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Tanja Bagar

ICANNA - Int'l Institute for Cannabinoids

Tanja Bagar is the Director and, after this function, the President of the Expert Council of the International Cannabinoid Institute. She is also the Deputy Director of the company, working in the field of research, development and trade, and the manager of research and development in an environmental company. It is also active in the academic sphere. She lectures on microbiology and eco-remediation at the faculty Alma Mater Europaea and prof. scientifically cooperates with the Austrian College of Health and Development. She is a member of the Pomurje Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Slovenian Biochemical Society and the Society of Psychologists of Slovenia, and is one of the founders of the Society for the Conservation and Protection of the Environment. She has extensive research experience gained in laboratories at the National Institute of Chemistry, Biotechnical Faculty, National Laboratory for Health, Environment and Food, in the Topolšica Hospital and at the Institute of Microbiology and Genetics at the Georg-August University of Göttingen in Germany and at the Institute of Cell Biology at the University of Edinburgh. Since 2013, she has been participating as a reviewer at the national competition of research tasks organized by the Association for Technical Culture of Slovenia. For social engagement, she received the acknowledgment from the Slovenian Microbiological Society for cooperation in the promotion of microbiology, a special acknowledgment in the framework of the Slovenian award for social responsibility HORUS and an invitation for an honorary member of the social cooperative KonopKo.

As a lecturer or lecturer, she participates at various conferences on cannabinoids and endocannabinoid system, cannabis, diets, etc. at national or international level. It deals with microbiological aspects, cell biology, biochemistry and molecular biology in conjunction with the endocannabinoid system and the functioning of cannabinoids, laboratory analyses of products from hemp, etc. The intensive four-year e-learning program Concepts of Cannabis Science I, implemented by Kenevir Research (Oregon, USA), as well as the follow-up program Concepts of Cannabis Science II, has been completed.

Tanja Bagar graduated with a microbiology degree from the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana during her studies and received the Prešeren Prize for her diploma work. She continued her postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana, where she received her doctorate in the field of biomedical sciences. As a young researcher, she received a Krka Prize for special achievements in the field of research, and for a successful doctorate, she received a municipal gold medal. She passed the professional examination at the Ministry of Health.

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Morris Beegle

Colorado Hemp Company

Morris Beegle – is founder and president of Colorado Hemp Company and TreeFreeHemp.com. Mr. Beegle brings 25 years of experience from the music and entertainment industry that includes production, printing and packaging, marketing, branding, product development, distribution, events, and retail sales. He is also the creator of the NoCo Hemp Expo, currently the largest industrial hemp trade show and conference in the United States. Mr. Beegle has been instrumental in research and development of a tree-free, hemp-based paper and printing solution for those looking to convert from standard wood-pulp paper products.

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Dani Billings

Nature's Root Salon & Spas

Dani Fontaine has become one of the most sought-after Hemp Speakers and educators in the world. From North Carolina and Hawaii to Australia, she is a fierce advocate for the hemp plant for its many values and qualities for a sustainable, renewable and valuable, multi-use crop. Dani began her career 8 years ago in 2008. She and her mother, Tracee Box started the first organic edible company, called Tastee Yummees. Focusing on organic healthy and savory treats, the company quickly expanded to be in over 300 shops in the state of Colorado. By mid-2011, her mother went on to focus more on her nutrition background, while Dani took over the reins of the company. Teaming up with Cheeba Chews., making a sister company featuring Tastee Yummees’ top seller, the ever popular butterscotch candy, “The Buddee”, the recipe was sold to Cheeba Chews and Dani made her exit out of the MMJ industry.

With an ongoing passion to serve and help individuals with health challenges, Dani received her certification in massage therapy and esthetics, from the Aveda Institute in 2011. Her intention and goal being to establish a CBD and Hemp-based spa and healing center. As a result, she and her father, “Wild Bill”, started Colorado Hemp Project in 2013. They were one of the first successful hemp fields planted and harvested in the U.S. in almost 60 years. After seeing a field of beautiful green hemp plants, the next logical step was to begin developing a spectacularly healing, organic, hemp-based body care company. So, she and her mom teamed up once again. In 2013 Natures Root was founded. As an extension of her passion, the formulations for this product line stem from the creative brain power of this magnificent woman.

Dani is the face of the company, and is exceptional in the spheres of networking and social media. With her tenacity and constant positive attitude, she continues to plays an integral role in developing relationships and strategic partnership across the world for the cause of hemp. Working in close partnership with The Colorado Hemp Project, Dani is working on several fronts, including ventures in nine other states (Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida and NY), and two countries (Jamaica and Puerto Rico). Even with all that is going on, Dani says, she is ready for more. She says she feels like she hasn’t even gotten started.

