Our Spokespersons

Brian is a founding Partner of Anderson Porter Design with over 26 years of experience in the field of architecture, and over six years of concentration in architecture for the Cannabis Industry. With combined experience working as Architects for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston during 9/11 and as Architects for MIT on 400,000sf of Neuroscience labs in Cambridge, Anderson and his firm have a deep background with integrated security, clean room and bio labs, which led them to their first medical marijuana project in 2014. Since, APD has designed 40+ retail dispensaries and over 2 million SF of cultivation and processing facilities in 14+ states and the EU. Brian has developed a proprietary stage gate project delivery tailored specific to the Cannabis Industry. Brian is an active member of the NCIA the national cannabis industry association where in 2019/20 he established and chaired the Facility Design Committee; he works with RII the Resource Innovation Institute on their Technical Advisory Council on matters of energy sustainability in the cannabis industry. He has participated with the ‘Energy and Environment Cannabis Working Group’ which advises the State of MA CCC and DOER on energy issues. Brian is also a member of the Lean Construction Institute which is a national AE&C industry group. Brian and his firm implement Lean methodologies in Controlled Environment Horticulture facilities and beyond.

For more information, please visit www.AndersonPorter.com

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Quayny Porter Brown of Anderson Porter Design Inc. writes about new sustainable building standards that focus on the health and wellness of the building's occupants. Quayny has an extensive background in architecture, holistic health and wellness. After practicing architecture for over 15 years, she studied body-centered therapies. She became a Licensed Massage Therapist and practiced in Florida at one of the largest wellness spas for 8 years, eventually taking on a managerial position. Quayny returned to architecture to focus on human-centered health and wellness in the built environment. She has always had a passion for innovations in the areas of human health, protection, and wellness. She is a WELL AP certified practitioner, which supports further integration of architecture, human health and wellness, and sustainability. Sustainability begins with the building.

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David is the Founder and CEO of The GMP Collective, holds a Master's of Science, and brings over 10 years of experience in education, project management, government contracting, and quality control work to the cannabis industry. He has served as an expert witness for hemp lawsuits, developed international consensus standards, and built out several Quality Units for multi-state and multi-national cannabis operations. Committed to advancing the industry through sound science and education, David serves as an Officer on ASTM International's D37 Standards Committee on Cannabis, where he was recently awarded for his contributions in developing the first Laboratory Standard for Cannabis Test Method Validation. He also serves on the National Cannabis Industry Association’s Facility Design Committee. When not enjoying the 3 L’s of life, Leadership, Learning, and Listening, you can find him out in the mountains with his dog Humphrey.

For more information, please visit www.GMPCollective.com

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Shawn is a Partner at Cloudfarming LLC, and Corner Stalk Farm, and Vice Chairman of the Facility Design Committee of the NCIA.

Cloud Farming and Corner Stalk farm have been producing food in Boston, for Bostonians using CEA for 7 years. East Boston is a perfect home for a new farm that matches the density of the neighborhood with high density Controlled Environment Agriculture, producing and delivering the largest amount of produce with the smallest possible physical and carbon footprint 365 days a year. Cloud Farming is adding Hemp and Cannabis to its range of products rounding out enterprise line and cementing a well rounded sustainable business profile. 

For more information, please visit www.CloudFarming.net

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Peter Dougherty is the Founder and CEO of Orion Partners.ai whose Gro iQ platform is the Artificial Intelligence driven solution for Controlled Environment Agriculture. Peter is also the Co-Founder of the Sustainable Cannabis Coalition and Chairman of the NCIA Facilities Design Committee. 

Gro iQ is deployed at leading multi-state and large single site indoor and greenhouse cultivation facilities to standardize cannabis cultivation operations and optimize crop yield.  Peter previously founded, financed, built and transacted tech companies in the machine learning and software infrastructure virtualization markets by attracting extraordinary executive teams. Several of the executives he started with in1996 are working together today at Orion Partners and in the Sustainable Cannabis Coalition.

