Brian Box Brown is an Eisner Award-winning cartoonist, illustrator and comic publisher from Philadelphia. His book Andre the Giant: Life and Legend, released in 2014, spent three weeks on the New York Times Graphic Novel Best Sellers List. His books include: Tetris: The Games People Play, The He-Man Effect and Cannabis: The Illegalizaton of Weed in America. Danny Danko said his comic strip Legalization Nation “acts as the conscience of the true cannabis culture.”

Sang has over 20 years of experience practicing in specialty pharmacies focused on HIV and infectious diseases, oncology, transplants, compounding, and fertility. She received her degree from Long Island University College of Pharmacy and served as the Pharmacist-in-Charge and manager of a specialty pharmacy counseling patients with complex drug regimens prior to working with Etain.

Through her extensive experience as a pharmacist, Sang brings strong competencies as a pharmacy manager, educator and patient consultant to Etain. Sang prides herself on her ability to interact with patients, and believes in the importance of both high-quality medicine and committed counseling in providing compassionate care to the patients of New York State.

Terrence Coffie is a 2017 graduate of New York University’s Silver School of Social-Work, where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in the field of social-work, with a focus in criminal justice reform. As an advocate, activist and educator, Terrence has committed himself to creating social and political change within the criminal justice system. Terrence is employed as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work, where he teaches Forensic Justice in Problem Solving Courts and Diversity, Race Oppression and Privilege. He is the Founder and CEO of the Social Justice Network , a grassroots organization that raises awareness surrounding criminal and juvenile justice reform. He hosts his weekly talk show It’s Coffee Time on Spotify. Terrence is also co-founder of the Cannabis Justice & Equity Initiative, a 501(c)(3) organization committed to providing educational and employment opportunities to men and women impacted by cannabis enforcement in New York State. During his tenure at NYU, Mr. Coffie interned at the prestigious McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research. He was named the 2017 NASW-NYC Alex Rosen Student of The Year, the 2017 Excellence in Leadership Award Recipient. and NYU’s 2016 President’s Service Award Recipient & Excellence in Leadership Award Recipient for his development of the College Pathways Program, which assists young men of color in obtaining educational opportunities. In 2017 he made his debut as a contributing author in Race, Education and Reintegrating the Formerly Incarcerated Citizen (Lexington Books). He has been published in USA Today and Forbes Magazine regarding reform on behalf of the justice impacted. Terrance has gained national recognition for his commitment to criminal justice reform. Terrence brings a very insightful, distinctive and unique perspective surrounding these issues, specifically in the area of reentry. Terrence believes that “those who are closer to the problem, are also those who are closest to the solution” in creating a more fair and equitable system of justice.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Tavian Crosland is co-founder of Restorative Justice Cooperative, a for-profit organization advancing systems change through cooperative economics models in cannabis. With over 20 years of experience in the cannabis legacy market, Tavian has a deep understanding of systems underlying the legacy (pre-legalization) and now, the legal cannabis industry. He has distributed both wholesale and retail marijuana, as well as constructed and operated two grow facilities in Colorado.

Deeply rooted in racial economic justice values, Tavian is the founder of New York’s SEEN (Social Equity Empowerment Network) chapter. He is a fellow at the JUSTÜS Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring and facilitating the entry of legacy cannabis operators to the legal cannabis market, and a mentee of the New York State Cannabis Office inaugural Cannabis Compliance Training & Mentorship (CCTM) Mentorship Program. Tavian is an active advocate and
collaborator in making sure that legacy folks like him have equitable access to fully participate in the legalized cannabis industry.

Imani Dawson is a dynamic communications executive, leading her MWBE-certified agency, TCC Media, focusing on political communications, social impact, and cannabis advocacy. Her strategic acumen has fueled social change, advising officials, non-profits, and growing businesses. Dawson’s work has seen historical wins, like Shawyn Patterson-Howard’s mayoral victory, and has boosted community engagement, exemplified by her Census 2020 campaign that led to a significant increase in Black responses.

With over 20 years in media, Dawson’s advocacy extends to cannabis legalization, emphasizing social and economic justice. She’s played pivotal roles in community outreach and DEI initiatives within the cannabis industry. She serves on the boards of NORML and the Cannabis Education Advocacy Symposium and Expo, driving education and awareness around cannabis benefits and industry opportunities for those most affected by prior legislation.

