Tanya Osborne – Women Grow

Tanya Osborne

Director of Community Engagement and Digital Production, Women Grow

Tanya Osborne – Women Grow

Tanya Osborne is a true Renaissance woman! From the music industry to financial services, business coaching, and now…cannabis. A passion for medical cannabis and community led her to her role at Women Grow, where she serves as director of community engagement and digital production. Women Grow is a national organization encouraging and supporting women to build and “grow” in the cannabis industry. Her goal is to educate, connect and support women leaders in this industry.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in New York State in five years?
I feel New York State cannabis will be the most DIVERSE industry in the country thanks to what was outlined in the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act. It will be a direct reflection of our cannabis community.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
Although I’ve been a consumer since college, I became a cannabis advocate due to my uncle’s illness. He battled with PTSD (he was a veteran) and then cancer. Cannabis helped him manage his PTSD and pain during his cancer treatments. Cannabis is medicine!

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis!
The first thing ever bought and sold over the internet was a bag of cannabis.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health. Tell us your favorite way to stay healthy and fit.
Meditation is the way I keep mentally healthy and fit and cannabis is a great addition to my practice.

Hillary Peckham – Etain

Hillary Peckham

COO, Etain Health

Hillary Peckham – Etain

Hillary Peckham is chief operations officer of Etain, New York’s only family-run, women-owned and -operated medical marijuana company. Hillary oversees production, formulation and extraction, as well as dispensary operations and patient education. Hillary has managed the rapid rollout of Etain’s successful manufacturing and dispensing operations throughout the state since 2015, when Etain was one of the original five medical marijuana licensees in New York.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in New York State in five years?
I hope to see New York with an array of diverse business ownership within the cannabis industry led by social equity licenses and MWBEs (minority- or women-owned business enterprises).

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
Etain was founded in honor of our family matriarch, Frances “Granny Fanny” Keeffe. During her battle with ALS, we saw firsthand the strength and comfort medical marijuana could provide.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis!
At Etain, we use beneficial organisms – like ladybugs – instead of artificial pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides to control potential pest problems on our plants.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health. Tell us your favorite way to stay healthy and fit.
I’m a new mom, so that’s it’s own built-in workout!

Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes

Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes

Majority Leader, New York State Assembly

Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes

Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes is the first woman and first African-American in history to hold the office of New York State Assembly Majority Leader. In 2021, Peoples-Stokes sponsored and passed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MTRA). The MRTA is a landmark and comprehensive legislation that has ended cannabis prohibition and will bring restorative justice, social and economic equity to communities of color that have been harmed most by the racially oppressive War on Drugs in the State of New York. 

Where do you see the cannabis industry in New York State in five years?
In five years, I hope to see a safe and thriving cannabis industry in New York State that is equitable and restorative to communities most harmed by the War on Drugs. The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), governed by a Cannabis Control Board that was formed to comprehensively regulate adult-use, will be tasked with issuing licenses and developing regulations outlining how and when businesses can participate in the new industry.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
It took some serious convincing by my colleague, the late David Gantt, and advocates, but after months of research I saw the opportunity to undo 90 years of prohibition and positively impact and transform the lives of New Yorkers. While I’ve never been an advocate for people to use cannabis, people clearly do – to the tune of $51 billion in illegal sales right here in New York. I feel that, as the state legislature, we owe it to our communities to ensure that the public is properly educated, law enforcement is properly trained, minors have no access, and adult residents and visitors have access to the safest and healthiest regulated products available from New York farmers and small businesses.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis!
The New York cannabis market size, considered the largest in the world, is expected to reach about $7 billion by 2025.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health. Tell us your favorite way to stay healthy and fit.
I try to be very intentional about what I eat, try walking daily, reading, spending time with family, and making space for self-care.

Steven Phan – Come Back Daily

Steven Phan

Founder, Come Back Daily

Steven Phan – Come Back Daily

Steve is an entrepreneur, cannabis advocate, and educator originally from San Francisco. His entrepreneurial journey began with the creation of a lifestyle brand called QuadDeuceNil, which is Latin for 420. The brand was his attempt to encapsulate the culture and legalization efforts of the New York City cannabis community. Shortly after, he opened Come Back Daily, which was awarded New York’s #1 CBD store. After finding success in the CBD business early on, he started a printing company called Bodega Ink during the pandemic.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in New York State in five years?
In five years, I see New York’s cannabis industry thriving as the largest market in the nation.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
The care and compassion of cannabis culture and its community attracted me to the industry.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis!
CBD may help bring you back to earth if you are too high.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health. Tell us your favorite way to stay healthy and fit.
Snowboarding is the BEST.

