Meet our speakers

Our speakers will focus on learnings from a brand that has evolved from a 110-year-old family farm to a well-known market leader in the hemp and cannabis industry, including the perspectives of the business owners/operators and a retailer. Meet our panelists:

Dennis Chick
Full Name
Dennis Chick
Job Title
CEO
Company
Erie Side Farm LLC
Speaker Bio
Dennis Chick is a lifetime resident of Central New York. He studied Fish Hatch Management at Morrisville College. Dennis is a 27 year employee at UPS. He’s an active member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, demonstrated through 20 years of service as a union steward and 5 years service as a trustee on the executive board for the Teamsters, Local 317. With his strong agricultural upbringing, ancestral knowledge, and his love of the environment, Dennis began cultivation at the age of 16 years old. He has passionately committed the past 32 years to cannabis growth as a legacy grower and crucial player in legislation. Following completion of the Cannabis Compliance Training and Mentorship program through the NYS Office of Cannabis Management, Dennis recently received a NYS Adult Use Microbusiness license. He is excited to connect with others as he embarks on this new venture.
Tyme Ferris
Full Name
Tyme Ferris
Job Title
Founder & CEO
Company
Pantheon Perspective LLC
Speaker Bio
Long time community, cannabis, environmental conservation, and lgbtq+ rights activist, Tyme Ferris has been a leader in the regulated cannabis market for nearly two decades. Currently he dedicates himself to these endeavors as the President of the Boonville Environmental Conservation Council (BECC), Board Member of the New York State Association of Conservation Commissions (NYSACC), Oneida County Pride Association (OCPA), Black River Valley Business & Community Alliance (BRVBCA), as well as being Founder and CEO of Pantheon Perspective LLC. Having made the jump from the fashion retail world to cannabis during the first of two medical programs rolled out in Colorado, Tyme has since consulted, partnered, and/or owned, companies in both the medical and adult-use markets in Colorado, Massachusetts, Vermont, and California. Now, Tyme adds his home state of New York to this list as he rolls out Pantheon Perspective, a cannabis lifestyle brand forging the way for conscientious capitalism through cannabis.
Dave Vautrin
Full Name
Dave Vautrin
Job Title
Operating Partner
Company
Union Square Travel Agency
Speaker Bio
As Operating Partner at Union Square Travel Agency, a cannabis store, Dave supports a range of strategic functions as well as lead the procurement and portfolio for our retail operations. Dave has been in cannabis since 2016 and was recruited by a Canadian investment firm CannaRoyalty to start-up the US Operations in California. From start-up in 2016 to sale to Cresco in 2020, they built, acquired, funded, and operated a range of cannabis operations including cultivation, extraction, manufacturing, distribution, and retail. With anticipated opening of the recreational cannabis market, Dave returned to his home state of New York in August 2022, and joined as an Operating Partner for Union Square Travel Agency, a cannabis store.

For the full agenda, click here.