Cat Packer is the Executive Director and General Manager of the Department of Cannabis Regulation. Prior to joining the City of Los Angeles, Packer served as California Policy Coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance, where she worked to ensure the successful and equitable implementation of various cannabis policy reforms. Packer is an alumna of The Ohio State University where she received a Bachelor’s in Political Science, a Master’s in Public Policy & Management and a Juris Doctor.

Richard serves as Chief Executive Officer of Subversive Real Estate Acquisition REIT LP (NEO: SVX) and Inception REIT Inc., both cannabis focused real estate investment vehicles. Previously, Richard served as the Chief Financial Officer of SBE (SLS Hotels), a global hospitality company where he, among other responsibilities, focused on corporate and asset level transactions. Prior to joining SBE in 2014, Richard was a Director at Colony Capital, a global real estate private equity firm, where he focused on executing and managing over $9 billion of private equity investments primarily in the gaming, hospitality, and media industries. Prior to Colony, Richard worked in Wells Fargo’s Real Estate Merchant Banking division. Richard holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

Amanda Ostrowitz is a regulatory attorney and entrepreneur who’s identified a need for a user- friendly, scalable platform to research regulations and laws in the cannabis industry. Amanda founded RegsTechnology and its current product, CannaRegs, as a tool to aid attorneys, business people, and governments with localized tracking of regulatory issues. Although RegsTechnology has its origins in covering the dynamics of cannabis regulation, Amanda has created an innovative framework that can be applied more broadly to other emerging, hyper- localized regulatory issues.

Prior to conceiving, developing and founding RegsTechnology, Amanda worked as a bank examiner in the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Amanda is a New England native who moved to Colorado in 2004 to attend Colorado College where she earned a B.A. in Economics and went on to receive her Juris Doctor from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2013.

Rama is business partners with cultural icons 2 Chainz, The Game, Gary Vaynerchuk & Juicy J. He runs the award-winning creative agency Green Street to service the needs of those brands plus more. He's co-founder of the #1 cannabis B2B show in California, Hall of Flowers. Preferring to stay behind the scenes, he enables cannabis & non-cannabis brands to connect with cannabis consumers. Currently Rama is curating Green Street's first building project; 718 South Hill St., a 67,000 SqFt business & social center in Los Angeles, soon home to the world's leading Cannabis brands. Originally constructed over a century ago for The Los Angeles Furniture Factory, decades later renovated into a jewelry factory, then a featured location in the 1984 blockbuster Terminator, the building will now serve as a professional and social hub for entrepreneurs & creatives. Before Green Street he joined mentor Darren Romanelli at advertising agency StreetVirus & The Pancake Epidemic, working on the world's top brands including Disney, Beats By Dre, Deckers & Universal. Previous he was partnered with friend John LaCroix to create Medicine Agency & Gallery that serviced The Berrics, Maurice Kanbar, and produced art exhibitions with Alvaro Ilizarbe, Giovanni Reda, Greg Mike & Ron English. In 2006 Rama Co-founded United Trade Show together with Ryan Walker & Steve Aoki. United was an instant success with 5 consecutive sold out fashion trade show events. Walker & Aoki went on to separately have successful music careers. Late 2002, Rama co-founded Tarantulas Records, & managed musical acts The Explosion & Say Anything who went on to Virgin Records and J Records respectively. Under direction from The Explosion, he developed multiple artists under the Tarantulas label including; The Distillers, The Lox Six, The Bronx, Darker My Love & The Static Age. From 1994 to 2004; He ran Big Wheel Recreation with over 60 releases including early records from Jimmy Eat World, Jejune, Fastbreak, Braid, In My Eyes, No Knife, Ten Yard Fight, 454 Big Block, At The Drive-In, The (International) Noise Conspiracy and The Hives. He teamed up with friends in Boston to form Initech, one facility that housed: Bridge 9 Records, Hydrahead Records & Doghouse plus in-house publicist Jen Malone and booking agents Matt Pike & Matt Galle and ran day-to-day management of Doghouse & helped launch The All-American Rejects.

Charles “Chuck” Hershson, president of Fidelity Mortgage Lenders, Inc., founded the company in 1971 after graduating from the University of Southern California (B.S. Real Estate and Finance) and working for several years as a licensed real estate broker.

A leading member of the California real estate community, Chuck has served as president of the California Mortgage Association (CMA), president of the Mortgage Association of California (MAC) and president of the California Independent Mortgage Brokers Association (CIMBA). He has also been a member of the Real Estate Finance Advisory Committee appointed by the Commissioner of the California Department of Real Estate.

In addition, Chuck is active in many community organizations, including serving on the board of the Cancer Support Community, the Guardians, The Jewish Home for the Aging, and Friends of the Hebrew University. He’s also a supporter of the Real Estate and Construction Division of the Jewish Federation and is a member of the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai Hospital.