Jeffrey Hoffman is an attorney in New York whose practice focuses on clients in the cannabis industry, including licensees in the adult-use cannabis market, practitioners in the medical cannabis space, and cannabis adjacent product and service providers. He has a particular interest in social and economic equity cannabis license applicants, and he also informs and assists those convicted of cannabis offenses in getting such convictions expunged from their record. Website: https://420jurist.com

Kristin Jordan is the Founder + CEO of Park Jordan, a commercial real estate brokerage and advisory services firm serving the cannabis industry. She is also an adjunct professor at LIM College’s Business of Cannabis Undergraduate and Masters’ Degree Programs, real estate attorney, drug policy activist, and thought leader. Until recently, Kristin served as the Director of Real Estate at Acreage Holdings, selecting real estate sites for the company's national footprint of cultivation, processing, and dispensary facilities, managing internal and external relationships, and negotiating and administering leases. Prior to her work in the cannabis sector, she practiced real estate law at several boutique firms and managed real estate portfolios for Kaplan, Inc., Morgan Stanley, and SoulCycle. She is a frequent speaker on real estate, cannabis regulations, and social equity and economic justice issues and in 2019 was distinguished by Forbes as one of “Fifteen Powerful and Innovative Women in Cannabis Right Now."

Kristin's passion for advancing cannabis reform has extended to a variety of professional and non-profit endeavors. She is the Founder and CEO of Mannada, a NYC-based cannabis professional event production company, which launched The Maze, a weekly cannabis event listing newsletter, as well as the Cannabis Summit Series including the Cannabis Media Summit, Cannabis Real Estate Summit, and Cannabis Law Summit. Kristin is also a co-founder of the Cannabis Cultural Association, a non-profit organization, and the founder of the Asian Cannabis Roundtable, a professional networking organization, both of which she serves as the President of the Board of Directors. Additionally, Kristin is a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Cannabis and is on the Advisory Board for Shoki Brands, and Drop Technologies, both women-of-color founded brands.

Kristin graduated from the State University at Albany with a BA degree and received her JD from the University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law.

Coss founded CONBODY, a prison style bootcamp that has gained over 70,000+ clients and has hired 50+ formerly incarcerated individuals to teach fitness classes. Since the launch of his company he’s been featured in over 200 major media outlets such as NBC, CNN, The New York Times, Men's Health and has been a 3 time TED Talk Speaker.

Today Coss co-founded CONBUD, which is looking to hire formerly incarcerated individuals to build a personal and impactful presence in the cannabis market through potential dispensaries that he's looking to open under the CAURD program.

Chris is an associate attorney in the Real Estate Group at Helbraun & Levey, the premier law firm in New York City for cannabis and hospitality. He advises clients on a wide range of real estate and transactional matters, including commercial leases, asset purchase and sale agreements, restructuring deals and ancillary real estate transactions.

