse industry as an expert in the field of high density, high output controlled environment crop systems.
Beginning in early 2014, Damian has been involved in the cannabis industry as a technical consultant offering agronomic services to his clients. He has worked with several of Canada’s largest cultivation facilities, as well as some recreational facilities in Colorado. During this time Damian has been able to build a strong network of cannabis growers, consultants, manufacturers and suppliers within the industry. Damian is progressively minded, and has a passion for what he does. He likes to blend the art of growing with technology to optimize the results of the entire operation. Being bilingual, Damian is able to conduct business in both English and Spanish
Dan Linn
Dan Linn has been working as a cannabis activist and lobbyist for over ten years with the Illinois chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML) and has spent most of that time as its Executive Director. He has testified before committees at the Capitol in Springfield, has been published and quoted in numerous newspapers and news broadcasts in Illinois, and is a co-author of the book The Cannabis Papers. He has publicly debated the former head of the DEA Peter Bensinger on television and spoke on a panel at the 2012 American Bar Association’s conference detailing different regulatory and tax models for legal cannabis markets. He is also a co-founder of Midwest Cannabis Consulting, serves as a founding member of the ILCIA Board of Directors and holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Illinois Springfield. Read some of Dan’s published letters and other writing archived at the Media Awareness Project.
David Beckett
David Beckett has worked in the security field for the last 9 years. He started his career in home security working for a small ADT dealer out of Indiana. The job moved him from Rochester, NY to Hartford, CT. In Connecticut, David opened the branch for Defender and soon after was promoted to Installation Manager. His branch became #1 in the company, growing his territory into NY, RI, VT, NH, MA, NJ, CT & NYC. With the success of this region, Defender was on the rise, going from the 4th largest ADT dealer to #1 in the nation. The standards and practices he implemented are still in place today set forth nationwide by corporate.
In 2008, David moved to Colorado and opened his own security company. He signed on with four local ADT dealers providing installations for them all. After a few years of non-stop hard work and dedication, he decided to shift gears. He began working for larger companies, expanding his knowledge in home automation and networking. Becoming familiar with fire codes and regulations from commercial high-rise buildings, he also gained an expansive background in all aspects of low voltage. David helped to design and install the new state of the art security system, at a major national armored car facility. The system design included redundant security measures with retinal scanners for employee identity, employee tracking and people counting etc.
In 2014, David was offered a position at the only cannabis security company in the Denver area. Initially getting hired as the Project/Inventory Manager, he excelled rapidly and was promoted to Operations Manager. He quickly improved business, with production ten times higher than ever before.
Staying up to date on the latest technologies helps David consult customers with knowledge of the best security systems and designs in the industry today. David is a member of CEDIA and has taken courses in Remote Access Security & Best Practices, Art of Project Documentation, Home Theater Design, IP Networking & Setup, Z-Wave Technologies, Project Management Principles and Art of Managing a Whole Home System. David has also been factory trained on many products including GE, DSC, Honeywell, Denon, URC, Optex, Paxtox, HIK Vision, Exacq and Speco. After developing solid business relationships with Derek and Ben, the trio plan on taking the industry by storm by offering the best fully comprehensive security solution on the market.
David Lampach
David Lampach is co-founder and CEO of Steep Hill Lab Inc, the nations first medical cannabis testing laboratory in the United States. He has consulted in an official capacity for both state and local government on cannabis quality assurance issues. Most recently, he was on the team that won a contract with Washington State to develop the state’s adult use legal cannabis program. He also led the development of the QuantaCann system, which is the industry’s only remote instant cannabis potency evaluation system. Steep Hill Lab is a Founding Member of NCIA.
David Murét
David Murét is the Co-Founder and COO of Viridian Staffing. With a diverse background including everything from Public Policy and Law, to Information Technology, Finance and Business Development he serves as Viridian’s “Swiss Army Knife,” rounding out the executive team. As a veteran of multiple start-ups he demonstrates a keen appreciation of the challenges business owners face as well as the importance of assembling the right team. A natural-born leader, activist and organizer he has a gift for identifying and valuing people’s innate strengths and putting them in positions where they can realize the greatest positive impact within an organization.
