Jessica C. McElfresh Related Seminars and Products

Founder and Principal

McElfresh Law, Inc.

Attorney Jessica McElfresh delivers the legal guidance and advocacy it takes to thrive in California’s cannabis industry. As a successful defense attorney, Jessica was at the forefront of marijuana legalization in California, and uses that passion and skill to represent people at all stages of the state’s legitimate marijuana market. From retail cannabis dispensaries, large cultivators, testing facilities, delivery services, investors, and marijuana entrepreneurs, Jessica provides individuals and cannabis businesses with what they need to flourish. This includes full service legal assistance with formation, zoning, regulatory compliance, licensing, land use, employment, and everything in between.

Why Cannabis?

Even as a young lawyer, Jessica never saw the cannabis industry as something that needed to be normalized. Instead, her work focused on highlighting how normal it already was.

She saw the government waste, how the current laws violated people’s rights, and wanted to be part of building something new.

Jessica has worked in cannabis law and policy since 2010. She focuses on local and state applications, land use, regulatory compliance, and business law.  Jessica represents cannabis retailers, distributors, cultivators, manufacturers, and testing labs, as well as landlords and ancillary businesses.  She has guided clients through successful applications in jurisdictions such as the City of San Diego, La Mesa, Encinitas, Lemon Grove, and the County of San Diego. 

Jessica has authored or advised on nearly ten local ballot measures to regulate cannabis businesses.  Successes include Measure U in La Mesa and Measure V in Lemon Grove in 2016 and Measure H in Encinitas in 2020.  As part of this work, Jessica has won writs of mandate at the local and appellate level to compel local governments and registrars of voters to accept petitions and count voter signatures.

Jessica represents people facing discipline or loss of state and local licenses, particularly in the cannabis industry.  She began her career in criminal defense and continues to take select cases.  Jessica has unique experience with the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege and the duties of an attorney under investigation or facing criminal charges. 

Outside of her law practice, Jessica is an advocate for cannabis and broader drug policy reform.  She is an advisory board member for A New PATH, an organization dedicated to promoting therapeutic rather than punitive drug policies.  Jessica served as a consultant for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California about how Proposition 64 affects criminal justice reform and individual rights.  

Jessica grew up in San Diego and graduated summa cum laude from Scripps College before attending the University of San Diego School of Law on a Dean’s Honor Scholarship.  She is a former Chair of the International Cannabis Bar Association’s Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee and its Continuing Legal Education Committee, and a former member of its Board of Directors.  Jessica has spoken at conferences and taught continuing legal education classes for organizations and law schools including the California Lawyers Association, Practising Law Institute, International Cannabis Bar Association, San Diego County Bar Association, and University of San Diego School of Law.  Her publications include “Attorney Ethics and Cannabis: Conflicts of Laws, Conflicts of Interest, and Attorney-Client Privilege for Cannabis Practitioners” (CLA Real Property Journal Vol. 38, No. 4 2020).

Steve Schain Related Seminars and Products

Senior Counsel

Smart Counsel

Winner of National Law Journal’s “2019 Finance, Banking, & Capital Markets Trailblazer” award, Steve Schain runs 100% woman owned, national cannabis law firm Smart-Counsel, LLC's PA and NJ practices and Chair its Financial Services Group. Admitted to practice in PA and New Jersey, Steve represents entities, governments and individuals in litigation, regulation and compliance, license applications, entity formation, and drafting legislation. Steve is also an Adjunct Faculty Member of, and teaches “Cannabis Law” at, Stockton University, one of only 5 universities offering a minor in Cannabis Studies. A nationally recognized Cannabis, banking law and consumer finance litigation expert, Steve serves as a court appointed judge pro tempore and arbitrator, is a The Legal Intelligencer, New Jersey Law Journal, and Cannabis Business Executive columnist, and frequent presenter for the National Cannabis Industry Association, International Cannabis Bar Association, Pennsylvania Credit Union Association, Bank Secrecy Act Compliance Group, Marijuana Business Daily, Pennsylvania Bar Institute and National Bar Institute.

Corinne Celko Related Seminars and Products

Managing Shareholder

Emerge Law Group P.C.

Corinne Celko is the Managing Shareholder of Emerge Law Group and focuses her practice on land use and development law. Corinne has been involved in the implementation of Oregon’s cannabis legalization measure (Measure 91) and Oregon’s psilocybin services legalization measure (Measure 109) by working extensively with various cities and counties throughout Oregon to adopt land use regulations favorable to cannabis-related and psilocybin services-related uses. Corinne has also challenged local governments who have tried to adopt regulations that are too restrictive. She argued before the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals and Oregon Court of Appeals to win the first appellate case in Oregon deeming a local government’s cannabis regulations to be unreasonable under state law.

Corinne was the MC for one day of the inaugural Horizons Northwest Psychedelics Conference in Portland last year, and she also co-hosted a psychedelics-related panel, entitled “Healing Humankind with Psilocybin,” at the Juniper Preserve resort near Bend, Oregon. Corinne is passionate about advocating for and assisting the cannabis and psychedelics industries, as well as creating a strong and supportive community for the lawyers who serve those industries.