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David Bronner

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps

David Bronner is Cosmic Engagement Officer (CEO) of Dr. Bronner’s, the top-selling brand of natural soaps in North America and producer of other organic body care and food products. He is a grandson of company founder, Emanuel Bronner, and a fifth-generation soap maker. Under David and his brother Michael’s leadership, the brand has grown from $4 million in 1998 to just under $100 million in annual revenue in 2015.

David and Michael established Dr. Bronner’s as a sustainable leader in the natural products industry by becoming one of the first body care brands to formulate with hemp seed oil in 2000 and certify its soaps, lotions, balms and other personal care products under the USDA National Organic Program in 2003. Both actions resulted in high-profile litigation with government agencies, DEA and USDA respectively, that Dr. Bronner’s ultimately won, cementing Dr. Bronner’s issue-oriented activism in the natural products marketplace.

Today, Dr. Bronner’s coordinates or partners with certified Fair Trade projects for all major ingredients, including olive oil from Palestine and Israel, coconut oil from Sri Lanka, peppermint oil from India, and sustainable palm oil from Ghana. David pioneered the use of 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) bottles for packaging the liquid soaps, as well as a hemp and recycled paper blend to package the brand’s bar soaps.

As the main facilitator of the Hemp Industries Association’s (HIA’s) successful multi-year litigation against the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), from 2001-2004, David played a crucial role in defending sales of hemp foods and body care products in the U.S. from prohibition. David has also been arrested for acts of civil disobedience, including for symbolically planting hemp seeds on the lawn of the DEA, and for locking himself in a steel cage in front of the White House to protest federal policies preventing farmers from growing industrial hemp in the U.S. He is an active supporter of both the HIA and Vote Hemp.

David is also a key leader in the fight to label GMO foods in the U.S., and dedicates time and resources to many other issues, such as farm animal protection, the fight for a living wage, and responsible integration of cannabis and psychedelic medicine into American and global culture (David is a board member of the Multi-Disciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies). His activism embodies the company’s mission — which encompasses a commitment to making socially and environmentally responsible products of the highest quality, and to dedicating profits to help make a better world.

David was born in Los Angeles (Glendale), California in 1973 and earned an undergraduate degree in biology from Harvard University. He lives in Encinitas, California with his wife Kris. He is a dedicated vegan and enjoys surfing and dancing late into the night.

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Gertjan Bruins

HempFlax

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Terry Buchholz

Bastcore

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Dr. Barbara Ceh

Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing

Dr. Barbara Čeh completed her studies in agronomy at the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, which she completed with a thesis under the leadership of prof. dr. Mirka Leskoška. At the same faculty, she continued her doctoral studies in the fields of agricultural science, general agriculture, and crop production. She received her doctorate in 2003 under the mentorship of prof. dr. Антон Тайнская. She continued her research work in the field of crop production technology at the same faculty and started with pedagogical work; As an assistant and later a professor in the field of agriculture, she carried out exercises for students in different directions. In 2006, she was employed at the Institute of Hopper and Brewing of Slovenia as head of the field of nutrition and physiology of plants, where she has been researching and practicing since then.

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Dr. Andreja Cerenak

Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing

Dr. Andreja Čerenak has finished her biology studies at the Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana. She continued her postgraduate studies in an interdisciplinary study of biotechnology, first obtaining the scientific title Master of Science. She continued her studies in the same interdisciplinary program and completed her studies in 2004 with the doctoral dissertation Cardiovascular Hops ( Humulus lupulusL.) with AFLP markers. During this time she was already a young researcher at IHPS. From 2006 - 2010 she was Head of the Department of Plants, Soil and Environment. Since 2012 she has been habilitated at the Faculty of Agriculture and Biosystems Science UM for the field of genetics and plant breeding (including plant biotechnology). Since 2010 she is the editor in charge of periodical scientific publications with the International Editorial Committee of the Hops Bulletin ISSN 0350-0756, since 2011 she is the Head of the Research Group at IHPS and since 2016 the President of the IHPS Expert Council.
From 2010, she is a technical expert at the EU Plant Variety Office (CPVO) Office.

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Alli Cloyd

Left Hand Hemp

Alli Cloyd, hemp-event coordinator, loves the sustainable solutions the industrial hemp plant brings. A lover of the Earth and believer that hemp will save the planet, Alli wants to see the natural building material of hempcrete take over the building industry. Alli and hemp’s journey began with the Rocky Mountain Hemp Association, she immersed herself in the industry and soaked up all the knowledge and history she could. She hopes to drastically improve the world we live in today through hemp farming and hemp construction.