Derek Porter
Derek Porter has over 15 years of experience in multiple facets of the security industry. He passionately advocates for safety and security for people and assets. As a former special operations Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team (F.A.S.T.) Marine, he has implemented cutting edge maximum security practices both as a Marine and as a private contractor operating over the course of 2 deployments to Iraq.
Derek has worked in the executive protection world and has practiced security consulting for over a decade with industry specific consultation for the cannabis industry. Derek has a B.S. in Business Management from California State University and a M.S. in Security Management (Summa Cum Laude) from The University of Denver. Derek holds dozens of security certifications including being board certified by the American Board of Homeland Security and a Business Identity Theft certification from the Institute of Consumer Financial Education to name a few.
Derek has been involved in strategic partnerships since 2012 and is Co-owner and VP of Operations for CannaRabbit, Colorado State’s industry leading courier and test sampling service for cannabis. Derek is also the Co-founder and COO of The War Writers’ Campaign, Inc. He wrote his first book to help fund The War Writers’ Campaign called “Conquering Mental Fatigues.” Derek is a huge veteran advocate and prides himself on hiring U.S. Veterans to join the Security Grade Team.
Don Schaefer
Don Schaefer recently joined 4Front Advisors to lend his expertise from outside the industry. Don served in the military for ten years in overseas duty assignments, including Desert Storm and Desert Shield. Later, he worked for Hillstone Restaurant Group, developing and improving their already best-in-class training processes. Beginning in 2009, while living in Washington DC, Don expanded the regional gourmet salad chain Sweetgreen from 2 locations to 23 current locations and helped them develop and execute a business strategy to expand into New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. At 4Front, Don is keenly focused on team-building, training, and execution.
Dr. Jeffrey Raber
Dr. Raber, president of The Werc Shop, is a world-renowned scientist with many peer-reviewed publications and numerous patents in the field of chemistry. He’s been an invited lecturer around the world where he’s been asked to present about his efforts in better understanding the chemical profile of cannabis varieties and the use of cannabis as a medicinal agent in all of its possible forms. Having received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California in organic chemistry, Dr. Raber moved forward to apply his scientific expertise in conjunction with his entrepreneurial spirit to create The Werc Shop in order to pioneer safety testing, accurate labeling, efficient processing and phytochemical quantification of cannabis.
Dr. Lakisha Jenkins
Dr. Lakisha Jenkins, N.D., R.H. (AHG) holds a Doctorate in Naturopathy, a B.S. in Holistic Nutrition and is a registered professional herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild. She is Founder and CEO of The Kiona T Jenkins Foundation of Natural Health (Kiona Foundation Inc, 2003), a 501(c)(3) holistic health nonprofit organization and it’s subsidiary, Kiona’s Farm’acy, has provided holistic health services to the Central Valley since 2010 and is a sustaining member of NCIA. In addition to The Kiona Foundation, Dr. Jenkins also serves as a founding director and President of California Cannabis Industry Association – the California State affiliate of NCIA and trade organization dedicated to unite the cannabis industry in California and to allow it to speak with one voice at the state and local levels.
Rodger Voelker, PHD
Rodger Voelker has had a long interest in using analytical chemistry to help ensure consumer safety. Rodger received his BS in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Oklahoma and his PhD in Molecular Biology from the U of O. He began his career in Analytical Chemistry with the Oregon Department of Agriculture in 1996, performing trace level analysis of pesticide residues in water, soil, foliage, and food products. Rodger worked for the Oregon Department of Agriculture first as a chemist II, and later as the supervising chemist for the pesticide residue laboratory. Rodger then left the Oregon Department of Agriculture and took a position at the University of Oregon where he focused on developing and using computational methods to analyze genomic data. During that time he also worked as a consultant for a local company where he developed analytical and computational methods to analyze various natural products.