Lisa Reid – Mercury

Lisa Reid

Managing Director, Mercury LLC

Lisa Reid – Mercury

Lisa Reid is a managing director at Mercury, where she leads government relations campaigns in Albany. Lisa counsels clients on how to develop legislative priorities, identify key stakeholders, and then maximize the levers of government to their benefit. Lisa has vast experience in the complicated structure of New York’s health care system. Leading the charge on New York’s fledgling medical marijuana, adult-use legalization bills, and hemp programs, Lisa has had a significant voice in many of the most important health care policies enacted for almost two decades.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in New York State in five years?
My hope is New York gets social equity “right” and the industry is thriving!

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
I spent many years in the field of substance use disorder treatment. I have always been a supporter of harm reduction and believe cannabis can play an effective role in curbing the opioid crisis.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis!
I have often been referred to as “Lisa Weed”.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health. Tell us your favorite way to stay healthy and fit.
Cannabis has had medicinal purposes in my treatment of Pseudotumor cerebri, which causes migraines.

Andrew Rosner – HR Botanicals

Andrew Rosner

Principal, HR Botannicals LLC

Andrew Rosner – HR Botanicals

Andrew is a health care attorney who founded HR Botanicals, an early New York licensee in growing and processing hemp. HR emphasizes hemp as a wellness product, focusing on cannabinoid research and flower production. Andrew also founded Hursana, a company that works with health care systems in creating medical cannabis programs. Hursana provides a range of services, including developing medical cannabis protocols, physician training, implementation strategies, clinical and economic evaluation, and scaling. Andrew is working with Syracuse University on developing a cannabis program. He is a founder and board member of the New York City Growers and Processors Association.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in New York State in five years?
I visualize an economically vibrant, consumer-conscious, and diverse cannabis industry represented by New York-based small- and mid-sized businesses.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
The opportunity to create a legal cannabis industry that recognizes and addresses past harms perpetrated under prohibition.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis!
Cannabis strains contain unique blends of terpenes and cannabinoids.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health. Tell us your favorite way to stay healthy and fit.
Meditation, gravel bike riding, and hiking. I try to connect with nature as much as possible.

Joe Rossi – Park Strategies

Joe Rossi

Cannabis Practice Group Leader and Managing Director, Park Strategies

Joe Rossi – Park Strategies

Joe Rossi serves as the cannabis practice group leader and managing director of Park Strategies, focusing on cannabis policy, 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 in organized labor, the public sector, and the private sector. He has been the lobbyist for the New York Cannabis Growers and Processors Association since its founding.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in New York State in five years?
I know what the projections suggest, but I learned to expect the unexpected in New York.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
There is the potential for a lot of transformational social good to result from legalization. I see it as a cause and not a commodity. Plus I am a consumer.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis?
Despite the manufactured stigma placed on it for over 50 years, cannabis is primarily a mild intoxicant that has many wellness purposes.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health. Tell us your favorite way to stay healthy and fit.
Walks with my Boston Terrier.

Lauren Rudick – Hiller PC

Lauren Rudick

Partner and Co-founder of Cannabis Practice, Hiller PC

Lauren Rudick – Hiller PC

Lauren Rudick is a partner in the NYC-based boutique law firm, Hiller, PC. A “recovering litigator,” Lauren focuses on cannabis transactions, representing mostly investors, funds and startup organizations, including applicants for cannabis licensing. Lauren is also an expert contributor to Marijuana Venture magazine, sits on the board of directors of the International Cannabis Bar Association as the organization’s treasurer, is a vice-chair of the Cannabis Law and Policy Committee of the American Bar Association, and is a director of Breeder’s Best, a record label-style producer of unique cannabis genetics.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in New York State in five years?
Diverse and robust, effectively competing against the illicit market.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
My mother’s end-of-life care.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis!
Our endocannabinoid system, which reacts to inhaling or ingesting cannabis, is larger than our central nervous system.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health. Tell us your favorite way to stay healthy and fit.
Gratitude, choosing nutritious foods, self-care.

Barrington Rutherford

Chairman of the Board, Park Jordan Real Estate

Barrington Rutherford brings considerable experience in the cannabis industry to his position as chairman of the board of directors for Park Jordan. Mr. Rutherford previously worked at Cresco Labs, one of the most robust cannabis organizations in the country, during which time he was instrumental in the company’s commercial expansion. Mr. Rutherford has also been active in social justice campaigns to assist those most impacted by the War on Drugs.

Jonathan Sandelman – Ayr Wellness

Jonathan Sandelman

Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Ayr Wellness

Jonathan Sandelman – Ayr Wellness

Jonathan is a 30-year veteran of banking and finance, with a history of generating shareholder value. He served as president of Bank of America Securities after building its capital markets businesses through the early 2000s, building Bank of America beyond its roots as a consumer and corporate lender, and subsequently founded and served as CEO of the multi-billion dollar asset manager Sandelman Partners. Jonathan’s mission as CEO of Ayr Wellness is to create wonder through the power and potential of the cannabis plant.