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Niel Decker

Starseed

Neil Decker and Adine (Stella) Michaels combine sacred architecture, well-being, and inner transformation to create not just sustainable but thriving environments that nurture the body, mind, and spirit. Neil and Stella love creating and being in structures and environments that instill a sense of magic, a sense of belonging, and a sense of self. Neil and Stella have facilitated workshops to a diverse range of groups in the USA, Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia.

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Rafael Dulon

Hanf Farm

Rafael Dulon is an expert associate of the Institute. He is the founder and general manager of a larger company located in Germany, who grows ecological hemp and processes it to diverse food products. His main focus is on the development and processing of high-quality hemp food products. His beginnings go a long way back where he began with the cultivation of hemp seeds and processed the hemp seeds to high-quality edible oils. With time he developed a wide range of other food product from the plant. His company Hanf Farm is an active member of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) and a regular exhibitor on fairs in Europe. At the World hemp congress (WHC 2015) he was awarded the Global Hemp Innovation Prize for the development of a machine for harvesting hemp, called MultiCombine HC3400.

Rafael Dulon has been successful in the hemp industry for over 20 years. He is active mostly in agriculture, focusing on ecological farming of hemp and food technology. He is actively engaged in developing technologies for manipulation on the fields and hemp harvesting, and also the development of high-quality food products. He regularly takes part at conferences, symposiums, roundtables etc.

Rafael Dulon finished education in biological Agriculture and Marketing and is permanently upgrading his functional knowledge about hemp.

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Dr. Vyacheslav Dushenkov

Professor, Rutgers University

Dr. Dushenkov, an associate director at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is an accomplished scientist and business administrator experienced in R&D management, regulatory affairs, intellectual property protection and marketing, strategic planning, and contract/joint venture negotiations, Dr. Slavik Dushenkov supplements fifteen years of teaching, research, and administrative experience at major universities with nine years of leading management and research in technology-based companies.

Prior to joining Rutgers in April of 2007, Dr. Dushenkov was for five years a Vice President for Research and Business development at WellGen, Inc. Prior to working for WellGen, Dr. Dushenkov has been deeply involved in development and management of a variety of international and national biotechnology projects. In his capacity as Research and Innovations Marketing Coordinator at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey he was instrumental in building ties between the University and the pharmaceutical industry and streamlining the technology transfer process.

In the last ten years, Dr. Dushenkov has worked with government agencies including FDA, DOE, EPA, and DEA in biotechnology, pharmaceutical agricultural and environmental technology development, intellectual property protection, and regulatory compliance. Dr. Dushenkov is focused on developing breakthrough technological applications of fundamental and applied biological research. He published over 100 scientific papers and is a co-inventor on seven US patents. Since 1996 till 2007 Dr. Dushenkov was a Visiting Research Professor at the Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment. In 1990, for his work as a professor at Moscow State Pedagogical University and for the contribution to national education Slavik Dushenkov was awarded The Teaching Excellence Medal of The Russian Federation. He was featured on CNN, Channel 12 NJ news, Canadian public Radio; in the New Scientist magazine and in numerous Internet-based publications.

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Nikki Florio

Bee Heroic

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Patrick Goggin

Hoban Law Group / VoteHemp

Patrick Goggin is a Senior Attorney at Hoban Law Group. He has waged battle on the frontlines of industrial hemp and general cannabis reform for two decades. Earning an Environmental Law Certificate from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, Mr. Goggin was admitted to the California Bar in 1996. Based in San Francisco, he served as co-counsel in the seminal HIA v. DEA cases in the early 2000s. Later, Mr. Goggin led the industry effort with Senator Mark Leno in 2013 to finally pass California’s Industrial Hemp Farming Act after three vetoes.

Mr. Goggin began working on medical cannabis regulation in San Francisco in 2005 when the City commenced its regulation of dispensaries. Since then, he has represented clients throughout Northern California on compliance issues and permitting of all facets of medical cannabis activity. He served on San Francisco’s Medical Cannabis Task Force from 2010-11.

Presently, Mr. Goggin sits on Vote Hemp’s board and is working to implement hemp research in California. He recently joined Hoban Law Group full-time and continues to advise clients on all forms of cannabis compliance. With a long history of litigating, Mr. Goggin is a trained mediator and has a respected reputation as a dispute resolution specialist.

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Judge Jim Gray

Author, Former Superior Court Judge

Cited on numerous occasions for his work in the areas of both social reform and civic philanthropy, Judge James P. Gray currently presides over the civil trial calendar for the Superior Court of Orange County.

Judge Gray was appointed to the Santa Ana Municipal Court in 1983 by Governor George Deukmejian, and in 1989, Deukmejian elevated Gray to his post with the Superior Court.

