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At Nextleaf, we’ve gathered some of the brightest minds in the industry with proven track records and decades of cannabis experience, notable pioneers of extraction technology as well as some of the most talented scientists, researchers, and engineers.

Executive Officers & Board Of Directors

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Founder & CEO of Nextleaf (CSE: OILS), Paul is an entrepreneur with more than 15 years of leadership experience with emerging growth companies. Paul Pedersen is responsible for the vision, culture, and strategic direction of Nextleaf.

Pedersen has been focused on the cannabis industry since 2013, and was an early investor and advisor to Canada’s first legal cannabis oil producer acquired in 2016 by The Cronos Group (TSE: CRON). Pedersen founded Nextleaf in 2016 to improve cannabis oil economics with the construction of its automated closed-loop extraction plant in Metro Vancouver. The Company is a low-cost producer of cannabis distillate and CBD oils through its wholly-owned subsidiary Nextleaf Labs, a Health Canada licensed cannabis processor. Nextleaf owns the 2nd largest patent & IP portfolio of any cannabis company.

Paul has been a lifelong serial entrepreneur. He founded his first company while a student in college, and led an exit through a reverse takeover in 2007 by Towerstream, a NASDAQ listed technology company. Paul has been a founder of five companies that have gone public through an IPO or reverse takeover. He has more than 10 years of experience as a board member of publicly traded companies. In 2018, Pedersen co-founded with his spouse, Bluenose Labs, the first cannabis processor and distributor on Cape Breton Island, at the former pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in North Sydney, Nova Scotia. Paul was named one of the Cannabis Industry’s Top Forty Under 40 in 2020. He has been a guest speaker at more than a dozen Universities and conferences related to cannabis.
Pedersen received a MBA in Finance from Michigan State University – where he served as a Fellow at the Center for Venture Capital Private Equity and Entrepreneurial Finance – and a Bachelors of Commerce Degree from the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University. Paul grew up in Langley, B.C. in a dairy farming family.

Paul Pedersen

MBA
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
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Through a 15+ year career in the cannabis industry, Ryan is an inventor of over 60 issued patents pertaining to the industrial-scale extraction and distillation of cannabinoids. Consumables and concentrates produced through the process Ryan pioneered, have been acknowledged through the Canadian Cannabis Awards, and are highly sought after by cultivators and consumers nationwide.

Born and raised in Canada’s West Coast cannabis heartland, Ryan is experienced in building and financing cannabis start-ups who have in-turn become industry leaders. Today, Ryan’s passion lies in identifying turn-key extraction solutions for cultivators, allowing them to scale-up and maximize revenue with ease.

Ryan Ko

Co-Founder & CTO
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Charles is a CPA, CA with extensive experience in corporate finance and financial reporting for high growth companies. Charles has successfully led mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and private and public capital raises. He has served in a number of finance and corporate leadership roles developing and executing growth strategies, with private and public companies and family offices across Canada.

Charles Ackerman

CPA, CA
CFO & Director
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Sherry is the CEO and Co-Founder of CannDelta Inc., where she is responsible for providing regulatory expertise and developing strategies to ensure regulatory compliance within Canada’s existing cannabis framework.

Previously she was a Senior Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Office with Health Canada’s Medical Cannabis Program. She contributed to field level input during the drafting of the current Cannabis Regulations.

Dr. Sherry Boodram

PH.D
Director
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Experienced in financial and executive management, strategic planning, process improvement, taxation and over $345MM in mergers and acquisitions.

Tim was the former Chief Executive Officer of STI Technologies Limited (“STI”). Prior to his Chief Executive Officer appointment in 2014, Tim served as Chief Financial Officer and VP of Operations. Tim steered STI through a period of dramatic growth, which culminated in the sale of the business to IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) in 2017.  The sale transaction stands as one of Nova Scotia’s largest ever tech exits. Tim was awarded Top 50 CEO in Atlantic Canada in 2016. STI was awarded Best Managed Companies in Canada in 2015 and 2016 and Deloitte’s North American Fast 50 Technology Companies in 2015.

