Meet the Speakers

Aaron Smith is co-founder and executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. Prior to launching NCIA, Aaron distinguished himself as a public advocate for marijuana policy reform — first under the auspices of a California-based medical cannabis advocacy group, Safe Access Now, and more recently as the California state policy director for the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project. Aaron has successfully built coalitions with elected officials on both sides of the aisle in order to advance marijuana law reform legislation in the state capitol and among the voting public. Aaron’s opinion pieces have appeared in major newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times, and he has been a frequent commentator on national television news networks. Aaron is currently based in Phoenix, Arizona and Denver, Colorado.

Steve DeAngelo has almost four decades of activism and advocacy in the cannabis reform movement. In 1998 Steve played a key leadership role in the passage of Washington D.C.’s medical cannabis initiative, Initiative 59. In October 2006, Steve launched Harborside Health Center (HHC) to bring a new model of professionalism and integrity to the industry. Harborside quickly gained recognition for its free holistic care clinic, laboratory tested medicine, low-income care package program, and wide array of other patient services. In 2007 Steve was involved the creation and development of Steep Hill Labs, California’s premier medical cannabis analysis laboratory, and Steve is the founder of the ArcView Group investor network. Harborside Health Center is a Sustaining Member of NCIA and Steve is a member of the Board of Directors.

Ean Seeb is a third generation Denver native. He is one of the founders of a local non-profit and holds multiple leadership and board positions throughout the city in civil rights, community and cultural organizations. He is an actor and real estate broker and holds a B.S. in Business Administration. A ski accident led Ean to the healing effects of medical marijuana in 2008 after suffering more than a decade of pain and permanent nerve damage with no relief available from conventional medicine. Recognizing the opportunity to combine his business acumen along with his passion for helping others, Ean has become a leading caregiver in the medical marijuana community. Ean currently acts as Wellness Center Manager for Denver Relief. Ean is Chair of the Board of Directors and Denver Relief and Denver Relief Consulting are Founding Sustaining Members.

Jessica Billingsley is a co-founder and the Chief Operating Officer of MJ Freeway Business Solutions, a woman-owned software company focused on providing a business software platform including point of sale, inventory tracking, manufacturing and cultivation management software for marijuana businesses.

Jessica is a highly-regarded executive in the software industry and has built and managed technology operations with an emphasis on executive management, strategic relationships, culture, financials, support, accounting, infrastructure and intellectual property. Jessica’s strategic vision and strong team-building skills result in cohesive teams and year over year high revenue returns with large profit margins. She is distinguished by her unrelenting focus on providing superior customer service at all times.

Jessica has been a successful founder, owner, director, COO and CEO of companies with revenues exceeding eleven million ($11M).

Jessica is recognized nationally as an industry expert and has been a frequent guest speaker at many industry events. She has been interviewed and quoted by many local and national media outlets including CNN Money, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, WIRED and Forbes. She was featured in Cannabis Now's Eight Cannabis Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2014 and was included in Entrepreneur Magazine's Annual List of 100 Brilliant Companies.

Ed Rosenthal is among the world’s foremost experts on cannabis cultivation. His passion for discovering, developing, and sharing innovative, effective, and nontoxic gardening techniques and tools takes him around the globe. Rosenthal has always seen marijuana as an important social issue, and its use as a personal right. His vigorous efforts have contributed greatly to the changes we see today. He has written or edited numerous books on marijuana cultivation, culture, and policy. His Marijuana Grower’s Handbook—the official course book at Oaksterdam University, a leading trade school for the cannabis industry—helped revolutionize the field. Rosenthal’s “Ask Ed” grow advice column ran in High Times for more than two decades, and he continues to publish domestically and internationally. His botanical research led to the development of Ed Rosenthal’s Zero Tolerance®, a line of natural pesticides and fungicides. Currently Rosenthal works as a consultant for commercial growers, both independently and as a Master Grower with Quantum 9, a cannabis consulting and technology firm. His studies continue to influence myriad facets of the rapidly expanding world of cannabis now.