Throughout his 29-year career within the legal and judicial community, Jim Gray has not only donated hundreds of hours of volunteer time to existing community service-oriented activities, he also has created and implemented a number of innovative programs of his own, each one a success story in itself.

For instance, it was Jim Gray who introduced Orange County to the Peer Court System, where juvenile defendants travel to a school outside their district to have their actual cases tried by other teenagers.

Gray, who also has worked closely with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, helped form a MADDDUI panel in 1987 whereby defendants were made to listen as victims of drunk driving told their heartbreaking stories. This program is ongoing and has been recognized as one of the most effective within the MADD organization and the court system. Along these lines, as a member of the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Program’s Drinking Driving Program Advisory Committee, he recommended treatment programs to combat the DUI problem. To that end, he helped establish a program whereby youthful offenders of drunk driving laws were sentenced to visit the Western Medical Trauma Center. Still today, these youngsters are made to witness the devastating injuries of drunk driving victims. This program is also cosponsored by the Volunteer Center of Orange County, where Gray has served as a board member.

Other such related efforts include his work as a co-founder of “Drive Alive” — along with the Orange County Health Care Agency and MADD — a promotional publicity campaign for students who were invited to compete in writing Public Service Announcements to deter their fellow teens from drunk driving. Students, who win prizes for their efforts, also produced bumper stickers and other promotional materials aimed at the same theme.

Other civic contributions include his work with the “Stay In School” program at both Willard Intermediate and Santa Ana High Schools. Not long ago, Gray was also lauded for his contributions as a co-founder of BLAST (Bert Bylevens Leagues, After School Time) — a program providing children with after school athletics and recreation through the Garden Grove School District, the Garden Grove Police Department, the Orange County Probation Department, and the ministry of the Crystal Cathedral.

Other organizations Judge Gray has helped to found include: the Association of Former U.S. Attorneys, which is a group that meets yearly to share ideas and present keynote speakers; and the William P. Gray / Legion Lex Inn of Court in conjunction with USC Law School, which was founded to increase ethics, education, and professionalism for judges and lawyers.

The son of a highly regarded federal judge, “Judge William P. Gray”, Gray was raised in the Los Angeles area and attended schools in both La Canada and Pasadena. He received his undergraduate degree from UCLA in 1966 and a Juris Doctor from USC in 1971.

Gray served in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica for two years and also served as a staff judge advocate and criminal defense attorney for the U.S. Navy JAG Corps in both Guam and Lemore, California. He was awarded a National Defense Ribbon, a Vietnam Service Ribbon, and a Combat Action Ribbon during his tour of duty. He also worked as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles, where he received numerous letters of commendation from federal agencies, and in private practice in civil litigation in Newport Beach for five years.

Judge Gray has won a host of awards over the years, including “Judge of the Year” in 1992 from the Business Litigation Section of the Orange County Bar Association, and in 1995, was given that same honor by the Orange County Constitutional Rights Foundation. He has also received the Drug Policy Foundation’s prestigious “Justice Gerald Le Dain Award” for achievements in the field of law.

Gray has also received letters of commendation from the Orange County Board of Supervisors for his creation of a successful drinking-driver sentencing program, and from the Judge Advocate General of the Navy for his work in handling claims resulting from a Medivac airplane crash in the Marshall Islands.

Additionally, Judge Gray has been a member of the California Judicial Council, as well as the California Judicial Council’s Advisory Committee on Juvenile Law, the Alcohol Advisory Board to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, the Advisory Board of the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, the Republican Finance Committee of Orange County, and the Orange County Law Library. He has also been a member of the Board of Councilors of the USC Law School.

Although Judge Gray has championed many causes, none has been more bold than his work to combat the illegal drug problem in America. Gray continues to mobilize civic leaders, government officials, corporations, non-profit organizations, the media, and the public around the country to join him in exploring alternate solutions to reduce this chronic problem.

In addition to his ongoing civic activities and philanthropic work, Jim Gray has been an adjunct professor at Chapman University, the College of Trial Advocacy for new Orange County attorneys, and the Continuing Legal Education of the Bar.

Judge Jim Gray is married to Grace Walker Gray and has 4 children, Bill, Jennifer, Morgan and Ky, the latter of Vietnamese descent whom Gray adopted as a 13-month old. Gray lives in Newport Beach, California, and is a member of the Garden Grove Methodist Church.

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Josh Hendrix

CV Sciences, Inc.