In 2014 Rodger accepted his current position as the Lab Director for Oregon Growers Analytical (OG Analytical), which is an independent cannabis testing laboratory located in Eugene, Oregon. OG Analytical is focused on providing quality testing of cannabis sold in Oregon to ensure that it is compliant with current regulations. Rodger is also an active board member of the Cannabis Safety Institute, a not-for-profit research organization aimed at providing regulators with recommendations for sensible cannabis regulation.
Ean Seeb
Ean Seeb is a third generation Denver native. He is one of the founders of a local non-profit and holds multiple leadership and board positions throughout the city in civil rights, community and cultural organizations. He is an actor and real estate broker and holds a B.S. in Business Administration. A ski accident led Ean to the healing effects of medical marijuana in 2008 after suffering more than a decade of pain and permanent nerve damage with no relief available from conventional medicine. Recognizing the opportunity to combine his business acumen along with his passion for helping others, Ean has become a leading caregiver in the medical marijuana community. Ean currently acts as Wellness Center Manager for Denver Relief. Ean is Chair of the Board of Directors and Denver Relief and Denver Relief Consulting are Founding Sustaining Members.
Étienne Fontan
Étienne Fontan is Vice President & Co-owner of Berkeley Patients Group (BPG), a leader in the medical cannabis industry since 1999. He has founded dispensaries in Berkeley, Los Angeles, West Hollywood, and in the state of Maine. For more than a decade, Étienne has positioned BPG as a leading medical cannabis dispensary, focusing on leading the emerging industry as it expands, evolves, and becomes more professional. In 1993 he was a director with the Cannabis Action Network and traveled through 47 U.S. states speaking at rallies, teach-ins, and tours, reaching out to the general public on all cannabis-related issues. As a combat veteran of the first Gulf War, Mr. Fontan now lobbies on veterans’ behalf for the use of cannabis.
Fitz Couhig
Fitz Couhig was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is a graduate of Louisiana State University. Ski bum, tour guide, software, account management, real estate acquisitions, wetland restoration, project and asset management all led to Fitz founding Pioneer Production and Processing in December of 2013, with business partner and growing expert Sean O’Leary, which is a licensed Washington State producer and processor of cannabis products. Fitz is an avid duck hunter, loves family and friends, craft cannabis, farmed food, craft beer, live music, competitive sports, big poker games, adventure travel, and good books. Currently living in Northern Washington, Fitz is the CEO of PPP, distributing a 10 strain menu to 20 retail stores statewide, and growing.
Gary Fast
Gary Fast has been a involved with the Oregon medical marijuana program since 2008, gaining experience with both indoor and outdoor cultivation. In Washington, he is a member in the Collation of Cannabis Standards and Ethics. Gary is also the Northwest Sales Manager for Mosman Machinery, a trim machine company for the cannabis industry, based in Northern California. He works with Producers and Processors all over the Northwest.
Genifer Murray
Genifer Murray received her bachelor of science in microbiology from Colorado State University and in 2010 Genifer created Colorado’s longest running medical marijuana testing laboratory. Driven by Genifer’s skills and her passion for cannabis science, CannLabs has grown into the premier marijuana analytics firm in Colorado. Advocating for science, Genifer has adopted medical marijuana rights as a personal cause. Genifer’s expertise allows her to provide education to clients and patients on accurate dosing and proper activation, health, and safety, and in so doing she has helped to create a credible and safe industry for the future. CannLabs is a Sponsoring Member of NCIA. CannLabs is a Sponsoring Member of NCIA.
