Nic Easley is the founder and CEO of Comprehensive Cannabis Consulting (3C). Easley, a U.S. Air Force veteran, and 3C have helped more than 60 clients start up, design, build and optimize their commercial cannabis operations. Easley’s scientific background, combined with over 15 years of agricultural field and biological experience, offers the industry new possibilities of productivity, profitability and professionalism.
Bethany Gomez has extensive experience in quantitative and strategic research, specializing in the market research of the consumer goods industry. Prior to joining Brightfield Group, Gomez worked with a leading FMCG market research firm, managing the company's syndicated research of industries such as packaged foods, alcoholic drinks and tobacco in Mexico. She has also worked as an analyst and consultant on a wide variety of projects for private companies, nonprofits and multilateral organizations, including analyzing opportunities to leverage telecom to promote World Bank health initiatives and contributing to human resource strategic planning for the United Nations.
Kerrie and Kurt Badertscher are co-owners of Otoké Horticulture, LLC and authors of “Cannabis for Capitalists.” They have worked with large-scale cannabis producers for more than 5 years. Kerrie has been involved with plants her entire lifetime and earned certification as a Professional Horticulturist by the 100-year-old American Society for Horticulture Sciences. Kurt brings his 34 years of corporate experience and operations management skills to bear on the business challenges of cannabis cultivation.
Jamie Schau attained a B.A. in International Studies and an M.A. in International Development from the University of California, San Diego. Since early 2015, she has been a market analyst with Brightfield Group, where she performs quantitative and qualitative analyses of various aspects of the U.S. marijuana market.
Alaina Austin is one of the new breed of cultivators, with a mission to “mix the old with the new” and create new genetics to share with the masses. She works on a 360-acre plot of land, with five parcels of outdoor grow space of at least an acre each, plus a sizeable hoop house and an indoor grow spanning about 2,500 square feet. Austin has been working on developing proprietary genetics for four years, including those with a more balanced CBD-THC ratio, which she believes better serve medical (specifically cancer) patients. She currently sells her medical cannabis through Harborside Health Center, Berkeley Patients Group, and Compassionate Heart.
Douglas Brown is a longtime journalist who now runs Contact High Communications, a public relations firm in Boulder, Colo. Among other things, Brown works closely with BDS Analytics, using the company's GreenEdge market research tool to tell data-rich stories about the blossoming commercial cannabis marketplace.
Kenneth Morrow has been writing cannabis-related articles and books for more than 20 years. He owns Trichome Technologies, a cannabis R&D company. Morrow also is an award-winning grower and breeder. Has made contributions to many of today's extraction methodologies and holds multiple patents. He consults on all cannabis-related subjects. Find him on Facebook at: Trichome Technologies or Instagram: TrichomeTechnologies.
John Layko Torkelson is a professional cannabis cultivator and an operations consultant at MJ Freeway. Previously, he worked with Kind Love Colorado as their Nursery Cultivation Director. He graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2010 cum laude and focuses on breeding and cultivating new cannabis genetics in Denver, Colo.
Jonathan Katz, owner of JSK Communications, is a freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience in the publishing industry. He was editor for Industry Week magazine for seven years, and former associate editor for Lawn & Landscape magazine. Prior to starting JSK Communications, Katz served as a client services manager for Content4Demand, a content marketing agency.
Jason Erkes is a partner of Crisis Strategy Group, a strategic communications company focused on preparing and managing public-facing crisis situations. Erkes advises and counsels corporate leaders, politicians and cannabis industry professionals on how to create crisis-ready cultures for their companies. In recent years, Erkes helped guide entrepreneurs entering the medicinal marijuana industry and the adult-use cannabis industries, as well as led the public launch of a celebrity-chef-driven edible line. He can be found at www.controllingcrisis.com.
Travis Hessman is a freelance writer and speaker based in Cleveland, Ohio, specializing in technology, innovation and business. He has spent over a decade covering ongoing tech revolutions as they disrupt industries ranging from farming and manufacturing to software and service. He can be reached at [email protected].
Steven Nelson covers legal affairs and drug policy for U.S. News & World Report. He lives in Washington, D.C., where a green thumb would be useful.