Rachel Wright, MST, CPA Related Seminars and Products

Founder | CEO

Verdant Strategies

Rachel Wright, MST, CPA, is the CEO of VERDANT Strategies & 420 CPA, financial services firms with offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Nice, France. Rachel provides comprehensive accounting, tax, fractional CFO services, and consulting to cannabis companies globally, supporting them in launching, growing, and achieving financial sustainability through a holistic approach that ensures growth and scalability. With her CPA designation, a master's degree in taxation, and a Graduate Degree in International Taxation, Rachel offers essential guidance on tax planning, entity formation, and regulatory compliance. She also has experience as an audit committee chairperson for a publicly traded cannabis company, demonstrating her deep industry expertise. Rachel's collaborative approach builds lasting partnerships with her clients, helping them navigate complex financial challenges with confidence. As a thought leader, she shares her insights at prestigious events such as Benzinga and the Cannabis Summit and contributes to publications like Bloomberg Tax, MJBiz Daily and the LA Daily Journal. She also serves on an international committee with the International Cannabis Bar Association and the advisory board of the Cannabis Summit, advancing the global cannabis sector and ensuring the financial success of the businesses she serves.

Nicole Howell Related Seminars and Products

Principal

niQ Law

Nicole Howell is one of California’s most effective and respected cannabis business and regulatory attorneys. Industry executives, private investors, and public companies turn to Nicole for her perspective and proven track record in advising the industry’s most successful operators through California’s challenging and dynamic market. She has been working against prohibitionist drug laws since the beginning of her career and is passionate about the cognitive, therapeutic, and spiritual healing that results from the perspective shift consciousness expansion provides.

Chelsie Spencer Related Seminars and Products

Managing Attorney

Ritter Spencer Cheng PLLC

Forbes Magazine dubbed Chelsie Spencer the “rare friendly face in the midst of a cutthroat CBD hurricane, the person you want on speed dial when things turn sour” for her work in the cannabidiol (CBD) industry. As head of the cannabis practice at Ritter Spencer Cheng PLLC, Chelsie represents clients in every facet of the cannabis and hemp industries, including dispensaries, growers, processors, manufacturers, retailers, and more for their business needs. Her transactional practice focuses on licensing, regulatory compliance, and other business matters. She frequently writes, speaks, and presents on issues affecting the cannabis industry at conferences and forums across the United States.

In addition to her representation of cannabis clients, Chelsie is an experienced trademark attorney. She has successfully secured registration of numerous federal trademarks for her clients and manages worldwide trademark portfolios. Her trademark practice also encompasses transactional issues such as trademark licensing, consent and coexistence agreements, and assignments. Chelsie is nationally recognized for her trademark work with cannabis clients across the United States.

Chelsie has been recognized as a Super Lawyer in the Cannabis practice area by Thomson Reuters and has been awarded the Client Champion distinction by Martindale-Hubbell. She is President of the Texas Hemp Legal Fund, serves as Chair of the International Cannabis Bar Association’s Amicus Committee, and serves as Vice President on the Board of Directors for the Texas Cannabis Council. She has helped draft cannabis legislation at both the federal and state levels and routinely advises state legislatures in regard to crafting effective cannabis policies.

Jason Rosell Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP

Jason Rosell represents debtors and creditors in complex chapter 11 cases. Mr. Rosell is also a recognized thought leader on the intersection of cannabis and insolvency law and leads the firm’s Cannabis Restructuring Group, which advises cannabis industry companies, lenders, and investors in out-of-court restructurings and related merger and acquisition transactions. Mr. Rosell regularly represents ad hoc groups in connection with cannabis-related restructurings.

Mr. Rosell received his B.S. in Computer Information Systems and M.B.A at Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business; he received his J.D. at Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, also part of Arizona State University. He served as a legal extern for the Honorable Redfield T. Baum, Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona, and is admitted to practice in California and New York. Mr. Rosell has been named a "Rising Star" in Super Lawyers every year since 2014. Mr. Rosell is resident in our San Francisco office.

Ashley Picillo Related Seminars and Products

CEO

Point Seven Group

Ashley Picillo is the Founder and CEO of Point Seven Group (Point7) an award-winning cannabis consulting firm supporting more than 300 cannabis companies across 37 states and four countries. Ashley's cannabis career began in 2014 at the start of adult use legalization in Colorado when she was charged with overseeing operations and revenue growth for one of the State's largest vertically integrated facilities. In this capacity, Ashley oversaw cultivation, product manufacturing, retail, distribution, QA/QC and a team of 70+ people — arming her with operational knowledge, and hands-on experience, steering a large-scale cannabis operation.

Recognizing that states across the country were rapidly building cannabis programs of their own — and evaluating the successes and failures experienced by Colorado — Ashley founded Point7 to offer management consulting services to both newly established cannabis companies preparing to pursue a business license, and more mature cannabis companies exploring exit and expansion opportunities.

Today, Point7 provides a wide range of consulting services including: business and financial strategy and modeling; operating plan development and implementation; recruitment, hiring and employee training; brand positioning and marketing strategy; community engagement strategy; and sustainability planning for cannabis facilities.

Dotan Y. Melech, B.S.E, E.M.B.A Related Seminars and Products

CEO

CTrust, LLC

Dotan Y. Melech is the current Chief Executive Office of cTrust, and the former President, and co-Founder, of United AMS and United CMC - cannabis and non-cannabis asset management service companies. Specializing in receivership, business consulting, turnaround and bankruptcy. Mr. Melech is a seasoned Court Appointed Receiver and a former Federal Bankruptcy Trustee, appointed in several districts and federal courts. He has successfully administered thousands of complex receiverships, and bankruptcy cases; resulting in significant recovery to creditors.