Geoff Sugerman
Geoff Sugerman is a veteran of Oregon politics for over 20 years. Sugerman is co-owner of New Economy Consulting along with Sam Chapman. The two worked together to write and lead passage of HB 3460 in the 2013 legislative session. In 1994 Sugerman ran the Oregon Death with Dignity Campaign. In 1998 he helped to write and then served as campaign manager for the original Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. Since 1991 he has worked on close to 100 campaigns and lobbied for clients involved in criminal justice reform, raising the minimum wage and other progressive causes. Currently, the firm is working with medical marijuana dispensaries, assisting in legalization efforts, and serving on the state’s Rules Advisory Committee.
Gracen Hook
Gracen Hook began cultivating cannabis at the age of 18, and has been a vocal activist in Washington state marijuana policy ever since. After 4 years gaining experience in the industry, he felt he had developed enough knowledge to open a store front collective. After a successful year of business, he opened a second storefront in the neighboring town of Port Towsend, Washington. Gracen’s company was recently chosen in the retail cannabis lottery to be the sole retail store in Port Townsend. Port Townsend sees an average of 2 million tourist annually, and was recently voted as the best town in Washington state by King 5 News . He is also a guest instructor for the Cannabis Career Institute and is co-chairman of the coalition for cannabis standards and ethics I-502 committee.
Heather Manus, RN
Nurse Heather is the Founder and President of the Arizona Cannabis Nurses Association (AZCNA) and is a Registered Nurse specializing in all aspects of Medical Cannabis Care. She currently serves as the Medical Director and Executive Director of Edibles and Infused Products for The Greene Consulting Group in Denver. Nurse Heather is also the Executive Director of Edibles & Infusions for The Green Halo, a legal medical cannabis dispensary under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. In January 2013, Heather opened Arizona’s first approved medical cannabis kitchen in Tucson, Az., The Heavenly Harvest, which is a leading provider for medical cannabis infused products in the State.
Nurse Heather believes that the secret ingredient for all of her cannabis products is an abundance of “love and compassion.”
Henry Wykowski
Henry Wykowski is a San Francisco-based trial attorney representing numerous cannabis dispensaries throughout California in tax matters. He was the tax attorney in the landmark case Californians Helping to Alleviate Medical Problems (CHAMP) v. Commissioner. In CHAMP, the IRS sought to disallow the dispensary’s cost of goods sold and expenses, and impose a tax on gross sales, thereby establishing a precedent that would tax dispensaries out of business. The CHAMP decision recognized the right of dispensaries to offset sales with cost of goods sold, a significant victory for medicinal cannabis dispensaries. Henry has spoken on tax issues at numerous events including several NORML national conferences and NCIA events.
Hezekiah Allen
Hezekiah Allen was born and raised in Humboldt County. He studied Politics and Government at Pacific University. After university he returned to the North Coast to work as a consultant helping local residents increase water storage, implement conservation irrigation practices, and assisting local organizations with fundraising and strategic planning. In 2010 he was hired as the Executive Director of the Mattole Restoration Council. While with the MRC Allen was one of the first community leaders to call attention to the increasingly severe environmental impacts associated with illegal and unregulated marijuana cultivation.
All his life he has been a fierce guardian of and advocate for the heritage of small scale farms and sustainable cannabis cultivation in CA. He has a deep understanding of the impacts prohibition has had on families, communities, and patients throughout the state. It is Allen’s underlying belief that–just as cannabis can heal people–the cannabis advocacy community can heal politics through a collaborative and inclusive approach, cannabis businesses can heal our economy through decentralization and opportunity for all, and cannabis farms can heal the natural treasures of the state by integrating best management practices and a stewardship ethic on to the farm.
In June 2014 Hezekiah relocated to Sacramento after he accepted a contract to work as the Executive Director of the Emerald Growers Association, a trade association focused on promoting public policies that will foster a sustainable, healthy and legal cannabis industry.