As one of two original founders of the Dixie Elixirs and Edibles company, Colorado’s premiere licensed marijuana infused products manufacturer (MIPS), Tripp Keber now serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Dixie Brands, Inc. Widely hailed as one of this nascent industry’s indispensable leaders, when Tripp isn’t thinking about the future vision of Dixie and the industry, he is supporting the efforts of the National Cannabis Industry Association, where he is a founding member and current Board Director. Additionally since 2013, he has served as a Board Member of the Marijuana Policy Project as well as an Advisory Board member of the Medical Marijuana Industry Group in Colorado. In his current role as CEO of Dixie Brands, Inc,, Tripp gets to work on the really “fun” stuff and is responsible for the overall strategy, licensing, marketing, branding and expansion efforts related to the Dixie brand both domestically and internationally.

Prior to building Dixie into a cannabis leader, Tripp served as Chief Operating Officer for Bella Terra Resort Development Company, and EVP of Business Development for Sagebrush Realty Development.

He has a BS in Political Science from Villanova University and currently resides in both Aspen and Denver, CO with his family. He is involved in several charitable organizations located within his community, but his greatest philanthropic passion is assisting in the research and development of cannabis support for veterans suffering from PTSD.

Justin is a co-founder of Weedmaps.com and a successful serial entrepreneur. Justin recently exited from his previous executive role at SearchCore, an internet company he founded and built into a $30 million-a-year conglomerate recently named the fastest growing local company by Orange County Business Journal. He is an expert at Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization and has a BS in Information and Computer Science from the University of California Irvine, which he completed in a UCI record of 2.5 years. Justin serves on the Board of Directors of the National Cannabis Industry Association, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) where he also serves as the Treasurer. Justin resides in Orange County, CA with his wife and cockatiel Goose.

Brian Vicente, Esq., is a founding member of Vicente Sederberg, LLC. Brian served as the co-director of the Amendment 64 campaign and was one of the primary authors of this historic measure. Brian also serves as executive director of Sensible Colorado, the state’s leading non-profit working for medical marijuana patients and providers. Brian is the chair of the Denver Mayor’s Marijuana Policy Review Panel, serves on the Colorado Department of Revenue Medical Marijuana Oversight Panel, and coordinates the Colorado Bar Association’s Drug Policy Project. He was awarded the prestigious Gideon award for his free speech advocacy during the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Brian was the found Board Chair and Vicente Sederberg is a Sustaining Member of NCIA.

Scott J. Van Rixel is the Founder and CEO of Bhang Chocolate Company and PURECBD Inc. He has been involved in the wholesale manufacturing of food products for over 20 years. He is a Certified Chef d’Cuisine and a Master Chocolatier. He has been proud to serve on several boards for the betterment of the cannabis Industry, including a current term with NCIA. Bhang Chocolates has raised the bar in the cannabis edibles category since being founded in 2010. They are proud to be the first company in history to have acquired full product liability insurance on a consumable containing cannabis. Their products are currently available through five different states and two countries. PURECBD Inc. is their newest venture, focusing principally on hemp and high-CBD product development. Bhang has been a proud member of NCIA since its inception and has been honored to sponsor several NCIA events.

Troy Dayton cofounded The ArcView Group in 2010 with Harborside Health Center’s Steve DeAngelo. ArcView is responsible for a number of business innovations in the industry, including The ArcView Investor Network (responsible for more than $10 million in angel investments), ArcView Market Research (produces the State of Legal Marijuana Markets report), and Cannasure Insurance. Formerly he was the Marijuana Policy Project’s top fundraiser and now serves on the board (with 75% of the votes in a 3-way race for the seat). Troy co-founded Students for Sensible Drug Policy (now on over 200 campuses), helped start Renewable Choice Energy (named #1 green power provider by EPA) and worked on the Flex Your Rights film BUSTED (seen by millions). His work gathering legalization support from religious leaders in 2006 made national headlines. Troy is regularly featured in the national media as an expert on the cannabis industry. Troy is a founding board member of National Cannabis Industry Association. He is a graduate and former leadership team member at the Interchange Counseling Institute and blogs about Burning Man at Burner Love.