Scheril Murray Powell, Esq. is an Agricultural, Cannabis, Dietary Supplement, and Trade Attorney at Doumar, Allsworth, Laystrom, Voigt, Adair, and Dishowitz LLP. Scheril is Of Counsel at Feldman Legal Advisors and the Founder of the Cannabis HR Council. She is also an Adjunct Professor at NYU, teaching continuing education classes on Cannabis and Social Equity Policy and has an HR Management Certificate from Florida Atlantic University. Scheril is the Former Chief Operating Officer and on the Board of of 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the JUSTÜS Foundation (www.Justus.foundation) and Former Chair of the Broward County Medical Marijuana Advisory Board which advises the County on Marijuana related policies and positions. She is the Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Sub-Committee of the ASTM D37 Committee. Honeysuckle Magazine recognizes her as one of the Top 28 Black Shapers of Drug Policy, Cannabis, and Psychedelics. She is a member of the Florida Bar Association and the New York City Bar Association. The Daily Business Review has named her one of the Top 12 Cannabis Attorney’s in Florida. In 2022, she was named one of High Times 100, an annual recognition of the industry’s top leaders and influencers. Her practice covers both the Marijuana and Hemp Industries, specializing in Cannabinoid legalization and UK Novel Foods registration. She is a Florida licensed Hemp Farmer and is a Research Farmer for the University of Florida. Scheril serves on the Board of one of the oldest Cannabis Advocacy Organizations, Patients Out of Time. She is the Former Executive Director of the African American Farmers Association. She is the former Executive Director of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists of Florida and former Director of Federal Affairs for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Scheril is on the Hemp Pilot Program Advisory Board for the University of Florida and serves on The Tamarac North Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and a Board Member of The Unprescribed.org (a non-profit focused on reducing Veteran homelessness and suicides). She was a Founding Board Member for the U.S. Hemp Builders Association (not to be confused with the U.S. Hemp Building Association Foundation). She is also President of consulting firm Green Sustainable Strong, LLC. In her spare time she volunteers with the Winrock Foundation delivering Marketing training to Farmers in Ghana, Africa. In 2018, she was a recipient of the Crohns Foundation Blood, Sweat, and Tears Award, and the Cannabis Business Award's Industry MVP Award. She is former In-House Counsel for Sunflora/ Your CBD Store and former In House Counsel for Green Roads World. She is a graduate of Florida International University College of Law. As a Cannapreneur, Scheril is the President of Canna Headhunters, a staffing agency in the Cannabis Industry that connects Cannabis talent to opportunities. She has been selected to present at a number of Cannabis Conferences including the South East Cannabis Conference The Hemp and CBD Expo in the United Kingdom, The American Bar Association Cannabis Symposium: “From Regs to Riches”, the Cannabis Science Conference, Tuskegee University Professional Agricultural Workers Conference, the Women Grow Leadership Summit, the Emerge Conference, the U.S. Cannabis Conference, Canex Jamaica Conference, South East Cannabis Conference, SHE-CANN, Cannaday, The University of the West Indies Caribbean Neuroscience Conference, Women Grow Leadership Summit, National Association of State Credit Unions, The Kentucky Hemp Convention, The Kentucky State Hemp Symposium, the University of Technology Jamaican Medical Cannabis Integrated Symposium, The Women of Cannabis Conference, the Cannabis Science Conference, Detroit’s Canna Con, Florida Medical Marijuana Conference, and Canna-Ed Conference hosted by the Florida Cannabis Coalition. She has been asked to speak at Jamaica’s Pharmacological Board Mandatory Meetings and Jamaica Bureau of Standards meetings based on her international reputation as a Cannabis Expert. In May of 2019, she planned and hosted the 1st Annual Cannurban-Unifest Agricultural Symposium in collaboration with the City of Lauderdale Lakes and the FAMU-Cannurban Hemp Town Hall with Florida A&M University. Scheril was the regular Cannabis Law expert on Cannabis Law Radio every Saturday morning on Cannabis Life Radio and launched a Cannabis Talk Show called “Terps in the City” in Summer of 2019. She presented at the National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists Joint Conference in August 2016 on the topic of: “Exposing the Truth: Getting Access to Audio and Video Evidence in Police Involved Shootings”. Scheril served as both the Secretary and Treasurer of the FIU College of Law Alumni Board. While at FIU Law, she was the Charter President of the Palm Beach ABA Student Organization and a member and coach of the Board of Advocates Negotiation Team. In 2013, Scheril won the FIU Law Intramurals Negotiation Competition, also she and her partner won the ABA Southern Region Negotiation Competition. In 2014, she and her partner came in 2nd place in the Nelson Mandela International Negotiation Competition and she was awarded the distinction of Best Overall Negotiator for her efforts. Scheril served on the Black Law Student Association’s National Board for two years and is passionate about eradicating sex trafficking and other social justice issues such as police brutality. She has interned at the State Attorney’s office in the 15th Judicial Circuit of Palm Beach County and for two judges of the 17th Judicial Circuit of Broward County. In the summer of 2014, she served as an Anti-Defamation League Summer Associate. She believes that practicing the law and advocacy for the disadvantaged go hand in hand. She is an activist and has dedicated her time and resources to promoting awareness, access to educational resources, and support for survivors of domestic violence and trafficking. She has a Facebook page called “Police Chronicles” which documents national police interactions with the community. She mentors Pre-Law and Law School students of diverse backgrounds and has been a speaker at the Black and Hispanic Prelaw Conference, the Diversity Prelaw Conference, and the HBCU Prelaw Summit and Expo. Law is a second career for Scheril. She spent over a decade in the wireless industry working for T-Mobile, USA; T-Mobile, UK; RIM BlackBerry; and MetroPCS as a Customer Retention Strategist and Marketing Interface Manager rolling out training, technical change, cultural change, and process improvement projects Nationwide. Scheril received her undergraduate Business Management degree from Florida Atlantic University with a minor in Marketing where she pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and served as the Student Government Senate Speaker for seven campuses.