Hilary Bricken
Regarded as one of Washington State’s premier cannabis business attorneys, Hilary helps cannabis companies of all sizes with everything from corporate structure and intellectual property protection to branding, licensing, and medical cannabis law. Hilary’s primary focus is helping cannabis businesses navigate the increasingly confusing and murky legal climate surrounding Washington State medical and recreational cannabis laws. She has represented clients struggling with a host of common problems in the industry, from business license denials, revocations, and injunctions to land-use disputes and moratoria on cannabis businesses.
Hilary has also been involved in 280e tax reform and routinely participates in community education panels to continue to inform industry participants about the current and changing cannabis laws in Washington State. Hilary also works closely with lobbyists in Olympia, representing the Cannabis Business Group, a business trade organization focused on I-502 implementation.
Jaime Lewis
Jaime Lewis is the founder and executive chef at Mountain Medicine, a leading producer of medical and recreational cannabis edibles in Colorado. With a decade of experience in marijuana-infused product manufacturing and dispensary operations, Lewis is a leading voice for corporate responsibility and compliance in the cannabis industry. She is a founder and former chair of the Cannabis Business Alliance chamber of commerce and is the National Cannabis Industry Association’s current board chair. A formally trained chef, Lewis began her cannabis career making medical marijuana-infused edibles for HIV/AIDS patients in California. She formerly served as chief operating officer overseeing the expansion of one of Colorado’s most respected dispensary operations and managed all cultivation, dispensary, and infused product activities and led the licensing process and physical build out of the company’s second location.
Jan Carlos Byl
Jan Carlos Byl is the founder and Managing Member of MedCanna Consulting LLC. MedCanna provides application support, design, implementation and operations management of commercial cultivation facilities in areas permitting regulated medical cannabis programs.
A first generation American raised in and around Washington DC, Mr. Byl has nearly two decades of practical Cannabis cultivation, breeding, extraction and dispensary operations experience within The Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Colorado, Arizona and Washington DC. Mr. Byl was first exposed to Cannabis cultivation while at University in Quebec, where he worked with a group that would become one of the first licensed Hemp cultivators in Canada in 1998.
While living in Amsterdam from 1997-2005, Mr. Byl worked for the Greenhouse Amsterdam, working directly with Arjan Roskam. During his tenure at the Greenhouse Mr. Byl was exposed to and able to learn from some of the most respected and revered names in Cannabis and Seed production including Neville Schoenmakers, Shantibaba, Soma, Tony Sagarmatha and Adam Dunn to name a few.
More recently Mr. Byl designed, shepherded through licensing and simultaneously implemented the first two legal cultivation facilities in the strictly regulated Washington DC market. He also helped design and supervise the build-out of three dispensaries in Arizona.
With MedCanna Mr. Byl has written multiple applications for licensure and designed over 200,000 square feet of cultivation space. MedCanna has clients in 5 states, Canada, Switzerland and Spain
Jay Czarkowski
Jay Czarkowski serves as a Senior Partner with CANNA Advisors, a national cannabis industry consulting firm focusing on the design, build, and start-up operations of medical cannabis facilities. Born and raised in Newington, Connecticut, Jay is a native of the New England area. He earned his Electrical Engineering degree at Norwich University and started his first business in Storrs, Connecticut. In 2001, he launched his real estate development company, Construction Design Group.
After building everything from multi-family projects to ski resort developments, Jay became a pioneer in the medical cannabis industry in 2009 by founding Boulder Kind Care (BKC). His background gave him a keen advantage in understanding regulation, building processes and operations, and BKC quickly became one of the most successful medical cannabis businesses in Colorado. One of the key areas that lead to BKC’s success was its ability to consistently produce large amounts of high quality, pharmaceutical-grade cannabis. It was Jay’s vision in design and process that made the facilities state-of-the-art. In the spring of 2012, Jay sold his business in order to dedicate his time to business consulting and advocacy. CANNA Advisors has been a Member of NCIA since its founding and BKC was a Founding Member.