Born and raised in the Bluegrass State and a University of Kentucky alumnus, Mr. Hendrix relocated back to Central Kentucky in 2014 on a mission to help rebuild the US hemp industry. Seeing a need to bring farmers, processors, manufacturers and supporters of the industry together, Mr. Hendrix founded the Kentucky Hemp Industries Association that summer and still serves on the Board of Directors. He also became an active member of the Kentucky Hemp Industries Council where he now serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors. In 2015 he created and became President of Hendrix Hemp, a licensed hemp producer that manages hemp cultivation on his family’s, Mayflower Farm, in Mount Sterling, KY. In early 2016 Mr. Hendrix was appointed to the Technical Advisory Council for the National Hemp Association and accepted a role on the Senior Advisory Board of the institutional trading platform for hemp, Seed CX. Currently, Mr. Hendrix serves as the Director of Business Development – Domestic Production for CV Sciences, Inc. where he works with numerous universities, farmers, businesses, and organizations to help facilitate the infrastructure necessary to establish a modern domestic supply chain for hemp in the United States.

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Dan Herer

Jack Herer Foundation

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Bob Hoban

Hoban Law Group

Bob Hoban is the Managing Partner at Hoban Law Group, the nation's premier cannabusiness law firm, with attorneys in over a dozen states and abroad. Bob is recognized as one of the leading commercial cannabis practitioners nationwide; representing private and publicly-held clients in numerous states and abroad. He has litigated nearly every aspect of Colorado’s Marijuana Code and has closed over 300 marijuana-related business transactions. Marijuana and hemp-based business operations, related litigation and regulatory counsel are a specialty. He is an AV® Preeminent™ rated attorney and seasoned full-service commercial practitioner.

Bob is a professor at the University of Denver, in the Law and Society Program, and regularly instructs regarding government regulations, public policy, and research-based policy courses. Furthermore, Bob has drafted more than 30 bills for the Colorado General Assembly (eminent domain/land use, hemp/marijuana, and transportation).

From 2001-02, Bob was a judicial clerk with Hon. Jack Berryhill in Colorado’s 1st J.D.

From 2002-2003, Bob clerked in the U.S. District Court.

In 2006, Bob was awarded the George Holley Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year.

Since 2010, Bob has been rated as “Superb” by Avvo.com

Since 2013, Bob has been rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbard.

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Tomaz Koren

Hemp Historian, Slovenia

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Daniel Kruse

Hempro Int. GmbH & Co. KG

Daniel Kruse is Founder and CEO of Hempro International. He can look back on more than 20 years of experience in the hemp business.
Daniel, as a skilled banker, deepened his economic knowledge through studies at Green Bay University in Wisconsin (USA) and Duesseldorf (GER). In 1996 he opened a “HanfHaus” retail shop and 1999 became Head of Sales as well as Partner at HanfHaus GmbH in Berlin.

In 2001 Daniel Kruse founded Hempro International GmbH & Co. KG, to push on the development of hemp products and to realize his vision, the successful combination of ecology and economics.

Meanwhile, Hempro Int. is producer and distributor of hemp-raw material (seeds, hulled nuts, oil, protein), hemp-garments, -accessories and -cosmetics. Through the consistent implementation of a strategy centered on product quality, Hempro Int. has succeeded in becoming one of the biggest players in the European hemp business.

Since 2013 Daniel Kruse is BOARD MEMBER OF THE EIHA (European Industrial Hemp Association).
The “European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)” has formed itself as an association of Hemp primary processing companies within the EU (regular members). Associate members are associations, national organizations, companies, and individuals working in the field of Hemp or other natural fibers.

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Donna Kuntzler

EnerHealth Botanicals

Donna is a Chemical and Biological Engineer and Neuroscientist who comes from a background of stem cell research and cannabis. She is a human rights, food, and environmental activist who has a passion for gardening and herbalism. In her free time, she goes mountain biking and rock climbing with her beautiful dog!

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Ed Leherberger

PureHemp Technology

Ed Lehrburger, one of three company founders, is President, CEO and Board Chairman. Ed is the longest standing CEO within the cellulosic biorefining industry. He graduated from Western State College of Colorado with a business degree in 1978. Prior to co-founding PureVision, Ed was a majority owner and chief financial officer of a nationwide, commercial finance company based in Livingston, NJ. He currently serves on the Industrial Hemp Advisory Committee for the Colorado State General Assembly, the Technical Advisory Board of the National Hemp Association and on the Board of Directors of ZeaChem, Inc. Mr. Lehrburger’s primary focus is to commercialize the unique CCR technology.