Peter is also the father of 3 college students, now living back at home. He also Captains the S/V Peningo a custom Dubois ’49 sailboat that he and his family operate for charter in Boston and around New England waters.

Previous C Suite Experience – https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-dougherty-orion/

For more information, Please visit www.OrionPartners.org

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Hugh has a career spanning over 30 years in energy & efficiency, numerical methods, leadership training, and business operations. He is a recognized expert in time-series data analytics methods and visualizations, including energy consumption, process control, and environmental condition data-streams. His experiences have spanned - organic growth consulting services, utility engineer, venture-backed analytics software, digital horticulture, and include multiple years as a seasonal mountain guide in Alaska’s Denali National Park.

Hugh holds a B.S. and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in thermal-fluids.

For more information, Please visit www.OrionPartners.org

Eamonn O’Kane
C.E.O
Valiant

Eamonn O’Kane is the C.E.O. of Valiant.  He is one of two founding members who brought this company from its humble beginnings as a small commercial building company and turned it into one of the leaders in the development and engineering of cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and retail facilities.  He is an International student with a third level education.  

Since its emergence 10 years ago, Eamonn has attracted and assembled a specialized team of skilled individuals who work collaboratively to remain on the frontline of the industry. Though his work is his passion, he became a published member of the Boston Business Journal Leadership Trust.

Eamonn is a certified yoga and meditation teacher who enjoys spending time with his wife, both on and off the mat, in the woods, by the ocean, with his dogs always tagging along.

For more information, please visit www.Valiant-America.com

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Niall McManus
President & Co-Founder
Valiant

Niall McManus, President and Co-Founder of Valiant, is known for his complex understanding of facility systems and procedures.  He is a pioneer of strategic resolution, with a reputation for bringing 2D concepts to life.  

Niall has over 20 years’ experience, both domestically and abroad, in commercial construction and systems design.  His adaptive approach and team leadership skills give him a unique ability to synchronize top level management and field experts.

Niall is a true family man who enjoys spending time with his wife and two boys.

For more information, please visit www.Valiant-America.com

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Christopher Tenaglia
C.O.O
Valiant

Christopher Tenaglia is the C.O.O. of Valiant. A member of the Valiant team for the past 4 years, Chris brings a deep understanding of finance on all platforms and strong leadership.  He is the lead communicator between Valiant and all of its project managers, partners, and clients.  

When asked about his time at Valiant, Chris explained, “Valiant has truly challenged me to push boundaries both personally and professionally.  Each member of our cohesive team brings independent ideas to the table, inspiring change in each other’s perspectives and innovating through each new project we undertake.”

Chris has a passion for riding motorcycles and working on his fitness.  As a part of his career path at Valiant, Chris took a personal interest in heading up the company’s Community Outreach program, providing support to community organizations like Wounded Warriors Outdoors, New Bedford Boys & Girls Club, Westport Food Pantry, American Red Cross Blood Donations, Boy Scouts of America, and more.

For more information, please visit www.Valiant-America.com

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Eric Myers has over 25 years of experience working in a variety of industries with a focus on ecommerce and fulfillment. He holds both a master’s degree in psychology from Bowling Green State University and an MBA from the Ohio State University, where he was selected as the valedictorian of his graduating class. Eric helped launch Omega Equipment & Supply as a cannabis industry-based subsidiary of The Wasserstrom Company, one of the country’s leading supply chain providers for the restaurant and hospitality industries. He lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and 2 children and the world’s most adorable dog.

For more information, please visit www.OmegaStore.com

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Michael brings to the SCC the vast experience of the CEL Group of Companies that includes Conviron and Argus Controls – recognized leaders in controlled environments, and plant-centric controls systems and automation specifically for commercial horticulture and plant science research.  As an engineer, marketer and product management specialist, he plays a critical role in understanding the requirements of the ag-bio, plant production and regulated cannabis segments and converting them into reliable, high-performing, sustainable solutions for clients.  From this frame of reference, Michael has shared his insights on the cannabis industry on previous expert panels at industry conferences in Toronto, Berlin and Kauai. 