An automobile enthusiast, he enjoys a nice ride, some travel and reading adventure fiction.

Stanley S. Jutkowitz, senior counsel in Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s Washington, D.C. office, concentrates his practice on domestic and international business transactions and tax planning, counseling on corporate and business matters, and real estate transactions. He is also the founding editor of the firm’s marijuana law blog, The Blunt Truth (blunttruthlaw.com) and heads the firm’s cannabis practice. Mr. Jutkowitz has taught a number of continuing legal education courses on various aspects of cannabis law. His cannabis law experience includes counseling businesses on the legal risks of selling into the cannabis industry both in the US and internationally, representing lenders and property owners in real estate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, counseling investors on cannabis investments, tax planning and banking. His real estate experience includes the acquisition, development, sale and leasing of commercial, retail and residential property on behalf of domestic and foreign investors, and the representation of specialty users of real estate, such as companies with security clearance, technology companies and biotech companies. His transactional experience includes representation of emerging and other privately and publicly held companies in connection with mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, venture capital transactions and public offerings of stock and tax planning and structuring entities for both inbound and outbound cross border mergers and acquisitions.

Josh is an active member of Akerman’s national Cannabis Practice, which provides counsel to clients on the complex legal and business issues impacting companies with interests in the medical and adult-use cannabis industries. Josh is the founder and Chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Cannabis Section and frequent author of topics concerning legal cannabis. Josh is also an accomplished commercial litigator with broad experience in business and real estate disputes, including breach of contract matters, fraud claims, and business torts.

Chef Andrea Drummer is a pioneering leader in both the culinary and cannabis industries. She is the driving force behind the Original Cannabis Cafe, where she has created a first-of-its-kind menu complementary to heightened senses from cannabis. Making history upon its October 1, 2019 opening the food menu is reflective of California flavors with its farm-to-table experience for both cuisine and cannabis.

An advocate for the legalization of cannabis, Chef Drummer has gained a wealth of knowledge working with local activists and allies while innovating edible cuisine to access the full properties of the cannabis plant. She initially began her career as a youth advocate and anti-drug counselor with organizations like Planned Parenthood. Wanting to transition from nonprofit to pursue her culinary passions, she attended Le Cordon Bleu, Los Angeles. She later launched her cooperative, Elevation VIP in 2012, where she has become known for THC and CBD infused cuisine where she’s crafted meals for the likes of Miguel, Wiz Khalifa, and Chelsea Handler. Chef Drummer is highly regarded for her ability to pair a strain with a dish that compliments its particular flavor profile, a complex and difficult feat. Her balancing of terpenes and flavor has created an unparalleled dining experience that redefines food pairings.

Chef Drummer has appeared on two Netflix originals, displaying her expertise: Chelsea Does! & Cooking On High. She collaborated with The James NoMad Hotel in New York and has been featured in Vogue, Forbes, The LA Times, and Marie Claire. She is currently the editor of CannabisMD.com and was recently named 1 of 10 Top Cannabis Chefs in the Country.

Follow Chef Andrea Drummer on IG, @canna_queen71

Erik Murray is the Chairman and Managing Partner of Lafayette, CA based Oak Funds and Oak Impact Group, among California’s leading cannabis real estate developers, owners, and managers. With a keen understanding of social equity and a focus on operating at the intersection of prime commercial real estate and positive social impact, since 2016, Murray and his team at Oak have successfully acquired and developed over a dozen cannabis properties valued at nearly $200M. Every project in Oak’s portfolio has a social equity ownership and/or incubation component, and Murray is proud to be at the forefront of impact investing in cannabis by proving that outsized returns for investors and positive impacts to communities harmed by the war on drugs are not mutually exclusive. The first exits from the portfolio already delivered a 2.5x multiple and a 140% IRR to investors, and Oak is excited to continue expanding the platform in 2022. Murray volunteers on the Boards of the Last Prisoner Project and Union Square Alliance, and is a member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), a Senior Alpine Instructor in the National Ski Patrol, and resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Adam Spiker is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Southern California Coalition—the largest, most inclusive cannabis trade organization in world’s largest cannabis market, Southern California—and the vice president of Spiker Consulting Group, a third-generation government affairs consulting firm with more than 150 years of experience working for clients on state and federal issues. As the Southern California Coalition Executive Director, Spiker brings more than 15 years of experience working in government relations working across a variety of heavily regulated industries, and helping organizations, advocacy groups, and businesses coalition build, city plan, and the cannabis industry implement responsible policies in Los Angeles, other municipalities, throughout California, and at the federal level. Most recently, Adam played an instrumental role in the passing of Southern California Coalition-backed Proposition M—the world’s most comprehensive cannabis legalization regulatory framework to legalization, which provides the City of Los Angeles with a regulatory framework to fairly license, tax, regulate, and enforce the state-legal cannabis industry in the City of Los Angeles. The measure also creates a landmark social equity program aimed at ensuring those, who have been most impacted by cannabis prohibition, have equal opportunities to participate in the emerging sector. In addition to shepherding the passing of Proposition M, which overwhelming passed in Los Angeles with more than 80% of the vote, Spiker is currently helping Southern California Coalition members navigate the shifting and complex regulatory issues facing the cannabis sector and aggressively working to ensure fair cannabis policies are implemented, so small businesses are afforded a fair opportunity to apply for state and local licenses. Prior to joining Southern California Coalition and Spiker Consulting Group, Adam served in roles at: a principle at Ken Spiker and Associates, where he helped startup, small- and medium-sized, and Fortune 500 businesses navigate critical government relations issues and develop political advocacy strategies; as a founding partner at Access Capital helping businesses across the country secure funding and financial services; and as a financier at Cabrera Capital Markets, delivering asset management, investment banking, and full-service institutional brokerage services worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base, including public and private pensions, financial institutions, unions, governments, corporations, foundations and endowments, and sovereign wealth funds. Adam holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of California, resides in Orange County with his wife Carrie and his young son Trevor, and has been featured as a cannabis industry policy expert in media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Entrepreneur, McClatchy Washington Bureau, LA Weekly, LA Daily News, Leafly, Cannabis Business Times, along with other media outlets.