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John Lupien

BastCore

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David Maddalena

THC Magazine

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Diana Marie

EnerHealth Botanicals

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Dr. Beverlee McClure

Adams State University, Colorado

Dr. Beverlee J. McClure is the president of Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado. Adams State University is a comprehensive university with undergraduate and graduate degrees and is designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution. In addition to academics, the University offers a diverse array of cultural activities to the San Luis Valley and beyond.

Prior to this position, Dr. McClure was the president and CEO of the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry (ACI). ACI serves as the statewide chamber of commerce and serves as a policy think tank for business-related issues. In this capacity, Dr. McClure worked to facilitate positive change in the laws and regulations that govern business and industry. While at ACI, she led the Economic Gardening Pilot Project to target growth in later stage companies.

Previously, Dr. McClure served as New Mexico’s first cabinet secretary of higher education, a position she held for almost two years. Dr. McClure came to New Mexico as the president of Clovis Community College. She holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and a Doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of Texas, Austin.

Dr. McClure is the Chair of the board for YES Housing, a non-profit that creates affordable workforce housing. She currently serves on the board of the First Southwest Community Fund and the board of Campus Compact of the Mountain West. She is also a Community Key Leader for the Alamosa County Prevention Coalition. She is the former chair of the New Mexico Early Childhood Development Partnership Advisory Council, and former treasurer of the New Mexico Community Capital Board. She has been a member of the International Women’s Forum since 2000.

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Adine (Stella) Michaels

Starseed

Neil Decker and Adine (Stella) Michaels combine sacred architecture, well-being, and inner transformation to create not just sustainable but thriving environments that nurture the body, mind, and spirit. Neil and Stella love creating and being in structures and environments that instill a sense of magic, a sense of belonging, and a sense of self. Neil and Stella have facilitated workshops to a diverse range of groups in the USA, Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia.

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Jonathan Miller

Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet

Jonathan Miller, The Recovering Politician, has been elected twice as Kentucky’s State Treasurer; authored three books on faith, public policy and crisis management; graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with high honors from Harvard’s college and law school; practices as a crisis management attorney for Frost Brown Todd, a large regional law firm; serves as a Contributor to The Daily Beast and Kentucky Sports Radio; played straight man on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; reached the final table in the World Series of Poker; and with his summer camp sweetheart, raised two remarkable college-going daughters.

In his nearly two decades of public service, the RP held numerous senior positions in state and federal government, including two terms as Kentucky’s elected State Treasurer, serving in Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear’s Cabinet as Secretary of Finance and Administration, as Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Energy, and as Legislative Director for Congressman Jim Cooper (D-TN).

The RP has waded knee-deep in the political muck from an early age, founding Students for Al Gore for President in 1988, reviving College Democrats of America in 1989, serving as a Deputy Political Director for the Clinton/Gore 1992 presidential campaign, chairing the Kentucky Democratic Party in 2007, and running successfully twice for State Treasurer (1999, 2003), and unsuccessfully for Congress (1998) and Governor (2007).

But while the RP learned everything he needed to know about this country through his public service, he learned most of all that to be the change he wanted to be in office, he’d have to stop campaigning for one.

That’s why the RP has left the arena for the private sector. He practices law at the Lexington office of Frost Brown Todd, a full-service law firm with offices in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Indiana, and focuses on applying the crisis management tools he learned in politics to the legal, public relations, and regulatory challenges faced by his clients.

Fed up with the political system, the RP co-founded No Labels, a national grassroots movement involving nearly 600,000 Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, promoting bipartisanship and problem-solving in Washington and state legislatures across the country.

The RP is a Contributor to Newsweek/The Daily Beast, and has been a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and The Times of Israel, and has appeared on dozens of national news talk shows including: MSNBC’s The Cycle, Fox News’ Fox and Friends and Happening Now, CNN’s America’s Choice and Crossfire, CNBC’s Morning Call, NBC’s Dateline NBC, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, and Bloomberg’s Market Makers; serves as a semi-regular American politics commentator for Canada’s CTV News and the Wall Street Journal’s Daily Wrap; and even played straight man to correspondent/comedian Al Madrigal on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He has also testified before the U.S. House on energy efficiency and the U.S. Senate on student credit card debt.

And of course, he launched The Recovering Politician on April Fools Day, 2011. (Read The RP‘s mission statement.)

To compensate for his political obsessions, the RP has also devoted himself to his faith. As a high school student, the RP served as President of the North American Federation of Temple Youth, the Reform Jewish movement’s youth organization that his father headed a generation before. For more than a decade, the RP has taught Sunday School to high school students at Temple Adath Israel on the subject of Tikkun Olam, the Jewish mandate to help make the world a better place. And his faith journey led him to pen The Compassionate Community: Ten Values to Unite America (Palgrave MacMillan: 2006), in which he shares his vision of a political system based on the universal principle, in the words of the Scripture, “to love your neighbor as yourself,” and of a society where Americans of all faiths can build a stronger democracy.