To name a few: Nuveda, LLC vs. 4Front Advisors, LLC American Pacific Corporation, US Bank vs. Pinnacle Realty, Inc., Montague Estate, Guzy vs. Guzy, Aloian vs. DMA Financial, Bassat vs.
Belinski, Prime Health Home Choice, Inc., Global Commodities, Inc., Bank of America vs.
Mona/Emerald Suites, Citi Bank vs. Campaige Place, Modesto Gas Station and C- Store, AAA
Quality Self Storage, and F&M Bank vs. Augusta Edward Burges.

Furthermore, throughout Mr. Melech’s professional career, he co-founded and co-managed successful businesses in the fields of information technology, real estate, finance, valuation, and manufacturing. Prior to his professional career, Mr. Melech completed an 8-year military career at the rank of captain. His public and private sector experience, and education, provides Mr. Melech with the necessary tools and skills to administer complex cases effectively, efficiently, and productively.

Khurshid Khoja Related Seminars and Products

Founder

Greenbridge Corporate Counsel

Khurshid Khoja is CEO of Greenbridge Corporate Counsel, P.C. a business law firm he founded in 2012, which represents legal cannabis and psychedelics-related enterprises on regulatory and transactional matters. He’s participated in legislative and initiative drafting, stakeholder meetings, executive agency outreach, and rulemaking proceedings in connection with California’s cannabis laws and regulations, including Proposition 64 and the Medicinal and Adult Use  Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), as well as the Minority Cannabis Business Association’s Model Municipal Social Equity Ordinance.

Khurshid serves as Chair Emeritus of the Board of Directors of the National Cannabis Industry Association, as the Co-chair of NCIA’s Policy Council. He has previously served on the Board of the Minority Cannabis Business Association  and as Co-chair of its Policy Committee, as well as serving as a founding board member of the California Cannabis Industry Association and as its General Counsel. 

Khurshid was profiled in The National Law Journal’s first ever Cannabis Law Trailblazers’ list in 2018, was awarded NCIA's Inaugural Steve Fox Excellence in Advocacy Award, and he’s been named to the annual Northern California  Super Lawyers Rising Stars list multiple times. He was elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, has twice received Students for Sensible Drug Policy’s Unsung Hero Award, and Arcview Investor Network’s Outstanding  Member Award. His work has been profiled in Bruce Barcott’s book Weed the People, and his earliest days in California’s pre-regulated industry are chronicled in Doug Fine’s book Too High To Fail.

Jeffrey David Related Seminars and Products

Shareholder

Call & Jensen

Jeffrey David obtained his Juris Doctor degree from Duke University School of Law in 2009. Mr. David focuses on litigation and client advisement on employment matters in the fitness, education, and cannabis industries. His practice involves a broad range of complex business litigation and client advisement on issues ranging from data security to products liability. He has also advised clients on issues involving regulatory compliance and contractual obligations. On behalf of his clients, he was won jury trials, summary judgment motions, and even obtained favorable settlements in the midst of taking the plaintiff's deposition.

Before joining the firm, Mr. David practiced in the litigation department of Morrison & Foerster’s San Diego office from 2011 to 2015. He secured defense judgments in all stages of litigation, from initial pleadings to trial verdicts, in state and federal courts, and acquired extensive experience deposing and defending fact and expert witnesses. Mr. David was awarded Casa Cornelia’s Pro Bono Publico Award for his outstanding legal service. From 2016 to 2019, Mr. David has been selected by Los Angeles Magazine as a Rising Star.

While at Duke, Mr. David was the executive editor of the Alaska Law Review, and a member of the Duke Law Moot Court Executive Board. While in law school, he served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Richard Fybel, Associate Justice on the California Court of Appeal. Mr. David graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2006. He received his B.A. in political science and history while earning UCLA College Honors, and becoming a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Sasha Elkins Related Seminars and Products

President

DopeHR

President

Sasha has over 15 years of experience in business consulting, recruiting, and HR consulting. She has worked with many types of companies from non-profit to production, with a focus in cannabis.

Sasha earned her MBA and master’s in psychology, both of which further strengthen her HR knowledge base. She approaches HR from a business, psychological, and legal perspective. She is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), a Certified Professional through the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM-CP) and holds a CA HR Specialty certification (SHRM). In addition, she has certifications in OSHA for HR, Injury and Illness Prevention Plan creation, Six Sigma for Professionals, and Human Capital Management through ADP. She lives and breathes HR and loves helping businesses grow and thrive!

Matt Best Related Seminars and Products

Co-Founder | Managing Partner

Joywave Consulting, LLC

Matt is the co-founder and Managing Partner of Joywave Consulting, a full-service cannabis consulting firm based in Denver, Colorado. Joywave provides strategic, hands-on support to start up companies as they navigate the complexities of cannabis licensing, facility design, and day to day operations. Matt has been actively involved in cannabis consulting since 2014, helping clients in over 25 US markets secure licenses and launch their cultivation, processing, and dispensary businesses from coast to coast. Prior to co-founding Joywave in 2020, Matt was an investor and original employee of one of the country’s first full-service cannabis consultancies, Medicine Man Technologies, where he was instrumental in the pre-public, startup phase of the company’s growth. Matt holds a B.A. in Communication from SUNY Geneseo in Western New York, and has resided in Colorado since 2008, where he's enjoyed a firsthand view of one of the nation's largest domestic cannabis markets.

