a Non-Hierarchical Decentralized Activist Organization.
No CEO’s. No Presidents. No Directors.
Leaders engaging in Value-Driven Process-Centered Project Management.
Welcome to Revelatory Activism.
Marie Montmarquet :: CEO of md Numbers :: finance, education, outreach & Brand verticalization ::
SHE/HER/THEY
Marie Montmarquet is co-founder of MD Numbers Inc., a family of vertically integrated cannabis brands — MD Farms, Marie’s Deliverables, and Legacy Coterie — that provide a range of goods and services to the California supply chain, retail customers, and equity community. Marie is a legacy cannabis operator who’s been passionate about the plant for over 15 years. Her cannabis business expertise and equity activism have put her in the national spotlight. After graduating from the University of Tennessee with a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology, she moved to California from Nashville in 2010. Over the last decade, Marie has created several successful cannabis businesses along with her brother Allen Hackett with whom she co-founded MD Numbers Inc. and its subsidiaries. Marie and Allen are also minority owners of Cannabis Express, having helped build one of the Bay Area’s biggest delivery providers. In addition to developing and scaling successful cannabis businesses, Marie is focused on being an advocate for social justice and equity in the industry. She’s an advisor to the cannabis equity program for Success Centers and offers monthly tours to MD Farms for equity applicants. Marie’s goals for 2021 are to expand MD Numbers and MD Farm’s capacity, develop new properties, and build more equity brands; advising, supporting and championing equity in every way possible.
Toni forge :: Founder 4Leaf Consulting :: Licensing, Policy & Compliance ::
SHE/HER
For over 27 years, Toni Forge has worked as a litigator, managing attorney, state mediator and associate general counsel. A graduate of Hastings College of the Law and the University of San Francisco, Toni is a leader in compliance and litigation management. She has acted as a chief compliance officer for major Fortune 500 companies and has implemented several litigation management programs for global insurance companies. She served as a Regional Managing Attorney for Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company and a Claims Director for Arrowpoint Capital where she managed hundreds of internal and external law firms. As a former mediator for the State of Nevada, she possesses exceptional negotiation and mediation skills.
Toni co-founded 4LeafConsulting in 2016. 4LeafConsulting is a California cannabis licensing and compliance consulting firm dedicated to offering clients a practical approach to establishing their cannabusinesses.
Toni serves on the advisory board of Women Empowered in Cannabis, Green Believers and California Cannabis Coalition. Toni represents many social equity license holders throughout California.
Toni is currently working with municipalities and community colleges educating communities of color about the business of cannabis. She was co-organizer of the first LA Community College District Southwest College Cannabis Town Hall. Recently, she was selected as a cannabis technical advisor for both the City of LA and the City of Commerce. In 2019, Toni was nominated as “Lawyer of the Year” by Webjoint magazine.
Kika keith :: CEO of Gorilla Rx :: state & local policy, outreach, education ::
SHE/HER
Kika Keith is the CEO of Gorila Rx , the first Black-Woman Owned Dispensary in Los Angeles. She is also the co-founder and leader of SEOWA, the Social Equity Owners and Workers Association, the first organized labor movement in cannabis as well as the Life Development Group, Los Angeles’ leading training center for cannabis vocational training that directly serves the community in South Central Los Angeles.
Timeka Drew :: ceo of biko working group NATIONAL & Local POLICY ::
SHE/HER
Timeka Drew is an operating social equity license holder and seasoned cannabis industry executive. She is the recipient of a social equity retail storefront license in LA and is the founder and CEO of Biko, a California cannabis brand focused on producing luxurious, effective products. She sits on the Board of the Cannabis Equity Retailers Association (CERA) and Social Equity LA. She is a member of the Equity Trade Certification (ETC) Leadership Coalition, the ETC Policy Committee, and the Social Equity Owners and Workers Association (SEOWA). She entered the cannabis industry in the early 2000’s as a medical patient and advocate. She currently serves as the Chief Growth Officer of award-winning, vertically integrated retailer NUG.
Edgar Cruz:: CEO of Ekstrepe :: state & local policy, education, Working Group Partnerships :: he/him
With always envisioning creating a cannabis business when cannabis became legal, I attempted to focus on working for licensed operators in the space while also working within the banking industry. Understanding financial management & business development from my experience within the cannabis industry, I soon learned that minorities are being excluded from the industry at an alarming rate.