In 2012, The RP published The Liberal Case for Israel: Debunking Eight Crazy Lies About the Jewish State, in an effort to clear up toxic misinformation about Israel and share with his fellow liberals and progressives the extraordinary liberal democracy that is the Jewish State.

In 2013, The RP edited and co-authored The Recovering Politician‘s Twelve Step Program to Survive Crisis, in which more than a dozen “recovering politicians” share their twelve step program on how to survive crises – from highly publicized and politicized scandals, to smaller, more intimate interpersonal struggles. They outline deliberate, focused and vigorous courses of action and reaction, gleaned from their own experiences – often dramatic, sometimes painful – under the piercing lights of the political arena.

The RP’s other passions include University of Kentucky basketball, Cincinnati Reds baseball, New York Times crossword puzzles, playing guitar, watching TV shows that range from Mad Men to The Office to Breaking Bad to The Daily Show to Homeland, and reading everything he can devour on his iPad, from classic literature to trashy pop culture magazines to Twitter feeds. When given the rare chance to play poker, The RP loves no-limit Texas hold ’em tournaments; and in 2012, his first entrance into the World Series of Poker, he made the final table, finishing 8th in a $1000 buy-in tournament with a field of 4,620, winning nearly $70,000.

The RP and his wife of 23 years, Mrs. RP (Lisa, a published author on healthy body image and personal empowerment; and now a health and wellness educator), are most proud of their teenage daughters Emily (19) and Abigail (17), who have begun to follow their own policy passions, without too much noodging from their beaming father.

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Dr. Dušan Nolimal

ICANNA - Int'l Institute for Cannabinoids

Dušan Nolimal is a member of the expert council and a professional associate of the Institute. He is employed at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), where he works in the field of drugs and other psychoactive substances, mental health and ethics in public health. He was appointed to the World Health Organization (WHO) as the National Drug Coordinator. He was a long-standing representative of Slovenia in the Pompidou Group (PG) in the Council of Europe for cooperation in the field of prevention of the harmful use of drugs and illicit drug trafficking. In the international expert group, he contributed to the development of a single European indicator for monitoring the treatment and treatment of illicit drug users and the development of epidemiology of drugs and addiction in the world. He was the initiator of the establishment and the first head of an information unit for illicit drugs, which is part of the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) network. He is also an honorary member of a special European group of scientists at the European Commission, the Health & Consumer Protection Directorate - the European Alcohol and Health forum. As a doctor, a specialist in social medicine participates in a network of institutions for strengthening social responsibility and is a collaborator of the Institute for the Development of Social Responsibility (IRDO). He received several awards and international awards for his exceptional success in the field of drugs. As a doctor, a specialist in social medicine participates in a network of institutions for strengthening social responsibility and is a collaborator of the Institute for the Development of Social Responsibility (IRDO). He received several awards and international awards for his exceptional success in the field of drugs. As a doctor, a specialist in social medicine participates in a network of institutions for strengthening social responsibility and is a collaborator of the Institute for the Development of Social Responsibility (IRDO). He received several awards and international awards for his exceptional success in the field of drugs.

In recent years, special attention has been devoted to the challenges of monitoring and researching medical cannabis and cannabinoids and promoting psychosocial health, integrity, ethics and human rights. He is a respected lecturer in scientific and professional public health sessions and the author of more than 400 scientific and scientific publications.

Dušan Nolimal is a doctor of medicine and a specialist in social medicine. In the field of research and treatment of drug addiction, he was further subspecialized in Colorado, USA, at the University of Colorado School of Medicine (UCSM) and in Baltimore, USA, at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). For a long-term and successful health education, organizational and professional work, he acquired the name primarium.