Prior to CEL, Michael was a Product Manager and Director of Marketing at IMRIS – an innovative medical imaging technology company – and held similar positions at other leading manufacturing companies.  He started his career in consulting engineering following his undergraduate degree from the University of Manitoba and transitioned to roles in marketing after earning his MBA from the University of British Columbia.  Michael is located in the Winnipeg headquarters of the CEL Group.

For more information, please visit www.ArgusControls.com

Rich compliance and operations experience in law/lobbying, hospitality, military intelligence, Colorado marijuana enforcement, Metrc® state regulatory tracking, and enterprise technology operations informs the broad scope of Hanna Shanes’ purview for Akerna Corp. Hanna was a strategic hire to firmly establish compliance and regulatory affairs as top priorities for the track and trace, seed to sale, and ERP software solutions within the Akerna family of brands.

 Shanes has a wealth of knowledge and experience as well as a high-level appreciation for the crucial nature of compliance in operations for emerging fast-growth industries like cannabis. Her vision for making compliance information related to the software solutions use and performance readily available and useful for clients ensures the company is responding to industry feedback that compliance is key. Remote delivery logistics experience provides the agility the company requires to fully implement to a wide variety of customers from single operations to publicly traded, multi-state and even multi-company operators.

For more information, please visit www.Akerna.com

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Ira Weinstein serves as CohnReznick’s Managing Principal – Real Estate, Cannabis Industries, where he oversees the advisory, assurance, and tax services pertaining to both industries. His role is to develop and execute strategy that grows the capacity and capability of the firm’s resources dedicated to these industries for the benefit of our clients, our people, and our communities. The real estate practice includes the community development platform (all tax credits, public finance and affordable housing), commercial real estate, and construction. CohnReznick works with the full spectrum of real estate industry stakeholders including developers, institutional investors, private equity firms, lenders, asset management companies, REITs, and construction companies. The cannabis practice includes regulatory compliance for audit and tax services, tax structuring and all the advisory services designed to improve the operational effectiveness of many industry participants (plant touching and ancillary companies. Prior to taking on this role, Ira spent the eight years managing the Baltimore office and over 20 years managing a consulting practice focused on providing strategic advisory services to clients in support of their vision for growth and enhanced enterprise value. He has extensive knowledge of the public-private partnership, specifically leveraging government programs to accomplish the project finance goals of his client base. Such programs include the federal and state New Markets Tax Credit Programs, the federal and state historic tax credit programs, renewable energy tax credits for investment and production, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. Ira is a subject matter expert and firm leader on Opportunity Zones, an economic development provision passed as part of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, providing technical, transaction advisory, and entity formation services related to this provision. Ira speaks at conferences and seminars nationwide on a variety of topics. Before joining CohnReznick, he advised local economic development organizations on strategies to revitalize their geographic footprint. Before that, he spent several years in the corporate finance department of a public company raising capital for corporate and project finance and completing acquisitions and divestitures of company assets. His initial experience just post-college was doing credit analysis for a factor in extending credit nationwide across a variety of industries. For more information, please visit www.CohnReznick.com

Tama Huang is Chief Innovation Officer. A member of CohnReznick’s senior leadership team, she leads a culture of innovation – cultivating teaming across the Firm to generate new ideas, implement emerging technologies, and improve procedures to drive growth for the Firm and its people. She also works closely with other Firm leaders throughout the world to innovate through global strategic alliances and partnerships.

Tama was previously Principal and Global Real Estate Advisory Services Leader of CohnReznick, formerly NOI Strategies. She launched NOI Strategies in 2003 to meet the unique needs of the commercial real estate industry using technology to improve business processes. She has helped build NOI Strategies into a global business serving many of the world’s largest commercial real estate firms.

With experience in pharma, biotech, insurance and beyond, Tama is a business transformation visionary who has led process improvement projects in Europe and North America, managed implementation of enterprise-wide financial applications, and designed and deployed business intelligence solutions. She has also led cross-functional teams on behalf of numerous clients, helping them improve operational efficiency and maximize property, portfolio, and corporate performance.

