Featuring:
Shanel Lindsay, Esq.
HOST
Shanel Lindsay is a co-founder of Parabola Center and an attorney, advocate, and serial entrepreneur. She serves as Parabola Center's entrepreneurship director. She is also the founder and CEO of Ardent Life, a global cannabis hardware and consumer packaged goods company, and Billow, a sesh-friendly filtration system. Shanel was an author of Question 4, the ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis in Massachusetts, and was subsequently appointed to the Massachusetts Cannabis Advisory Board, serving from 2017 to 2021. Shanel also co-founded the grassroots advocacy group Equitable Opportunities Now. Shanel is involved in the development of marijuana laws and new businesses across the United States and globally as a frequent speaker and expert consultant for other emerging businesses in the cannabis and biotech space.
Laury Lucien, Esq.
HOST
Laury Lucien is an attorney, professor, serial entrepreneur, and transformational speaker. In addition to her role as Education Director of the Parabola Center, she is the founder of the Legally Great Academy, a consulting and education company that supports entrepreneurs through every step of starting their companies. She was a vendor for the Cannabis Control Commission’s Social Equity Program, providing training and technical support to program participants. She is a founder of a co-located marijuana retailer, manufacturer, and delivery courier in Massachusetts. She was appointed to the Massachusetts Cannabis Advisory Board. Laury currently teaches Cannabis Law at Suffolk University Law School and Clark University.
Shaleen Title, Esq.
HOST
Shaleen Title is co-founder and director of Parabola Center. She was an inaugural cannabis regulator in Massachusetts. After completing her term as a commissioner, she authored two top-ranking publications on cannabis social equity policies and preventing cannabis monopolies as a fellow at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Drug Enforcement and Policy Center. Shaleen has spent over 20 years writing, passing, and implementing equitable cannabis laws and has testified before governmental bodies around the world about reparative marijuana laws. She is a founding member of the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition. Dubbed "the people's weed watchdog" by Boston Magazine, she is the recipient of multiple lifetime achievement awards for her work as an activist, regulator, and author.
Damian Fagon
HOST
Damian Fagon is a former cannabis regulator for the state of New York, where he served as the inaugural Chief Equity Officer for the Office of Cannabis Management. A third-generation farmer and development economist, Damian blends grassroots agricultural experience with equitable economic policy, advising on cannabis market development and agricultural initiatives internationally. He currently serves as Director of the Bronx Cannabis Hub, building new models and programming for restorative economic justice and community-centered cannabis markets from the ground up. Damian holds a BA from the University of Virginia and an MPA in Economic Development from Columbia University.
Jodi James
HOST
Jodi James is a respected speaker, teacher, debater, strategic planner, thought-leader, and mentor with more than 25 years of experience in cannabis policy. She started as a patient volunteer and soon had a staff position with the Coalition Advocating Medical Marijuana (CAMM) while volunteering for the newly formed Florida Cannabis Action Network (FLCAN). During her tenure, the organization put together the first marijuana bill in Florida since 1978, introduced and eventually passed the legislation removing hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, produced dozens of public education programs annually, helped patients earn medical necessity through the courts, and built a statewide constituency that influences lawmakers to this day. Jodi is the managing partner for McKinney James Works, a private consulting firm. Currently, she is serving as president of the Board of Directors while training a new generation to advocate for access to the Cannabis plant.
Carla Ashburn
HOST
Carla Ashburn is a cannabis healthcare advocate, entrepreneur, and patient rights champion with more than 30 years of experience in corporate management, team leadership, and event planning. In 2017, she founded Medical Marijuana Care of Florida, helping physicians enter the cannabis industry and providing patient-centered care through clinics serving rural Florida communities. Passionate about education, patient empowerment, and veterans’ access to cannabis, Carla works to ensure individuals can make informed healthcare decisions and access cannabis without unnecessary barriers. In addition to being business woman and educator, she also a leader with Florida Cannabis Action Network, where she contributes to research, advocacy, and legislative engagement on behalf of patients and consumers statewide.
Margeaux Lavoie
HOST
Margeaux (Maggie) Lavoie is a Social Equity Fellow for Parabola Center and a student at the University of Maine School of Law, where she has served as Executive Editor of the Maine Law Review and president of the Maine Association of Public Interest Lawyers. She was a Rural Law Fellow of the Fort Kent Rural Practice Clinic for Spring 2024 and a student research assistant in cannabis law for Professor Scott Bloomberg. Prior to attending law school, Maggie was the Director of Operations of the Church of Safe Injection, a daytime drop-in harm reduction center and CDC-certified syringe service program located in Lewiston, Maine.
Dr. Faith English
HOST
Faith English is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Drug Dependence and Epidemiology Training Program. She received her PhD and MPH from the University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, her research focuses on the intersection of cannabis legalization, health equity, and criminal justice reform. Dr. English is passionate about exploring the multiple ways in which cannabis and other drug legalization can address the public health crisis of mass incarceration and the war on drugs.
Cat Packer, Esq.
SPEAKER
Cat Packer is the director of drug markets and legal regulation at the Drug Policy Alliance, the vice chair of the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition, and a distinguished cannabis policy practitioner in residence at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center. From 2017 to 2022, Cat served as the first executive director of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation. Cat is a proud alumna of The Ohio State University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in political science, a master’s degree in public policy and management, and a law degree.
Tabatha Robinson, Esq.
