Speakers
LEARN FROM THE BEST
VIRGIL GRANT
Cannabis Industry Pioneer
The Los Angeles Times designates Virgil Grant as “the de facto leader of the cannabis industry.” MG Magazine hails him as “the King of Los Angeles.”
Mr. Grant is a longtime pioneer of the legal cannabis industry for over two decades, as medical cannabis dispensary owner, cultivator, manufacturer, and civic advocate.
Virgil Grant’s advocacy work spearheaded the City of Los Angeles’ regulatoryefforts as a key author, initiative leader, funder, and chief fundraiser ushering thepassage of Measure M, which sets new precedents for the city with responsible guidelines, regulations and licensing. Additional civic municipalities throughout the state and nation have turned to Mr. Grant for providing guidance in drafting their ordinance and regulations with his wide-ranging expert insight, experience and knowledge of the industry. He has also been entrusted in this role of writing and directing the ordinance work on behalf of State of New Jersey at the legislative level with NJ Senators Scatori and Rice, plus Assemblymember Holley.
With his multi-faceted cannabis business experience, Mr. Grant specializes in establishing commercial sites in all cannabis market sectors from construction, licensing and permits to grand opening from the state of California to other states in the U.S. An expert cultivator, Virgil Grant has built a premium brand calledCalifornia Cannabis West Coast as the finest cannabis product which he proudlyboasts to as “Only the best grows in the West.” Mr. Grant’s grand scheme is for his product brand to become the “McDonalds’s of Cannabis.”
Grant was recently honored by the California State Assembly with the prestigious Community Pioneer Award at the 2017 California Democratic State Convention for his work in the cannabis industry on veterans and social equity issues, and is also regularly featured as an cannabis industry expert in media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, VICE, Forbes, London’s The Guardian, BuzzFeed, Marijuana Business Daily, LA Weekly, LA Daily News, and others.
DR.MICHELE ROSS
Neuroscientist
Dr. Michele Ross is an international speaker on cannabis for women and has been helping patients with chronic illness thrive for the last 6 years. She is a scientist with a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, where she studied in the department of Molecular Psychiatry.
Dr. Ross is the author of Vitamin Weed: A 4-Step Plan to Prevent and Reverse Endocannabinoid Deficiency, co-author of Train Your Brain to Get Thin: Prime Your Gray Cells For Weight Loss, Wellness, and Exercise, and CEO of Infused Health, a cannabis health coaching platform. She founded the first 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to cannabis and women's health.
Dr. Ross was diagnosed with fibromyalgia five years after starring on the hit CBS show Big Brother. Dr. Ross has used cannabis, kratom, and other natural substances to break free from toxic pharmaceuticals and be as active as she was before her diagnosis. She is proud to have helped men and women heal all over the world.
KRISTEN YODER
Terpene Specialist
Kristen Yoder, recently featured in Forbes and one of Marijuana Venture Magazine’s 40 under 40 Rising Stars of Cannabis, is a 13 year California cannabis industry veteran and radio and podcast personality who has managed successful businesses in every sector of the industry, and now serves as a strategic advisor for entrepreneurs and investors entering the cannabis industry in California. She has a Meetup group, Soil to the Oil: Cannabis Science Classes, in Los Angeles, where she does monthly terpene training, trichome viewing sessions, and other fun cannabis science-related gatherings.
You can also catch Kristen on her podcast, The CannaBS Detector, where she speaks to experts about the common scams and pitfalls investors, entrepreneur and companies will inevitably encounter in the cannabis industry, as well as her show on Dash Radio(also found on itunes under Purple Haze Radio) called “Soil to the Oil, Storytime” where cannabis industry insiders come on and share their unique experiences in the industry.
DR. LAKISHA JENKINS
Naturopath, registered Herbalist
A prominent leader in their field, Dr. Lakisha is a Traditional Naturopath, registered master herbalist and teacher of endogenous cannabinoid system education. Lakisha's core competencies include using herbs as the basis of nutrition to combat the symptoms of chronic, degenerative and terminal illness. Specialties include medical cannabis education, endogenous cannabinoid system balancing and cancer prevention
DEE DUSSAULT
Ganja Yoga Founder and Author
Dee Dussault is the yoga first teacher to publicly offer cannabis-enhanced yoga. She has taught thousands of students in over a dozen states over the past nine years and has been featured in international media from Japan to France.
A seasoned yoga practitioner with over twenty years experience, Dee is also an international speaker and the author of the book "Ganja Yoga" (2017, Harper Collins). Her ground-breaking work has been covered in The New York Times, Business Insider, Newsweek, and many other national publications.
MIEKO PEREZ
Healthcare Advocate - Education Director, From the Earth, California
The combination of 20 years of legal experience and over 15 years of special education knowledge, make Mieko a modern day “warrior mom” within the industry. As Co-Founder of UF4A.org, she consults with families, autism organizations, universities and healthcare professionals. In 2012, Mieko was awarded the Evelyn DuPont Award for improving the lives of children with autism and she has also received special recognition from Congress for her many hours of community service and dedication. She most recently was also the recipient of the 2016 Lifetime Advocate Award at the Chalice Festival.