Before he joined STI Technologies in 2010, Tim held senior positions at a number of companies including Stantec Inc. (TSX: STN), Ernst & Young LLP, Clarke Inc. (TSX: CKI), and Clear Picture Corporation. An active member of the community, Tim enjoys skiing, hiking and mountain biking. Tim served on the Board of Directors of United Way Halifax for nearly 10 years. Currently, Tim serves on the Board of Directors of ELi Technologies Inc. and as an advisor to Hanatech IoT Inc. and Beyond Food Inc.

Tim holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dalhousie University with distinction, a Chartered Professional Accountant designation and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Nova Scotia.

Tim Gillis

Director
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Fred has held senior positions in public service with the government for 22 years where he initiated and led projects in environmental geology, land reclamation and public safety. He has extensive experience engaging communities and navigating large scale projects to create mutually beneficial outcomes for all parties.

Fred left public service in 2007 to become Vice President of Silvore Fox Minerals Corp. (formerly TSXV: SFX). In 2010 Fred entered the consulting field where he focused on environmental management, corporate social responsibility and community engagement. He is also the Director of Sustainability & Community Affairs for XT Energy Group, a Canadian renewable energy company, and served as Chief Geologist with Legion Metals Corp. (CSE: LEGN).

Fred has served on the Board of Directors of Rheingold Exploration Corp., which became International Battery Metals Ltd. (CSE: IBAT), from 2012 – 2017, Canadian Land Reclamation Association, Rural Water Watch Association. Fred is a past president and council member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Nova Scotia.

Fred received an Honours Geology from St. Mary’s University in Halifax and Masters’ Degrees in Applied Science and Urban and Rural Planning from Dalhousie University, Halifax. Fred is a professional geologist, a Fellow of Geoscientists Canada and a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists.

Fred Bonner

Director
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Founder & CEO of Nextleaf (CSE: OILS), Paul is an entrepreneur with more than 15 years of leadership experience with emerging growth companies. Paul Pedersen is responsible for the vision, culture, and strategic direction of Nextleaf.

Pedersen has been focused on the cannabis industry since 2013, and was an early investor and advisor to Canada’s first legal cannabis oil producer acquired in 2016 by The Cronos Group (TSE: CRON). Pedersen founded Nextleaf in 2016 to improve cannabis oil economics with the construction of its automated closed-loop extraction plant in Metro Vancouver. The Company is a low-cost producer of cannabis distillate and CBD oils through its wholly-owned subsidiary Nextleaf Labs, a Health Canada licensed cannabis processor. Nextleaf owns the 2nd largest patent & IP portfolio of any cannabis company.

Paul has been a lifelong serial entrepreneur. He founded his first company while a student in college, and led an exit through a reverse takeover in 2007 by Towerstream, a NASDAQ listed technology company. Paul has been a founder of five companies that have gone public through an IPO or reverse takeover. He has more than 10 years of experience as a board member of publicly traded companies. In 2018, Pedersen co-founded with his spouse, Bluenose Labs, the first cannabis processor and distributor on Cape Breton Island, at the former pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in North Sydney, Nova Scotia. Paul was named one of the Cannabis Industry’s Top Forty Under 40 in 2020. He has been a guest speaker at more than a dozen Universities and conferences related to cannabis.
Pedersen received a MBA in Finance from Michigan State University – where he served as a Fellow at the Center for Venture Capital Private Equity and Entrepreneurial Finance – and a Bachelors of Commerce Degree from the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University. Paul grew up in Langley, B.C. in a dairy farming family.

Paul Pedersen

MBA
CO-FOUNDER & CEO
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Through a 15+ year career in the cannabis industry, Ryan is an inventor of over 60 issued patents pertaining to the industrial-scale extraction and distillation of cannabinoids. Consumables and concentrates produced through the process Ryan pioneered, have been acknowledged through the Canadian Cannabis Awards, and are highly sought after by cultivators and consumers nationwide.

Born and raised in Canada’s West Coast cannabis heartland, Ryan is experienced in building and financing cannabis start-ups who have in-turn become industry leaders. Today, Ryan’s passion lies in identifying turn-key extraction solutions for cultivators, allowing them to scale-up and maximize revenue with ease.

