Andrei McQuillan

Andrei is the CMO of EcoGen Laboratories, a leading vertically-integrated manufacturer and supplier of high-quality hemp genetics. Andrei is a marketing authority and proven innovator, specializing in executing business strategies that drive exposure, brand positioning and significant sales growth for products within diverse industry sectors. He has led the charge in the brand development of […]

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Annie Rouse

Annie has been at the forefront of the US hemp industry since 2009 with experience across the three industry sectors: grain, fiber and cannabinoids from farm to finished product. She is a serial entrepreneur, with start-ups across the CBD sector including Overcome (formerly Nature’s Hemp Oil), a US Hemp Authority Certified lifestyle CBD brand as […]

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Blake Butler

With experience in politics, media, and public relations, Blake brings a diversity of experience to his position as Executive Director of the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Association. Additionally, he is the co-founder of HempX, which has organized hemp educational events and workshops in multiple Southern states since 2015. Blake is also a partner in Adapt […]

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Rocco Petrilli

Rocco serves as chairman of the National Cannabis Risk Management Association (NCRMA). The NCRMA offers innovative risk management services in the emerging cannabis industry that enable their members to thrive from seed to sale. Rocco has navigated a successful 30+ year career with an execution-based philosophy fueled by passion and commitment to the principles of […]

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Mike Lewis

In 2014, Mike began farming hemp and helped to develop rules for the Kentucky Pilot Program. He became the first, federally permitted hemp farmer in the U.S. since prohibition. Mike co-founded Third Wave Farms in 2017 and serves as Director of Agriculture, where he is responsible for production. Third Wave develops industrial hemp genetics designed […]

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James Yagielo

James has over 20 years of experience in recruiting and headhunting.  James became an IT Recruiter at 21 years old during the Dot Com craze of the late 90s. Moving to Florida in 2000, he continued IT Executive Recruitment and joined NORML in 2001 to begin his cannabis advocacy. He continued doing IT Recruitment until […]

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Anson Mitchell

Anson is the owner of Vermillion Hill Farms in Colorado. He and his team have been growing USDA-certified hemp for 3 years and they provide farming services and advice to the hemp community. Prior to their transition to hemp, Anson farmed alfafa and hay which provided knowledge of the technologies used in traditional ag for […]

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Aaron Mullins

Aaron is Systems Coordinator for Next Big Crop, a full-service cannabis consulting firm with decades of collective expertise in license procurement; facility design and construction; systems engineering; equipment and materials sourcing; operations management; and compliance. As Systems Coordinator, Aaron oversees facility design and defines scope, goals and deliverables for all Next Big Crop building projects. […]

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Dr. John McKay

John is a co-founder and Director of Genetics for New West Genetics, a global leader in hemp seed genetics. John co-founder New West Genetics to apply modern genomics and breeding to cannabis. His research examines evolution and gene function at both the phenotypic and molecular levels. His publications have been cited over 6,000 times and […]

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Testing and Product Safety of Hemp and CBD Products

Hemp and CBD products are flooding the market – and not all of them are good for you or will meet their label claim.  FDA regulations and hemp USDA testing protocols are still looming and as a result, producers of hemp and CBD products are self-regulating.   Fortunately, there are some guidelines and certification processes available to producers to keep the industry and their consumers safe. […]

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