by Grow Up Conference | Aug 23, 2017
Maira Kuzminski-Vallejo Medical Cannabis Specialist, Cannascribe Inc. Maira is an ACMPR growing license specialist and cannabis educator at Cannascribe Inc. Maira studied four years of general medicine at the Medical Academy of Wroclaw in Poland (English Division). Her interests and studies continued in the field of alternative and natural medicine, specializing in holistic nutrition, live cell analysis and medical marijuana. Maira is also the creator of The Healthy Corner an online wellness directory and store. Other than English, Maira also speaks Spanish, Polish and French and in her spare time she is a singer and performer.
by Grow Up Conference | Aug 23, 2017
Marc Solby is the founder of Lighthouse Consulting and the Cannabis Consumer Update: Canada’s only ongoing, syndicated market research study on the cannabis consumer.
He is a regular contributor to general news and industry publications on the cannabis category in Canada and its marketing regulation and practices.
In addition to advising Licensed Producer applicants, he has extensive multinational experience consulting in the beverage alcohol category having worked with: A-B InBev, Constellation Brands, Bacardi, Absolute, Jose Cuervo, Beam, and Canada’s leading bar/restaurant company Cara Operations. The firm has worked with many of the world’s leading brands including: Toyota, Volvo, Pfizer (Viagra), New Balance, Xerox, Yellow Pages and others.
Prior to launching Lighthouse Consulting in 2001, Marc was a Director of Marketing at Labatt Breweries as well Director of Planning, Strategy and Information. His initial role at Labatt was Marketing Manager for Labatt Blue, at the time, Canada’s largest beer brand. During his stint on Blue, he successfully relaunched the brand behind the highly acclaimed and successful “Out of the Blue” campaign.
Since 2013, Marc has been an instructor in Marketing at the University of Toronto’s school of business and professional studies, Continuing Studies where he has led the curriculum development and instruction of several courses. He is a Certified Management Consultant (Institute of Certified Management Consultants of Ontario) CMC
by Grow Up Conference | Aug 22, 2017
John A. MacKay earned a B.A. in Chemistry from St. Lawrence University (SLU), and Ph.D. from the University of Vermont (UVM), in Inorganic Chemistry focused on the synthesis of cancer fighting compounds. After positions teaching at Davidson College, Lyndon State College and University of Vermont (UVM), John joined Waters Corporation in 1983 and retired in 2017. His career has included many roles in innovative product development. While recently he is widely recognized as scientific expert in sub and supercritical fluid for extraction and chromatography in the botanical space, he is bringing the synergy from what were disparate technologies together to optimize workflow.
Synergistic Technologies Associates, LLC will be working with botanical companies to help maximize their total operations based on Six Sigma principles and practices.
by Grow Up Conference | Aug 22, 2017
Stacey joined Natural Insect Control (NIC) shortly after receiving her Bachelor Science with Honours in Entomology from Brock University.
As NIC’s head Entomologist, Stacey has been instrumental in designing personalized IPM programs for both home and commercial cannabis growers. Stacey liaisons directly with LP’s, indoor & outdoor growers on a regular basis, this helps keep her abreast of what is going in each crop and in the industry as a whole.
Stacey has been working directly with cannabis growers for over 20 years and has come across pretty much every insect problem you could imagine. As such her depth of knowledge and years of experience give her a unique perspective on IPM programs in Cannabis
When Stacey is not looking at, or working with insects she can happily be found with a book in her hands.
by Grow Up Conference | Aug 22, 2017
Alexander Repetski is an entrepreneur, media production artist and communications strategist. Years ago, he began researching cannabis as an analgesic to control his own arthritis pain.
His interest in cannabinoid therapy became increasingly important in 2012 when his daughter Gwenevere was diagnosed with intractable epilepsy. He came across cannabis while researching various areas of neuroscience in an effort to understand treatment options. After repeated failures of traditional therapies, he has successfully treated Gwenevere’s seizures with specialized cannabis cultivars, extractions and formulations. As a result of his research and media appearances he is regularly asked to speak about his experiences and findings to audiences both within the cannabis patient community and the academic world.
He enjoys hugs from his children and new ideas.
by Grow Up Conference | Aug 22, 2017
Experience:
- Born and raised on a greenhouse farm in Denmark.