Paula Collins Related Seminars and Products

Attorney

Law Office of Paula Collins, PLLC

Paula Collins is a Cannabis Tax Attorney based in New York City. She is a member of the nationwide cannabis accounting network, DopeCFO. She is the Tax Partner for the Minnesota-based firm, Morem & Waller CPAs. In New York, Collins is noted for her efforts to bring unlicensed cannabis business owners into participation in the regulated market. Collins is an adjunct faculty member at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University in White Plains New York.

Neil Juneja Related Seminars and Products

Managing Partner

Gleam Law, PLLC

Neil Juneja is the founder of Gleam Law, a cannabis-focused law firm based in Seattle, Washington with clients in 46 states and on five continents. The majority of his practice focuses on trademark protection of cannabis brands in state and federal law as well as patent protection for cannabis inventions. In addition, Neil has written numerous articles on cannabis law and intellectual property and spoken at many events including on the National Mall in Washington DC, ABA CLEs, LawProCLEs, NBI CLE, and in South America. Neil also appeared in Newsweek, Time Magazine, and on several documentaries for his work in the cannabis legal industry. He has also been awarded numerous accolades including a multitude of SuperLawyer’s Rising Star awards, the 40 under 40 most influential people in the cannabis industry, and the National Law Journal Cannabis Trailblazer award.

Karen Meshkov Related Seminars and Products

Founder and CEO

KMesh Cann LLC

Karen ‘KMesh’ Meshkov is a national cannabis leader with subject matter expertise in talent acquisition, team-building, and career development and coaching for the industry’s emerging ecosystem.  
 
As a Partner at FlowerHire executive search, the industry’s leading 6-figure search firm, Karen Meshkov led recruiting and talent management services and was responsible for over 100 successful executive placements for scaling corporate cannabis operators and ancillary businesses. 
 
Karen is currently the Founder and CEO of KMesh Cann, a career and executive coaching and consulting services firm that empowers professionals and entrepreneurs to build thriving careers in the cannabis industry at the intersection of passion, purpose, and profit. Customized mentorship services include career counseling, job search strategy, resume and interview preparedness while navigating the challenges of operating in a highly regulated and constantly evolving industry.  
 
As a co-producer of  “Broken on All Sides”, a documentary film about the impact of the drug war on black and brown communities, Karen believes in the wealth creation opportunity of cannabis; as a holistic health advocate and yoga teacher, she is dually inspired by the healing power of the plant.  
 
Karen is a proud Philly girl who earned her Bachelor's degree from George Washington University and her MBA from LaSalle University.

Jerome Crawford Related Seminars and Products

Chief Legal Officer

Pleasantrees Cannabis Company

Righting the wrongs of the War on Drugs will take time. Thankfully, Jerome Crawford, Esq. is in for the long haul.

Crawford is in a unique hybrid role as Chief Legal Officer for Pleasantrees, Michigan’s premier cultivator and seller of high-quality Midwest cannabis. There, he is responsible for the gamut of legal needs and spearheads social equity initiatives to ensure the company makes positive, genuine, and lasting impact within local communities as it grows.

A native Detroiter and “Super Spartan,” Crawford graduated Magna Cum Laude as a prelaw student at Michigan State University before earning his Juris Doctor at the MSU College of Law. On a national level, he most recently served as Co-Chair of the “Men of Color Project,” an initiative of the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division that aims to address the lack of diversity and advancement of men of color in the legal profession.

Outside of breaking ground as the first Black in-house counsel of a major cannabis manufacturer in the state of Michigan, Crawford is a law professor at Wayne State University Law School, working actor, model, and comedian, and esteemed member of Phi Beta Sigma, Inc.

Samantha Gleit Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Feuerstein Kulick LLP

Samantha Gleit is a partner at Feuerstein Kulick and leads the firm’s debt finance practice. Samantha has structured many of the largest debt facilities in the cannabis industry to date, and well as negotiating corporate restructurings for single-state and multi-state operators. This year Samantha was selected by Crain's New York Business for their list of "Notable Women in Law"; and in 2021 she was selected by Law360 as a "Rising Star" honoring attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments transcend their age. Samantha is also an adjunct professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where she co-teaches a course in cannabis law.

Throughout her career, Samantha has advised institutional and alternative investors on distressed debt and high risk lending.  She is known for implementing tailored, regulatory-compliant, loan and workout structures designed to maximize protection in the evolving  cannabis legal landscape. Samantha also has extensive experience advising companies (ranging from startups to large public companies) on debt structure, risk management, workouts, acquisition financing, capitalization and compliance. Beyond traditional legal  advice, Samantha also assists startups and growing companies identify liquidity sources, develop growth strategies and negotiate efficient financing solutions. 

Recent representations include GlassHouse; Jushi; Holistic; Loudpack; lenders to Curaleaf, Terrascend, and Cresco; cannabis-focused REITs, a private lender in a $250 million senior secured credit facility with the factoring arm of a wholesale B2B marketplace;  Navy Capital in leading in a private placement of convertible debt with 4Front; and FocusGrowth Capital Partners on debt and equity financings with various multi-state and single state operators. 