Dr. Jeffrey L. Reynolds is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Family and Children’s Association (FCA), based in Garden City, NY. Since it began as an orphanage more than 138 years ago, Family and Children’s Association (FCA) has been committed to caring for Long Island’s vulnerable children, youth, seniors and families while helping them prepare for successful futures. The organization offers community-based programs for struggling families, at-risk adolescents, vulnerable seniors, and adults with substance use disorders. Today, FCA is one of Long Island’s largest health and human services organizations with an annual budget of $24 million, 360 staff, 200 volunteers and 40+ programs.

Prior to his tenure at FCA, Dr. Reynolds served as Executive Director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD) and worked for the Long Island Association for AIDS Care for 19 years, where he started out doing case management and finished his tenure as Vice President for Public Affairs, responsible for government relations, resource development, strategic marketing, and communications.

Dr. Reynolds currently serves on New York's Heroin and Opioid Task Force, the Executive Committee of the Nassau County Heroin Prevention Task Force, Suffolk County’s Heroin/Opiate Epidemic Advisory Panel, the board of the New York State Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, Suffolk County’s Welfare-to-Work Commission and he co-chairs the Huntington Town Opioid Task Force. He was recently elected to serve on the board of the Long Island Association (LIA).

Dr. Reynolds is Vice Chair and remains the longest serving member of the NYS AIDS Advisory Council and has also served on the NYS Governor’s Recreational Marijuana Task Force. Dr. Reynolds has advised Nassau County, the Town of North Hempstead, the Town of Oyster Bay and several other municipalities on cannabis policy with an emphasis on limiting access to minors and protecting community quality of life.

Joe Rossi serves as a Managing Director of Park Strategies and the leader of their Cannabis Practice Group. Joe focuses on state and local government relations, business development, relationship management and strategic planning. Joe is known to be a zealous advocate for his clients with his unique perspective gained through experience working in organized labor, the public sector, and the private sector.

Mr. Rossi is based in Syracuse and Albany, providing a strong presence for Park Strategies in Central New York and the Capital District. Before joining Park Strategies, Mr. Rossi served as a Senior Business Advisor with Empire Advocates LLC, a subsidiary of Barclay Damon LLP. He also served as Assistant Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Prior to that, he served as Political Director of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 200 United. Joe has represented the Cannabis Association of New York since it was created.

Eric is one of the co-founders of AlphaRoot. AlphaRoot is a full service insurance brokerage that focuses exclusively in the cannabis, hemp, and CBD space. They work with companies across the entire supply chain, from seed to sale, as well as, ancillary providers. AlphaRoot takes pride in providing solutions that are calibrated for cannabis companies. Eric has been working in insurance his entire career and has the following degrees from Johns Hopkins University: Bachelors Degree, Masters of Science in Marketing, MBA with a focus in Risk Management and Organizational Leadership.

Eric was also a captain of the lacrosse team at Johns Hopkins University.

Renata Serban is a manager at Cannabis Advisory and Business Advisory Services with Citrin Cooperman. Renata is a CPA and CMA. She is also the Vice-Chair of the Cannabis Committee of the NYS Society of CPAs. Renata is one of the mentors for the Cannabis Compliance Training and Mentorship Program with NYS Office of Cannabis Management, and a member of the Small Business Committee of Institute of Management Accountants. Renata is one of the principal drafters of the comment letter to the Proposed Adult-Use Regulations in NYS and author of various accounting articles published in Trusted Professional, Strategic Finance magazine and NY Cannabis Insider. Renata is the winner of the 2023 Green Market Report Women’s in Cannabis Leadership Award the winner of NYSSPCA Emerging Leader Award. Her team is also the winner of 2023 NJ Cannabis Insider Award for the Excellence in Accounting and Consultancy and 2023 finalist for Emjays International Cannabis Awards. Renata is the 2023 nominee for AICPA’s Outstanding Young CPA Award. Renata has been featured multiple times as one of the most important Women in NY Cannabis to Know. Renata also is the mentor to middle schoolers as part of the Think Big for Kids project.

After spending almost four years in New York City working in commercial real estate, Paul Suits, Jr. decided to move back home to Central New York and reinvest in his community by starting a business. When cannabis was legalized in 2021, Paul developed a business plan and financial model and then built a state-of-the-art cannabis dispensary in Cortland, New York with his brother. All they need is the license. Over the last two and a half years Paul has experienced every bump in the road and is happy to share his experience with other New York cannabis entrepreneurs.

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.