- 18 year with Dutch company as Crop Advisor
- From 2004 Owner, HotHouse Consulting Inc,
- Crop consulted for vegetable and licensed Cannabis growers
- Sold HotHouse Consulting Inc to Aurora Cannabis 2018.
- VP Horticultural development of ALPS. Company of Aurora cannabis- 2018-2020
- COO, founder and owner of MediSun Inc, LP in Grande Pointe, Ontario Canada
Education and school:
- Horticulture Degree. (1979 – 1983)
- School of Horticulture, Vilvorde, Denmark
Main experience:
- Successfully run and Grow pharmaceutical grade cannabis
- How to grow and manage a large scale Cannabis operation
- Crop planning for highest quality cannabis products
- Using data driven and scientific approved knowledge as well as Climate, irrigation and nutrition strategies to improve yields and quality
- Practice of tools and plant maintenance for control of plant balance, quality and plant health
by Grow Up Conference | Aug 22, 2017
Graeme completed his undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences and his Masters in Agricultural Science in Melbourne, Australia and worked for 8 years with the Victorian State Government in Australia. In 1988, he moved to Canada and from then until the end of 2014, he worked as the Greenhouse Floriculture IPM Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. During that time, he worked closely with the industry on pest management issues generally, including new and invasive pests, registration of new pesticides, research into new control strategies and development of educational programs and publications for Ontario growers. He has written widely in grower trade publications in Canada and the USA and has been an invited speaker at many conferences and grower meetings both locally and internationally. Since his retirement at the end of 2014, Graeme has been working as a consultant with greenhouse growers to help refine their pest management programs, focusing on in-house research projects, developing a better understanding of pest management economics and developing staff training sessions geared to the crops and pests of individual greenhouses.
by Grow Up Conference | Aug 22, 2017
Mandy became an ‘accidental’ advocate for safe access to medical marijuana when her son Liam had reached the end of his medical journey with conventional therapies. Liam suffers from Dravet Syndrome, a rare and catastrophic form of epilepsy for which there currently is no cure and treatment options are extremely limited. At 9 years old, he is one of the younger medical cannabis patients authorized through the ACMPR.
Over the last four years after witnessing the incredible progress that Liam has made since starting cannabis as a treatment for his seizures, Mandy has become a vocal advocate for kids and cannabis. Helping other parents navigate the ACMPR regulations in order to obtain safe access to medical cannabis for their sick kids. She spoke out against Health Canada’s regulations that required her son to smoke his medication by appearing on various national news networks, CBC’s Power and Politics, several radio broadcasts, as well as a variety of print and internet media across Canada, the US and overseas. Mandy was also granted intervener status in the recent Rv Smith – Supreme Court Case, under the application for Santé Cannabis where she was able to outline in an affidavit what impact the restrictive regulations of dry form cannabis had on Liam’s life.
Mandy previously sat on the Patient Advisory Board of the Licensed Producer Bedrocan, where she brought a voice for parents and caregivers of pediatric patients suffering from devastating illnesses. Mandy is passionate about patients, especially kids, getting fair access to cannabis as a treatment for their illnesses.
She is a founding board member of Canada’s only charity for kids who suffer from Dravet Syndrome – Dravet Canada was formed in February 2012 and she is an active board member. Mandy and her family host an annual walk in Constance Bay, ON to raise awareness and funds for research for Dravet Syndrome raising over a quarter million dollars to date for Dravet Syndrome research.
by Grow Up Conference | Aug 21, 2017
Jason Moscovici is a lawyer and biochemist with ROBIC, LLP. When wearing a suit, he advises clients on anything Intellectual Property related (trade-marks, patents, copyrights, industrial designs, licensing, trade secrets, plant breeders’ rights). He is also a go-to advisor to the Canadian cannabis industry and provides counsel on the many regulatory hurdles that it faces; whether it be related to strategy, compliance, labelling, advertising, distribution, marketing, privacy, etc.
by Grow Up Conference | Aug 18, 2017
Ashley is the Post-Harvest Manager at one of the fastest growing medical marijuana dispensaries/grow facilities in Arizona. She is leading the effort of developing new and cutting edge post-harvest processes as the company expands to a large-scale production grow facility. Ashley previously worked for the Chicago Botanic Garden as a field botanist working in partnership with the United States Bureau of Land Management. She also has experience growing and working with other medicinal plants post-harvest. She earned her B.S in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arizona and her M.S in Biology from Western Carolina University.