Zach Tindall is the Managing Director of Streetsense’s West Coast presence, and brings 20 years of integrated marketing experience building, promoting, and protecting global brands. Prior to joining Streetsense, Zach managed Edelman’s Southern California Digital Practice where he led a team of 50 and oversaw a portfolio of technology, lifestyle, food, health, entertainment, and gaming clients. Zach hails from Phoenix, Arizona and is a graduate of Arizona State University. Outside of work, he is a fitness and adrenaline junkie.

Whitney Hodges is a partner in the Real Estate, Land Use and Natural Resources Practice Group in the firm's San Diego office. She is the leader of the firm’s Cannabis Industry Team and serves on the firm's Pro Bono, Recruiting and Diversity & Inclusion committees, as well as numerous industry specific teams.

Areas of Practice

Whitney's practice focuses on the representation of clients involved in real estate development. She advises and represents major residential, industrial, commercial and mixed-use development projects, as well as Native American Indian tribes and renewable energy developers through all phases of the land use regulatory process and environmental compliance. Her land use experience includes real estate due diligence investigations, negotiating and drafting development agreements, processing land use entitlements, advising tribal governments on environmental and natural resources law, and appearing before governmental agencies and commissions. She also represents developers and management in traditional labor law issues, including union negotiations. Whitney also advises cannabis companies and ancillary businesses on state and local regulatory compliance and real estate transactions.

Real Estate Development

Real estate development has grown increasingly complex and controversial requiring knowledge of applicable federal, state and local laws, as well as the ability to work with a wide range of diverse interests including governmental agency staff, elected officials, landowners, environmental organizations and citizen groups. Whitney’s ability to work with such diverse interests to develop creative, practical and economical solutions is demonstrated by her involvement in the successful approval and permitting of multiple residential, commercial, industrial and mix-used developments during the past several years. Current projects include redevelopment, infill and mixed-use developments throughout southern California, including San Diego, Los Angeles and Riverside counties.

Environmental Compliance

Whitney has assisted public and private sector clients in obtaining permits and approvals from various federal agencies, and has successfully guided clients through the maze of federal, state and local environmental clearances necessary for development including the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Fish and Game Code, Subdivision Map Act, California Community Redevelopment Law (including associated dissolution legislation and successor statutes), California Coastal Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, California Superfund Law, Tribal-State Compacts, and Multiple Species Conservation Programs (MSCP).

Whitney also has significant experience in working closely with clients and consultants on due diligence review of land use issues, which includes local zoning ordinances, general plans, redevelopment agency plans, and related land use restrictions. Her working knowledge of environmental constraints and the development process proves invaluable when investigating the potential purchase of real estate and the subsequent preparation of acquisition documents.

Litigation

An experienced litigator, Whitney has handled actions involving development disputes, environmental compliance, real estate transactions, and union disputes. She has represented developers in complex civil litigation and defended challenges to development approvals.

Whitney serves as general counsel for the San Diego Humane Society and is on the Board of Directors for YWCA. Whitney is a registered lobbyist with the City of San Diego, the County of San Diego, San Diego Regional Airport Authority, the San Diego Port Authority and the City of Los Angeles. Additionally, Whitney also is a committed pro bono attorney and, in 2016, she was honored with the firm’s Bob Gerber Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award in recognition of her commitment to volunteering legal services to those in need.