Samantha is regularly interviewed and published in leading debt media outlets. In addition to being selected as a top cannabis lawyer under 40 in 2021 by Law360, Samantha was selected as a Rising Star in the 2015 – 2021 editions of New York Metro Super Lawyers®  and featured in The New York Times Magazine Super Lawyers® Top Women Attorneys in the New York Metro Area. Samantha is regularly interviewed by legal publications on debt and equity financing in the cannabis industry. She has also co-authored an article featured  on the cover of the ABI Journal discussing suggested reforms to the federal bankruptcy process.  In 2013, Samantha was awarded the International Bar Association’s Insolvency Scholarship for her award winning article on distressed law firms. Prior to joining  Feuerstein Kulick, Samantha worked at King & Spalding LLP in New York, in the corporate finance and investments group.

Annie Stoops Related Seminars and Products

Associate

ArentFox Schiff LLP

Annie is an experienced restructuring and bankruptcy attorney who advises a wide variety of companies and high-net worth individuals in both litigation and transactional matters.

Her practice focuses on all aspects of insolvency matters, including debtor and creditor representation in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases and distressed asset sales in bankruptcy, receivership, or assignment for benefit of creditors proceedings.  She has represented clients in a variety of industries, including cannabis, finance, and real estate.

Annie’s significant engagements include representing the court-appointed receiver in the first-time sale of cannabis licenses in a California receivership; obtaining dismissal of all claims brought by the bankruptcy trustee against litigation financing clients; and successfully prosecuting Chapter 5 actions in Chapter 11 and 7 proceedings.

Prior to joining ArentFox Schiff, Annie was a litigation associate in a California-based boutique law firm. She also served as judicial clerk to Judges Meredith A. Jury and Scott H. Yun of the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Central District of California from 2013-2016. Prior to her clerkships, Annie was a legal analyst for an asset management firm.

Lilach Mazor Power Related Seminars and Products

Founder & CEO

Mazor Collective

Lilach Mazor Power is the founder and CEO of Mazor Collective—one of the only women majority-owned Arizona cannabis company. The collective includes vertically integrated, Arizona-based Giving Tree Dispensary as well as product lines Kindred, Sneakers and cannabis for menopause brand, Revelry. Power has served a decade in the industry with a focus on R&D and retail. Since establishing Giving Tree in 2013, Power has placed a strong emphasis on corporate citizenship raising more than $100,000 for charities. In 2021,and again in 2022 Giving Tree Dispensary was named to the Inc. 5000 List of America's fastest growing private companies and was a Phoenix Business Journal Small Business Award finalist. Power also has operations in Puerto Rico. Beyond her executive leadership, Power is a brand builder with an intuitive understanding of market trends. Power is an Arizona Dispensary Association president of the board and, among other titles, is the proud mother of two boys.

Terry Blevins Related Seminars and Products

CEO and Lead Security Consultant

Armaplex Cannabis Security

Terry Blevins, M.A., is a former Police Officer and now CEO of a Cannabis Consulting and Security Company operating in California, Arizona and Nevada, having served over 500 cannabis clients since early 2017. As a nationally recognized Cannabis Security and Transportation leader and expert, Terry serves in the following roles: 
 

• Executive Board Member and Speaker for LEAP (Law Enforcement Action Partnership, non-profit) as the cannabis expert – (since 2016) 
• Executive Board Member of the ISAO (National Cannabis Information Sharing & Analysis Organization, non-profit) – (since its founding by Infragard leaders in 2021 - Terry has been an Infragard member for two decades) 
• Cannabis Committee Member and Advisor, ASTM International (Standards Society, non-profit) – (since 2018) 
• Public speaking, articles and media appearances regarding cannabis security and transportation (since 2017) 
• Held meetings with lawmakers, regulators and police regarding cannabis legalization. 

Terry has been actively advising investors, business leaders, government officials and the general public regarding the progress of legalization and the cannabis industry in general since he left a role at Apple, Inc. in late 2016. He presents the case that well-regulated and properly secured cannabis businesses often reduce crime, decrease the illegal market and increase tax revenue for those jurisdictions allowing businesses to be licensed. 

Amanda Conley Related Seminars and Products

Founder

Conley Law

Amanda R. Conley is the founder of Conley Law PC, a boutique intellectual property and advertising law firm. She helps creative entrepreneurs across a variety of industries protect, leverage, and enforce their intellectual property. Amanda specializes in helping clients navigate highly-regulated industries such as cannabis, hemp, dietary supplements, and new and emerging technologies. She also advises on advertising, marketing, website, and labeling compliance in addition to providing general transactional legal services. 

Prior to founding Conley Law, Amanda was a founding partner at Brand & Branch LLP and co-founder of the International Cannabis Bar Association. She runs the Provisors Bay Area Cannabis Affinity Group, and is an active member of the California Lawyers Association. 

Amanda graduated from New York University School of Law after getting an MA in Sociology at the University of Colorado. Before attending law school, Amanda researched and published in the field of quantitative demography, and taught undergraduate-level sociology courses.

Alicia Ashcraft Related Seminars and Products

Managing Partner

Ashcraft & Barr LLP

Alicia Ashcraft is the managing partner of Ashcraft & Barr LLP. A skilled transactional, corporate and administrative law attorney, her practice encompasses complex commercial transactions, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance matters. With more than 20 years of experience representing clients in highly regulated industries such as cannabis and hemp, gaming, liquor and transportation services, Alicia advises businesses through all phases of operation – from startups, through financing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, land use and licensing. Since 2013, Alicia has focused her practice on counseling marijuana and hemp businesses through the regulatory process and emerging legal issues. This includes all phases of the application and operation process.