SPEAKER
Tabatha Robinson, JD, MBA was sworn in as Director of the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) in April 2025. Prior to joining the MCA, Ms. Robinson served as Executive Deputy Director of Economic Development and Acting Chief Equity Officer for the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, where she drove economic programs and social equity licensing policies. Before joining New York State government, Robinson worked as a corporate attorney, focusing on strategic transactions and mergers and acquisitions and as Special Assistant Attorney General for Workers’ Rights in Washington, D.C.’s Office of the Attorney General. Ms. Robinson holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, MBA from Harvard Business School, and a B.A. from Stanford University.
Tauhid Chappell
SPEAKER
Tauhid Chappell is the first Executive Director to lead New Jersey’s Cannabis Academy, the country’s first government-run program aimed at diversifying the cannabis industry. Tauhid brings 10 years of experience in the cannabis space as a medical marijuana patient, a journalist who’s covered legalization efforts across the country, a former budtender for Philadelphia’s second medical marijuana dispensary, a current Adjunct Professor at Thomas Jefferson University, and an organizer of the Philadelphia CannaBusiness Association, Pennsylvania's first Black-owned, Black-led cannabis nonprofit aimed at healing the damage done by cannabis prohibition and mass incarceration.
Dasheeda Dawson
SPEAKER
Dasheeda Dawson is The WeedHead™, a global cannabis advocate, award-winning strategist and bestselling author of How to Succeed in the Cannabis Industry. She has 20 years of business development and strategic management excellence while leading teams for United Way, Target and Victoria's Secret. Currently, Dasheeda is Founding Director of Cannabis NYC overseeing the development of the city's legal industry. She is also the Founding Chair of the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC). Dasheeda received her MBA from Rutgers University and an undergraduate degree in molecular biology from Princeton University.
Pat Garofalo
SPEAKER
Pat Garofalo is the Director of State and Local Policy at the American Economic Liberties Project, where he helps lead the state-level movement to challenge monopolistic corporations. He is the author of "The Billionaire Boondoggle: How Our Politicians Let Corporations and Bigwigs Steal Our Money and Jobs,” and writes the Boondoggle newsletter on Substack. Pat was previously an editor and writer at U.S. News & World Report and ThinkProgress, and his coverage of economic policy and politics has appeared in many leading news outlets.
Chelsea Higgs Wise
SPEAKER
Chelsea Higgs Wise was a clinical social worker for ten years before transitioning to help organizations create equitable policies for community safety. Chelsea’s expertise continues to influence criminal justice, mental health and anti-drug war priorities in Virginia. In 2019, Chelsea co-founded Marijuana Justice for equitable legalization as a gateway to dismantle the Virginia War on Drugs and in 2021 Virginia became the first state in the South to legalize simple possession of marijuana, home cultivation as well as create a fund to reinvest for community repair. Through her leadership, the organization also convenes southern organizers around Drug War Reparations as well as pushing anti-monopoly regulation in order to build community-led economies. Federally, Chelsea is an active voice within the United for Marijuana Decriminalization (UMD) coalition focused on organizing public comment for the recent marijuana scheduling proposal.
Antoine Mordican
SPEAKER
Antoine Mordican is the Founder and CEO of Native Black Cultivation, Alabama’s first Black-owned and operated medical cannabis cultivation company. A Chicago native and Alabama A&M University engineering graduate, he has become a leading voice in cannabis policy, entrepreneurship, and equity. Mordican serves on the Board of Directors for the Minority Cannabis Business Association and has played an active role in advancing Alabama’s medical cannabis industry. Through business, advocacy, and education, he remains committed to expanding opportunities, improving patient access, and building generational wealth in underserved communities.
Jason Ortiz
SPEAKER
Jason Ortiz is the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Last Prisoner Project Jason was arrested for simple cannabis possession at the age of 16 in Norwich CT, and that experience inspired him to become a cannabis justice advocate. He was one of the founding board Members of the Minority Cannabis Business Association and is the immediate past Executive Director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. In addition to his drug policy activism, Jason sits on the board of the CT Working Families Party and has served as President of the Connecticut Puerto Rican Agenda where he organized for economic justice for his home island of Puerto Rico.
Nadir Pearson
SPEAKER
A New Jersey native and Brown University graduate, Nadir Pearson is a strategist and trusted advisor shaping the future of cannabis culture and commerce. As VP of Business Development at WISECO and Co-Founder of Hybrid (gethybrid.co), he blends creative strategy with operational execution to help brands grow authentically. Nadir first gained recognition for founding SMART (Student Marijuana Alliance for Research & Transparency) — a national organization that reached over 100 universities across the country, bridging cannabis and academia. He later led digital campaigns for High Times, Herb.co, and brands like GPen, Cannabiotix, and dosist.
Shekia Scott
SPEAKER
Shekia Scott is the Senior Cannabis Industry Manager for the City of Boston, in the Mayor's Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion. She oversees the economic development and equitable growth initiatives for Boston's cannabis industry as well as the Boston Cannabis Equity Program. Previously, she was the Director of Equity and Community Outreach for the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, pioneering the nation's first, statewide cannabis social equity program. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition.
Kendra Thompson
SPEAKER
Kendra Thompson is a licensed hemp farmer, CBD retailer, and founder of The Honeycomb FL LLC, a Florida-based wellness shop and nursery. She specializes in cultivating hemp and creating plant-based wellness products while educating consumers about the benefits of cannabinoids and sustainable agriculture. With a background in journalism and community advocacy, Kendra combines agricultural innovation, entrepreneurship, and public education to advance the hemp industry and support local communities.