Rob Kampia co-founded the Marijuana Policy Project in 1995 and has served as its executive director ever since. With 25 staff members and lobbyists in six state capitals and Congress, MPP is the largest marijuana policy organization in the world.Rob is the architect of most of the state-level marijuana laws that have been enacted in the United States since 2000:

Most importantly, MPP legalized marijuana in Colorado in 2012. As a result, Colorado has the best marijuana law in the world.

MPP decriminalized marijuana possession via a ballot initiative in Massachusetts in 2008. Since then, MPP passed similar laws through the Rhode Island and Vermont legislatures.

MPP was also instrumental or entirely responsible for legalizing medical marijuana in Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia between 2000 and 2013.

Rob has provided fiery testimony before Congress twice, as well as testifying before nine state legislatures. Rob has been quoted in almost every newspaper in the United States and regularly debates prohibitionist opponents on national television, including on CNN, the Fox News Channel, the Fox Business Network, CNBC, and MSNBC. Of course, Rob also regularly discusses the marijuana issue on network television, both nationally and locally.

Taylor West is the deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. She has spent more than a decade in communications and leadership positions in the political, policy, nonprofit, and business arenas. Taylor came to Denver after four years in Washington, D.C., where she worked first as a strategist for a variety of policy and regulatory reform efforts, and then as communications director for National Journal, a highly respected national media organization. She is also a veteran of several high-profile political campaigns and has appeared as a commentator on MSNBC, Fox News, and CNBC. Taylor first became involved in drug policy reform 15 years ago with an internship at DRCNet, now known as StoptheDrugWar.org.

Genifer Murray received her bachelor of science in microbiology from Colorado State University and in 2010 Genifer created Colorado’s longest running medical marijuana testing laboratory. Driven by Genifer’s skills and her passion for cannabis science, CannLabs has grown into the premier marijuana analytics firm in Colorado. Advocating for science, Genifer has adopted medical marijuana rights as a personal cause. Genifer’s expertise allows her to provide education to clients and patients on accurate dosing and proper activation, health, and safety, and in so doing she has helped to create a credible and safe industry for the future. CannLabs is a Sponsoring Member of NCIA. CannLabs is a Sponsoring Member of NCIA.

Alex Cooley is the co-founder and Vice President of Solstice, Washington's premier medical cannabis cultivation company. In addition he is the Chair of the Coalition for Cannabis Standards and Ethics. Mr. Cooley created some of the first professional and legitimate medical cannabis companies in Washington State. He has advocated for patients rights and medial cannabis as an industry, most notably by being a contributing writer of WA SB5073 and a creator of the "Collective Garden Model" which resulted in the method for safe access of cannabis for qualifying patients in Washington State. Mr. Cooley has been involved in nearly every piece of legislation and policy focused on cannabis in the State of Washington.

Chris Woods founded Terrapin Care Station in Boulder, Colorado in January of 2010. Prior to opening one of Boulder’s largest dispensaries, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering from The Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in applied mathematics from The University of Colorado at Boulder. As one of the largest individual donors to the Amendment 64 campaign in Colorado, Chris has been heavily involved with the campaign. Further, he has worked closely with the Vicente-Sederberg group at the state capital as well as locally with the Boulder City Council in effectively implementing the text of Amendment 64. On February 18th, 2014 Terrapin Care Station became the first recreational marijuana dispensary to open within the City of Boulder.

Co-Founder (2010), Chief Operations & Marketing Officer, Good Meds Network, Denver, CO. Development of support mechanisms, oversight of operating 3 medical marijuana centers, an infused products business, and multiple cultivation facilities for $3M business demonstrating 100% year-over-year growth since inception.