Jason Horst Related Seminars and Products

Managing Partner

Horst Legal Counsel, PC

Jason Horst is the Managing Partner of Horst Legal Counsel and the President-Emeritus of the INCBA Board of Directors. Jason represents businesses, public entities, professional and nonprofit organizations, and individuals in complex civil litigation and appellate cases involving a wide variety of cannabis, real estate, contract, insurance coverage, and technology disputes. He has a proven record of success representing both plaintiffs and defendants at trial, on appeal, and in alternative dispute resolution proceedings. He prides himself in the ability to deliver creative, efficient solutions to thorny legal problems. Before opening Horst Legal Counsel, Jason worked with some of the top international and regional law firms serving clients in California. His clients receive the deep knowledge and ability of large firm counsel, combined with the affordability of a boutique law firm. He has also been an active member of the National Cannabis Industry Association, where he has served as a member of the Policy Committee and Chair of the Risk Management and Insurance Committee, as well as the California Cannabis Industry Association’s Risk Management Committee. Jason has been recognized as a Super Lawyer in business litigation since 2023 by Super Lawyers® Magazine and been named as one of MG Magazine’s 30 Powerful Cannabis Attorneys You Should Know.

Peter Su, CTP, CCBP, CCCE, GRCP, GRCA, IDPP, ACBP, CBE Related Seminars and Products

Director of Specialty Banking

Hanover Bank

Peter is a banking executive with 20+ years of experience across the banking and financial services spectrum. He has personally spearheaded 3 cannabis banking programs as team lead at commercial banks, and has acted as a consultant to dozens of other FIs banking cannabis across the country.

An active member of the cannabis industry, Peter is currently on the executive board of the Asian Cannabis Roundtable, serving as treasurer, and an advisory council member for the Minority Cannabis Academy. Additionally, he write about the cannabis industry for Rolling Stone on the Rolling Stone Cannabis Culture Council. 

Previously, he also held a position as an advisory panel board member for Pace University's Lubin School of Business. As well as served as a member of the Banking & Financial Services Committee for the National Cannabis Industry Association. And, he is a veteran of the United States Army

Mr. Robert Martin Tobiassen, J.D., LLM Taxation Related Seminars and Products

Principal

Tobiassen Consulting + Solutions LLC

Robert M. Tobiassen is the President of the National Association of Beverage Importers, Inc. (NABI), Washington, DC, since October 2018. Prior to that appointment, he was the Principal at Tobiassen Consulting Plus Solutions LLC, after a 34-year Federal service career with regulatory, taxation and administrative and judicial enforcement experience with the domestic and global alcohol industry and served in the career Senior Executive Service (SES) as the inaugural Chief Counsel, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Department of the Treasury in 2003. As TTB Chief Counsel, Mr. Tobiassen liaisoned with CBP, USTR, and the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, as well as Capitol Hill. He served on USTR delegations to negotiations with the European Commission in Brussels and the WTO in Geneva.

Mr. Tobiassen holds a B.A. in Political Science with distinction from the University of California, Berkeley, a J.D. from the Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon where he served on law review, and a LL.M. in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC. Among other awards, Mr. Tobiassen received the 2003 Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious SES Executives and the 2012 Distinguished Service Award from the Secretary of the Treasury.

Shane Pennington Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP

Shane is a partner in the Litigation Department where he counsels clients on federal regulatory issues involving a number of industries, including energy, pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, aviation and agriculture. A former law clerk to federal judges on the D.C. Circuit, the Fifth Circuit and the D.C. District Court, Shane brings unique insight and strategic thinking to assist clients facing complex regulatory issues.

Rated “One to Watch” and a “Rising Star” in appellate law by The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers, respectively, Shane has argued cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Ninth and D.C. Circuits, securing landmark results for clients. In a series of cases on behalf of veterans and scientists, for example, Shane raised a novel claim under the Freedom of Information Act to uncover a secret 2018 Opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel that revealed the unlawfulness of a longstanding agency policy that had obstructed cannabis research for over half a century. Shane regularly litigates cases concerning federal and state agencies that involve the Administrative Procedure Act, the Controlled Substances Act, and Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Clients turn to Shane to advance their strategic goals within existing regulatory and legal frameworks, but also to develop creative strategies to reimagine those frameworks amidst rapidly changing industries. To that end, Shane often advocates for clients at the administrative level, working with state and federal regulators to devise novel solutions to seemingly intractable problems. He has represented companies, scientists and industry coalitions before the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Justice, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Shane has published extensively on topics related to administrative law and drug policy, including the private nondelegation doctrine, the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, judicial deference to administrative agencies, and bureaucratic management and the limits of presidential power. Shane often provides commentary on administrative law issues to the Yale Journal on Regulation Notice & Comment blog and is a regular contributor to the “News From the Circuits” column published in the American Bar Association’s Administrative and Regulatory Law News.

Habib Bentaleb Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Ragghianti Freitas LLP

Habib is a corporate attorney representing clients in complex commercial transactions. Habib advises his clients with choosing the appropriate entity structure for their business, structuring ownership, raising capital, drafting and negotiating contracts, joint ventures, private offerings, strategic alliances and licensing agreements, due diligence, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory compliance.