Jennifer Martin
Jennifer Martin is the winner of the 1998 San Francisco Bay Area Cannabis Cup, and is a pioneer in the US marijuana clone industry, having been the original clone provider to prominent San Francisco Bay Area dispensaries starting back in 1996. She has cloned over 200 strains, trained over 100 workers, and has set up and managed 20 grow facilities. She now focuses on consulting and writing from her home in Maui, Hawaii and writes the monthly cultivation column for the SF Evergreen Cannabis Magazine.
Jeremy Moberg
Jeremy Moberg is a marine biologist and sungrown cannabis cultivator with over 20 years of experience. Jeremy successfully transitioned from the medical market to commercial scale with last year’s harvest of over 2000 lbs of premium quality cannabis. He is a nI-502 WA Licensed Producer/Processor, prominent in the industry, and runs the Washington Sungrowers Industry Association, which successfully reinstated sungrowing rights into the Washington recreational legislation. His CannaSol Farms has been featured in High Times as “the best weed in Washington State” and he remains focused on quality, sustainability, and fairness in the industry. Jeremy brings a scientific approach to farm management and optimization; he has spent countless hours performing marine fisheries surveys and is responsible for a number of published advancements in that field.
Jesce Horton
Jesce Horton is the owner of Panacea Valley Gardens and cofounder of the Minority Cannabis Business Association. Before joining the cannabis industry, he worked at an engineering firm focused on business development, process/energy efficiency and strategy. Jesce has since applied this experience directly toward efficient cannabis cultivation, distribution and retail. He sees it as his duty to make a positive sustaining impact on the cannabis industry through sharing good business practices and helping to make the industry more accessible to women and minorities.
Jessica Billingsley
Jessica Billingsley is a co-founder and the Chief Operating Officer of MJ Freeway Business Solutions, a woman-owned software company focused on providing a business software platform including point of sale, inventory tracking, manufacturing, and cultivation management software for marijuana businesses.
Jessica is a highly-regarded executive in the software industry and has built and managed technology operations with an emphasis on executive management, strategic relationships, culture, financials, support, accounting, infrastructure, and intellectual property. Jessica’s strategic vision and strong team-building skills result in cohesive teams and year-over-year high revenue returns with large profit margins. She is distinguished by her unrelenting focus on providing superior customer service at all times. Jessica has been a successful founder, owner, director, COO, and CEO of companies with revenues exceeding eleven million ($11M).
Jessica is recognized nationally as an industry expert and has been a frequent guest speaker at many industry events. She has been interviewed and quoted by many local and national media outlets including CNN Money, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Forbes. She was featured as one of Cannabis Now’s Eight Cannabis Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2014.
MJ Freeway is a Sustaining Member of NCIA.
Jill Lamoureux
Jill Lamoureux has been involved in management, operations, and consultation within the cannabis industry since 2008. Jill has operated four dispensaries, three cultivation facilities, and one commercial kitchen in Colorado. She coordinated the process for a number of businesses to receive their state and local licenses in Colorado’s first effort to convert unregulated cannabis businesses. She has worked extensively in state and local government administration, developing specialized knowledge necessary for developing policies and procedures in highly regulated environments. This experience allowed her to gain an understanding and deep appreciation for the challenges that come with managing complex application processes and operating a cannabis business in newly regulated spaces.
Jim Marty
Jim Marty has been a CPA in the Denver Metro area of Colorado since 1984. His firm, Jim Marty and Associates, LLC, has offices in Longmont and Cherry Creek. Jim provides his clients with exceptional tax preparation assistance and is accredited in Business Valuation, certified in Financial Forensics, and qualified as an expert witness in jurisdictions in Colorado and California. In November 2009, Jim traveled to San Francisco, CA to meet with attorneys and accountants involved in the CHAMP case and medical marijuana generally. Jim serves more than 100 medical marijuana clients, has assisted in numerous medical marijuana IRS and State of Colorado audits, and continues to support the medical marijuana and the emerging adult-use marijuana industries in Colorado. Jim Marty & Associates is a Sponsoring Member of NCIA.