I decided to educate myself on the War on Drugs and the true definition of Social Equity and understood that policy within cannabis laws need to include communities of color. Which are left out of opportunities that can provide generational wealth to their own development. So, I created Long Beach Cannabis Commerce Council
LBCCC seeks to reduce the barriers of entry and participation for communities that have been negatively impacted by the disproportionate law enforcement of cannabis related crimes by providing them access to cannabis business development resources, services, and contracting and shareholder opportunities described herein. LBCCC is a conscious effort to provide the business plan development, training, mentoring, and support necessary to ensure that the emerging cannabis market is accessible to all, regardless of economic status, gender, racial, cultural background and criminal history.
LBCCC plans to collaborate with local programs and nonprofit organizations that subsidize public school systems. Getting cannabis cultivation, manufacturing and distribution licenses.
ebony McGee Anderson :: COO Josephine & Billy’s dispensary ::
state & Local Land usage, Zoning & Regulatory compliance ::
SHE/HER
Ebony Andersen has over 15 years of experience as a land-use professional. She routinely works with special interest groups and legislative lobbyists on environmentally controversial or politically sensitive projects, including medicinal and adult-use cannabis programs in the Los Angeles region. Andersen has managed several dozen cannabis projects, including cultivation sites, extensive manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, retail locations in California, and consulted on Washington, Oklahoma, and Nevada projects. She is known for helping operators convert their traditional or start-up cannabis businesses into fully functional, compliant operations. Her knowledge, expertise, and work ethic have dubbed her the "Olive Pope" of planning because she can execute complicated and convoluted projects when others cannot.
Andersen is a partner in Josephine & Billie's, a first-of-its-kind cannabis speakeasy created to give womenof color an experience in cannabis that doesn't currently exist. Josephine & Billie's is a lushly appointedcallback to the Jazz Age, to the pearls and feathers of Josephine, and the poetry of Billie crooning on arainy evening. It's a trip back to the 'Teapads' in black communities of the 20s and 30s, where peoplewould listen to jazz and enjoy cannabis while feeling connected, relaxed, valued, and safe.As COO,Andersen is behind Josephine & Billie's strategic design and planning, guides business development,manages construction, troubleshoots roadblocks, and satisfies compliance standards.
Hirsh Jain :: founder ananda strategy :: National policy, government affairs, State & Local Licensure ::
He/Him
Hirsh Jain is the Founder of Ananda Strategy, a consultancy serving California cannabis brands and retailers. Previously, Hirsh was the Director of Government Affairs at Caliva, a leading California cannabis brand. Prior to that, he was the West Coast Director of Government Affairs at MedMen, a national cannabis retailer. Before working in cannabis, Hirsh was a Government Affairs Manager at Airbnb in San Francisco. He has also worked as an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company in New York City. Hirsh has a B.A. in Philosophy from UC Berkeley, where he worked as the Cannabis Lead in the Campus Public Defender’s Office, defending students that were accused of cannabis violations by the University. He also has a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where his focus was the legal, social, and political impacts of The War on Drugs.
ALEXANDER TRON :: working group national policy, DATA ANALYSIS & lobbying :: He/They
Alex Tron is a third-year law student at USC Gould School of Law and a member of the Trojan Cannabis Network. Alex has been on the boards of LGBTQIA+ affinity and Public Interest organizations, and will be serving as the Co-President of the Cannabis Law Society this year. They’re proud to be the first Diversity Chair of Review of Law and Social Justice, and an author of a note about universal internet access. As someone who views cannabis as not only a social justice issue but also as a potent medicine, Alex is proud to also cultivate their own cannabis and teach community lessons about the topic.
WALLY Rudolph WONG :: founder working group :: OUTREACH, EDUCATION, & national POLICY ::
He/Him
Parent. Artist. Educator. Activist.
Wally is a diversity & equity advocate across industries in Los Angeles. As an educator, he develops and teaches de-colonized writing curriculum at UCLA. Wally is also the Head of Education for Meadow Software and the founder of the Working Group National Cannabis Social Equity Coalition which provides free to the public baseline state and national policy recommendations for true access & profit participation in the cannabis economy for communities destroyed by The War on Drugs.
He has created and continues to execute access-driven cannabis education programs in: Sacramento, Oakland, New York City, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. Born in Canada to Chinese-Jamaican immigrants and raised in Texas, he’s traveled and lived throughout North America, but now he and his son, Redd, call The City of Angels home.