Habib’s practice also includes representing and advising businesses in the cannabis industry. Habib regularly speaks at industry conferences and bar associations on the legal issues facing California’s cannabis industry. Habib received his J.D. and a certificate in International and Comparative Law from DePaul University in Chicago, where he was also named a Sullivan Fellow with the Human Rights Institute to study the legal regimes of Middle Eastern and North African countries.

Habib is a member of the Board of Directors of the Marin County Bar Association and the junior varsity assistant basketball coach at San Marin High School. In his free time, you can find Habib coaching his son’s little league team, playing basketball in a recreational league (B league, no longer in A as his wife likes to regularly point out), and exploring beautiful Northern California with his family.

Daniel Sheahan Miggins Related Seminars and Products

Vice President

Hilco Global

Daniel Miggins is responsible for developing and growing client relationships to support the advancement of Hilco Real Estate’s business channels. From receiverships and workouts, to lease restructuring and appraisals, Dan is closely involved with Hilco’s clients, partners, and assignments from inception through disposition. Hilco Real Estate is a national commercial real estate firm that provides strategic advisory and transactional services designed to minimize costs and maximize the value of commercial real estate assets.

Dan’s expertise within Hilco involves working closely with CRE stakeholders to maximize their recovery and preserve collateral value. This includes, Special Servicers, Creditor’s Rights and Bankruptcy Attorneys, Balance Sheet Lenders, Asset Managers, Special Asset Groups, B-Piece Investors, Hedge Funds, Private Equity Firms, Life Insurance Companies, as well as, Accounting, Consulting, and Advisory Firms.

Mr. Miggins is a graduate of Lehigh University and currently sits on the Membership Committee of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council and is a member of the Urban Land Institute's Capital Markets Product Council for Orange County. Mr. Miggins also serves on the Board of the Turnaround Management Association for Southern California, the California Receiver’s Forum, and the Delbarton Alumni Association.

Sundie Seefried Related Seminars and Products

CEO | President

Safe Harbor Financial

Safe Harbor Financial is the brainchild of Sundie Seefried. A 35-year veteran of the credit union industry, in 2014, she saw that CRBs needed financial services and that Colorado communities would be safer if the new industry had access to banking solutions.

A 39-year credit union industry veteran, Seefried was the former CEO of Partner Colorado Credit Union (PCCU). Established in 2015 by PCCU, Safe Harbor was formed to provide an unmet need – compliant banking and financial services to the rapidly growing U.S. cannabis industry. Seefried designed a full scope Cannabis Banking Program for PCCU known as the Safe Harbor program, which has withstood the scrutiny of 16 federal and state exams to date. Now in its 8th year, Safe Harbor has grown to nearly 600 accounts spanning 20 states, and processed over $12 billion in cannabis-related transactions.

Seefried regularly provides cannabis banking education and expertise to legislators, regulators, attorneys generals, state officials, and financial institutions. She is on a mission to normalize banking for the cannabis industry, while assisting law enforcement and federal agencies to be more effective at combating illicit activities and protecting the financial system.

To share her knowledge, Seefried authored the book ‘Navigating Safe Harbor – Cannabis Banking in Uncertain Times’ in 2016, as well as contributed a chapter on cannabis banking in the university textbook ‘The Politics of Marijuana: A New Paradigm’ by Timothy McGettigan.

Mike Goral, J,D, LL.M. Related Seminars and Products

National Cannabis and Hemp Tax Partner in Charge

Armanino LLP

Mike leads Armanino's Cannabis Tax group. A tax professional since 1989, he has significant experience in federal, state and local tax from both an accounting and legal perspective. He spent time with multiple Big 4 firms, including serving in KPMG’s Washington National Tax Office, and has worked with cannabis companies both large and small in California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Colorado.

He advises cannabis clients on a broad range of issues that affect the space, including mergers and acquisitions, loan structuring, and funding mechanisms from venture capital, private equity and investment banking. Mike provides guidance on cannabis technology, manufacturing, transportation and retail issues, and literally wrote the book on Cannabis Taxation for Thomson Reuters.

Mike is the contributing editor of Cannabis Taxation, a 250-page treatise for Thomson Reuters, discussing the 33 states that tax cannabis sales. He is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, the National Cannabis Industry Association and the California Cannabis Association, which nominated him for their CPA of the Year award for 2019. He holds a B.S. in mathematics and psychology from the University of Alabama, a J.D. from Cumberland Law, and a Masters of Tax Law from Emory Law School.

Joshua Irwin Schiller Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Boies Schiller Flexner LLP

Josh is an experienced trial lawyer and recognized as an accomplished litigator in intellectual property law and the application of fair use law in the field of copyright. His practice areas also include intellectual property litigation, crisis management and government response, art and music law, entertainment, the first amendment, securities, civil rights, antitrust, and bankruptcy and restructuring. He has litigated in a variety of complex matters on behalf of clients throughout the United States and various other parts of the globe.
Since joining Boies Schiller Flexner at the tipping point of the financial crisis in 2008, Josh’s litigation experiences have ranged from defending the fantasy sports company DraftKings in bet-the-company litigation to suing the Boy Scouts of America over discrimination against gay and lesbian adult employees and volunteers.