For more information, please visit www.CohnReznick.com

Gail is the Founder/CEO of grand consulting, a company focused on helping cannabis companies understand their financials to make better business decisions. She utilizes her 25+ years’ experience in finance to work with cannabis businesses on financial plans, business modeling, transaction support, project management, process improvement, and strategic advisory.

From 2015-2019, Rand was CFO and Patient Advocate for ForwardGro, the first cultivation licensee in Maryland. Before cannabis, Rand’s work included treasury management, lean process improvement, auditing, project management, and systems implementations.

 Rand has been passionately involved in the Maryland cannabis laws and regulations since 2013 as a parent advocate on behalf of her son who has epilepsy & autism. She played an integral role in helping to pass the legislation in Maryland for the medical cannabis program.

Mackie Barch is an accomplished cannabis professional and entrepreneur with over 20 years of sales, management, business development and business operations experience.

Upon his entry to the cannabis industry, he worked as a consultant, supporting companies with market development and operations, before co-founding CULTA in 2015.

Based out of Byers Scientific’s California office, Marc Byers is the founder and President of Byers Scientific where he oversees business operations for all divisions, leads the product research and development team and is actively involved in customer/client relationship development. Marc is the inventor of the firm’s patented vapor-phase technology as well as the designer of the firm’s advanced molecular scrubbing technology which is revolutionizing the Cannabis odor control industry.
In addition to his responsibilities running Byers Scientific, Marc is a frequent presenter at both public and private forums on odor-related issues, a speaker at continuing education (CE) courses for professionals in the waste management sector, and a sought-after expert witness. An experienced business leader, prior to founding Byers Scientific, Marc was involved in international business, serving in diverse senior roles from New York to Moscow. As a veteran of the United States Army, Marc worked in Intelligence and served our country in Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf War. 

For more information, please visit www.Byers-Scientific.com

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As Chief Production Officer, Kyle leads cultivation and processing facilities as well as research and development teams, and supply chain operations. He brings 14 years of experience in management and multi-state operations to the Trulieve leadership team. Kyle graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics with a minor in Entrepreneurship and a Master’s degree in Agricultural Education and Leadership.

For more information, please visit www.Trulieve.com

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Thom Brodeur is an American businessman, brand maker and producer. He is the CEO of one of the fastest growing CBD wellness companies in the US - Sky Wellness, the CEO of N2 Packaging Systems – a patented packaging solutions company for the cannabis industry and is founder of Brodeur Beauty [BB] – a company that brings disruptive beauty, personal care, and fashion brands to market. BB also owns the prestigious Queen Beauty Universe [formerly La Reina Belleza] international pageant for models. 

Notably, Brodeur has served in executive leadership roles in technology, digital marketing and media companies including GoDaddy [where he was the company’s first chief marketing officer], Marketwired [executive vice president, global development], Digital Air Strike [COO], Maria Shireen [president and COO], and Yandy.com a leading women’s specialty apparel ecommerce company, where Thom served as CEO prior to the company’s acquisition by Playboy Enterprises.

A community leader and philanthropist, Thom has served on Boards of Directors and Executive Committees as an appointee or elected member of The American Electronics Association [chairman] and the Governor’s Council on Innovation and Technology [vice chairman], one·n·ten, [two terms as vice chair, one as chair] Make-A-Wish® Arizona [secretary & chair of the Wish Ball], Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS [chair of Night for Life], and Childhelp [speakers’ bureau]. He also served on the Provost’s Advisory Council for ASU Polytechnic and was the commencement speaker for its first graduating class after Dr. Michael Crow became president of The Arizona State University. 

Thom has been recognized in the Cambridge Who’s Who of Global Marketing Executives, by The Phoenix Business Journal as one of the 40 Under 40 as well as Most Admired Leaders and was a Phoenix Business Journal finalist for CEO of the Year. 

Brodeur earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and economics from Youngstown State University and holds Executive MBA certificates from the renowned Thunderbird School of Global Management. 