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Kris Nonn

North Limestone Community Development Corporation

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Eelkje Oldenburger

HempFlax

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Stewart Oliver

Starseed

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Zev Paiss

National Hemp Association

Zev Paiss serves as the COO of APA where he is the firm’s in-house Mac consultant and provides technical expertise and common sense solutions to client programs. He oversees all website development, budget management and is the lead videographer and editor for client videos we produce. Among the videos he has produced on sustainable development include: “Neighborhoods for People” in 1995, and “Developing Sustainable Neighborhoods for Today’s Housing Market” in 2008.
From February 2014 through September 2016, he created and served as the founding Executive Director of the National Hemp Association. Through his leadership, the trade organization became the leading industrial hemp association in the nation.
A Colorado resident since 1985, Zev has served as a nationally recognized sustainability consultant to projects in CA, CO, MA, NC, TX, UT, etc. He is known for his expertise in the areas of Environmental Planning, Renewable Energy and Transportation, and Neighborhood Community Building.
Zev has been interviewed by many of the country’s leading national print and broadcast media including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, NBC “Dateline,” and CNN among others. He has traveled across the United States as a guest speaker at national and state conferences and is a popular presenter about Sustainable Development, Aging in Community and Creating Positive Futures.
Zev has translated his understanding surrounding creating sustainable futures into two published novels. His first novel From Here to There: A Story of America’s Future tells a story about what is truly possible for America. Set in the not-too-distant future, the story takes the reader on a journey to the year 2020 when daily life remains hard except for the privileged. The reader is also transported 40 years further into the future, to the year 2060, when many of our most difficult challenges have been overcome. This futuristic vision of a sustainable society is set within a mystery thriller. Both softcover and ebook versions are now available.
Zev’s second book is a fast-paced mystery entitled Silo 42: Deception set within the New York Times bestselling dystopian world of WOOL written by Hugh Howey. This suspense-filled adventure contains real and practical solutions for the most pressing issues facing our planet today around energy use, food production, personal mental and physical health, and more. Silo 42: Deception is available at Amazon.com as both an ebook and a softbound version.

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Patrick Perry

University of Kentucky

My background is primarily in molecular biology, applied plant physiology, and agronomy of tobacco and industrial hemp. Utilizing this laboratory and field experience, the KTRDC Field Research Program is well equipped for both conventional and regulated transgenic field research. My duties as a Research Coordinator include proposing, designing, and performing field trials, data analytics, reporting, field support for KTRDC researchers, and outreach.

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John Roulac

Nutiva

John founded Nutiva in 1999 with a mission to nourish people and planet. Through his leadership, Nutiva has become the fastest-growing superfoods company on the planet, with a 55 percent annual growth rate since 2002, and has for five years in a row been named one of Inc. magazine’s fastest-growing companies in America. This growth keeps bringing John closer to his dream of a world that places people above profits—one where people everywhere have access to wholesome, organic foods.

John was blessed to spend his childhood summers on islands of the Pacific Northwest, where he played among the forests and tide pools. When a truck driver dumped nuclear waste nine miles from his California home, John’s consciousness was awakened and he began his central life journey: to study natural systems and discover practical solutions to pressing environmental challenges.
A longtime advocate for healthy people and ecosystems, John has founded four nonprofit ecological groups, one of which, Forests Forever, placed the California Forest Protection Act, Prop 130, on the state ballot in 1990. In the fall of 2012, John founded GMO Inside, a group dedicated to educating people about the dangers of GMO foods.

John is respected for his expertise on whole foods, organic farming, natural healing, hemp agriculture, forestry, permaculture, recycling and composting, and the conservation of water and energy. He helped jumpstart the modern home-composting movement in the early 1990s, successfully sued the US DEA to keep hemp foods legal in 2001, and has written four books on environmental topics that have combined sales of over one million copies. He has been interviewed on more than 150 radio programs and is widely quoted in the media—from Wired magazine to the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal.

In his leisure time, John enjoys travel, hiking, playing basketball, and soaking in natural hot springs.

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Dr. Guillermo Moreno Sanz

Pharmacologist

I have characterized a new class of potent analgesic compounds that do not cross the blood-brain barrier. My current research focuses on elucidating the biological mechanism underlying the extrusion of these compounds from the brain, orchestrated by several efflux pumps. I also continue my work on the validation of two fatty-acid ethanolamide-degrading enzymes, FAAH and NAAA, as relevant clinical targets for the pharmacological management of pain and inflammation.

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Duane Sinning

Colorado Dept. of Agriculture

Colorado Dept. of Agriculture, Assistant Director Plant Industry and Program Manager for Industrial Hemp Attended South Dakota State University with Bachelor Degrees in Agricultural Business-
Horticulture, and Commercial Economics. Began career as a farm manager in Iowa and an operations manager in Michigan in the nursery industry.

Since moving to Colorado in 1987 has worked in the greenhouse industry in regional and international sales, plant breeding evaluation and marketing, including 15 years of international business development for companies headquartered in Germany and England. Worked two years for Cargill before joining the CDA as Assistant Director of Plant Industry and Hemp Program Manager in 2014.

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Eric Steenstra

Vote Hemp

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Kelly Thornton

Left Hand Hemp

Kelly Thornton founder of Left Hand Hemp begun his journey in sustainable construction with strawbale and soon learned about hempcrete’s superior characteristics. With an enthusiastic approach to teaching students about hemp construction, the hempcrete workshops are both educational and fun!

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David Williams

University of Kentucky