As an associate at BSF, Josh joined Chairman David Boies in the fight for equality for the LGBT community, beginning with the successful trial and appellate litigation overturning Proposition 8 and restoring the constitutional right of all Californian citizens to marry the person they love. In 2015, Josh represented two individuals who faced discrimination by the Boy Scouts of America, which at the time maintained a policy discriminating against the employment of any openly gay adult. As a direct result of pressures caused by employment discrimination claims brought by Boies Schiller Flexner in Colorado and New York, the Boy Scouts of America rightfully chose to remove the policy in the summer of 2015. Josh's pro bono work extends to a variety of other matters, including serving as outside intellectual property counsel for the Dia Foundation.

Josh is a member of the Board of Visitors of Columbia Law School and co-chair of the Harlan Fiske Stone Society. He graduated from Columbia Law in 2008 and was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and a recipient of the Joseph Solomon Media Law Scholarship. Josh graduated from Yale in 2003.

Christian Wolfgram, Esq. Related Seminars and Products

Attorney

Banner Witcoff

Christian enjoys a diversified practice in intellectual property law. He leverages his practical experience and background in biochemistry to find dynamic, solution-oriented outcomes for his clients while maintaining the highest standards of ethics and professionalism. 

Christian has experience in patent, trademark, and copyright litigation, as well as patent and trademark prosecution. He has represented clients in a variety of matters, including patent counseling for cannabis-related inventions, asserting and defending rights before the PTAB and TTAB, and large-scale district court litigation. He’s also worked with a variety of entities including graduate student start-ups and Fortune 500 companies—all of which place a premium on effective intellectual property strategy and creative problem solving. 

Prior to joining Banner Witcoff, Christian worked as a law clerk at Anheuser Busch In-Bev, assisting in-house counsel on intellectual property, M&A, compliance, and litigation matters. He also previously worked for Saint Louis University’s Office of the General Counsel. 

Christian graduated with honors from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law and Occidental College.

Zareefa B. Flener Related Seminars and Products

Founder & Managing Partner

Flener IP & Business Law

Zareefa is the managing partner at Flener IP & Business Law, a Women-Owned business, and has extensive experience managing international and domestic patent and trademark portfolios in a wide range of areas. She has also been highly successful in obtaining company goals in M&A deals including preparing, revising and negotiating intellectual property related agreements. Zareefa regularly provides thorough and effective assistance to companies in their due diligence efforts.

She has a Bachelor of Science in biology and a double major in Psychology, and she received her Master of Science degree from Loyola University of Chicago, With Distinction, an accolade which had never before been awarded to a graduate student.

She is well regarded by her clients and her peers, worldwide, for her attention to, and assistance with, international patent portfolios ranging from the electrical, to the mechanical, to the pharma, to the biotech, to the design arts, just to mention a few. She has most recently been recognized in Managing Intellectual Property magazine as an IP Star in Illinois and in the United States as a whole, and one of the Top 250 Women in IP.

She was in the laboratory doing hands on research also for almost ten years before becoming a patent (intellectual property) attorney. Her research and scientific experience is in two particularly explosive areas: HIV transmission and pathology, and mapping of the human genome. Her masters project, from Loyola University of Chicago, involved mapping of the distal short arm of human chromosome 21, from the rDNA to the telomere, and she graduated with High Distinction. She is well published in the field of HIV pathology in such journals as the American Journal of Pathology, Clinical Immunology, and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Prior to founding Flener IP & Business Law, Zareefa practiced at a prestigious international intellectual property firm for almost ten years. She was voted in as the first female partner in one of the offices. Her dedication and responsiveness to her clients sets her apart from others and just one of the reasons for her honorable recognition and accolades from the international community.

Zareefa continues to work with a broad range of technology not the least of which is stem cells, virology, immunology, biochemical processes, cell culture, and laboratory instrument related inventions, among others. Zareefa also prepares and prosecutes applications in technology areas of design, mechanical, biochemistry, business methods, electrical and medical devices. Zareefa has had the fortune of being involved in the fast growing and changing cannabis industry, both on the patent and the trademark side, and has assisted clients in achieving prominence and value in an increasingly crowded field.

Dasheeda Dawson Related Seminars and Products

Founding Director

Cannabis NYC

Dasheeda Dawson is a global cannabis advocate, award-winning Fortune 100 business strategist, and a bestselling author on the cannabis industry. Her advocacy and thought leadership have also been featured across multiple outlets.

Dawson has nearly 20 years of business development, strategic management, and brand marketing excellence while leading transformative organizations in both the public and private sectors, nearly a decade of which has focused on the growing cannabis industry.

As an advocate and policy advisor, Dawson was pivotal to the 2021 landmark passage of New York’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act. While fighting for legalization in her home state, Dawson was tapped to lead cannabis regulation in Portland, Oregon. As cannabis program manager for the City of Portland, Dawson oversaw all regulatory licensing, compliance, education, and equity initiatives for the city’s cannabis industry. Supported by ongoing cannabis tax revenue allocation, her office managed the Social Equity & Educational Development (SEED) Initiatives, which includes the nationally-modeled SEED Grant Fund, the country’s first community reinvestment fund tied to local cannabis tax revenue. Under her leadership, Portland approved a multimillion-dollar Cannabis Emergency Relief Fund, becoming the first government jurisdiction in the country to allocate cannabis tax revenue to provide aid and emergency relief to the industry.

Dawson serves as Board chair of the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition, a national organization of industry policymakers and regulators often referred to as the leading architects of cannabis equity and reform in the United States.

Dawson received her MBA from Rutgers Business School and completed her undergraduate degree in molecular biology at Princeton University.