Currently, Thom resides in Eastern Washington with his partner Sean, two sons and four vertically challenged dogs.

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Annie Davis is VP of Marketing for Flow Cannabis Co, overseeing a house of brands, including Flow Kana, Roots and Caldera. A marketing leader and business strategist, Annie has a lifelong passion for social and environmental impact. 
Prior to joining Flow Cannabis Co, Annie served as VP Marketing & Sales for Care By Design (a CannaCraft brand), a pioneer in cannabinoid wellness. Through her strategy consultancy, Growing Impact, she has helped numerous California cannabis brands across marketing, business development, and sales strategy. 
Annie honed her marketing expertise managing CPG brands at the Clorox Company, later leading trade marketing for Solyndra, a manufacturer of solar panels. She built and led the first marketing teams at Amyris - a biotechnology innovator, Couchsurfing.com - the world’s largest online travel community, and World Centric - a manufacturer of sustainable food packaging. 
Annie holds at BA in Political Science from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she co-founded the HBS Green Business Alumni Association.  A Massachusetts native, she moved to California in 2007 and now lives in Sonoma County, CA with her husband Scott and two children, Jackson and Miley.

For more information, please visit www.FlowCannabis.co

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Amanda Reiman is the Vice President of Community Development for Flow Cannabis Company, a licensed distributor and manufacturer of sun grown cannabis located in Mendocino County, CA.
After receiving her PhD from UC Berkeley, Dr. Reiman was the Director of Research and Patient Services at Berkeley Patients Group, one of the oldest dispensaries in the country, and the Manager of Marijuana Law and Policy for the Drug Policy Alliance, a national non-profit that was engaged in the drafting and campaigns of legalization initiatives across the country and abroad. She also taught courses on substance abuse treatment and drug policy at UC Berkeley for 10 years.
Dr. Reiman is an internationally recognized cannabis expert and public health researcher. Dubbed “The Brain” by Elle.com, she is a leader the field of cannabis as a substitute for alcohol and other drugs and has presented her research on cannabis dispensaries and the use of cannabis as a substitute for opiates all over the world. She has written for/been quoted in The Huffington Post, New York Times, Washington Post, and Playboy as well as numerous peer reviewed academic journals and several textbooks. 
Also an expert in cannabis policy on the local, national and international level, Dr. Reiman was the first Chairwoman of the Berkeley Medical Cannabis Commission and also sat on the Oakland Cannabis Regulatory Commission. She currently sits on the Board of Cannabis Doing Good, Cannabis Travel Association International, and Lavender Lotus, a nonprofit focused on bringing alternative medicine to underserved communities. She currently resides in Mendocino County, California.

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Ryan is an experienced operations and project management professional whose military background and competitive spirit have taught him the value of teamwork and leadership. His work in the global energy industry and as a serial entrepreneur gives him the experience needed to guide companies from development through to the growth stages. Ryan’s passion for the environment and awareness of the growing need for healthy, locally produced food fuel his goal of building Pure Life Carbon into a business that he hopes will play a significant role in positively affecting climate change and food security.

Daniel is the Grow Medium Guru at Pure Life Carbon Inc., having co-founded the company after years of work co-developing a new type of material now known as Advanced Carbon. Daniel is a natural inventor who began developing his own products for sustainable food production as CEO of his own company from 2013 onward. It was that foundational work that helped lead to development of Pure Life Carbon’s core intellectual property. Today, Daniel leads PLC’s R&D efforts, working with Lethbridge College and Innotech Alberta.

Hadi has 25 years of sales training and business management experience, focusing on alternative agriculture methods, construction, and retail environments. Hadi is passionate about sustainability and has extensive public speaking experience in the financial, technology, and cannabis industries. As President and Owner of SQFT Grow Systems Incorporated, Hadi helps businesses with sustainability and facility risk management when growing quality, affordable and clean products. With four-years sitting on the Crossfield town council, Hadi is responsible for many sustainability initiatives such as a significant community garden for local residences and promoting healthy living.