Ryan Ko

Co-Founder & CTO
read more >
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Charles is a CPA, CA with extensive experience in corporate finance and financial reporting for high growth companies. Charles has successfully led mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and private and public capital raises. He has served in a number of finance and corporate leadership roles developing and executing growth strategies, with private and public companies and family offices across Canada.

Charles Ackerman

CPA, CA
CFO & Director
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Sherry is the CEO and Co-Founder of CannDelta Inc., where she is responsible for providing regulatory expertise and developing strategies to ensure regulatory compliance within Canada’s existing cannabis framework.

Previously she was a Senior Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Office with Health Canada’s Medical Cannabis Program. She contributed to field level input during the drafting of the current Cannabis Regulations.

Dr. Sherry Boodram

PH.D
Director
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Experienced in financial and executive management, strategic planning, process improvement, taxation and over $345MM in mergers and acquisitions.

Tim was the former Chief Executive Officer of STI Technologies Limited (“STI”). Prior to his Chief Executive Officer appointment in 2014, Tim served as Chief Financial Officer and VP of Operations. Tim steered STI through a period of dramatic growth, which culminated in the sale of the business to IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) in 2017.  The sale transaction stands as one of Nova Scotia’s largest ever tech exits. Tim was awarded Top 50 CEO in Atlantic Canada in 2016. STI was awarded Best Managed Companies in Canada in 2015 and 2016 and Deloitte’s North American Fast 50 Technology Companies in 2015.

Before he joined STI Technologies in 2010, Tim held senior positions at a number of companies including Stantec Inc. (TSX: STN), Ernst & Young LLP, Clarke Inc. (TSX: CKI), and Clear Picture Corporation. An active member of the community, Tim enjoys skiing, hiking and mountain biking. Tim served on the Board of Directors of United Way Halifax for nearly 10 years. Currently, Tim serves on the Board of Directors of ELi Technologies Inc. and as an advisor to Hanatech IoT Inc. and Beyond Food Inc.

Tim holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dalhousie University with distinction, a Chartered Professional Accountant designation and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Nova Scotia.

Tim Gillis

Director
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Fred has held senior positions in public service with the government for 22 years where he initiated and led projects in environmental geology, land reclamation and public safety. He has extensive experience engaging communities and navigating large scale projects to create mutually beneficial outcomes for all parties.

Fred left public service in 2007 to become Vice President of Silvore Fox Minerals Corp. (formerly TSXV: SFX). In 2010 Fred entered the consulting field where he focused on environmental management, corporate social responsibility and community engagement. He is also the Director of Sustainability & Community Affairs for XT Energy Group, a Canadian renewable energy company, and served as Chief Geologist with Legion Metals Corp. (CSE: LEGN).

Fred has served on the Board of Directors of Rheingold Exploration Corp., which became International Battery Metals Ltd. (CSE: IBAT), from 2012 – 2017, Canadian Land Reclamation Association, Rural Water Watch Association. Fred is a past president and council member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Nova Scotia.

Fred received an Honours Geology from St. Mary’s University in Halifax and Masters’ Degrees in Applied Science and Urban and Rural Planning from Dalhousie University, Halifax. Fred is a professional geologist, a Fellow of Geoscientists Canada and a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists.

Fred Bonner

Director
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Science & Innovation

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As a process engineer since 2005, Dr. Pal has worked applying fundamental chemical engineering and applied scientific principles to problems in many diverse fields, including extraction technology for oilsands operations, biodiesel processing and the petrochemical industry. Before joining Nextleaf in December 2017, Dr. Pal focused her career on process scale-up and process development in industrial research and development.

Dr. Krupal Pal

PH.D, P.ENG
Engineering Manager
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Taran’s successfully tripled the size of the patent and trademark portfolios for firms he’s worked with, while reducing the aggregate total IP expenses incurred. Taran has managed IP protection at major international tech companies.

Taran Grey

Director of Intellectual Property
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As Quality Control Specialist, Dr. Novitski is responsible for the analytical testing and certification of both incoming and outgoing products to ensure they are free of defects and produced according to the industry’s highly regulated standards for quality.

Dr. Novitski attended The University of Texas at Dallas where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry, where he worked as a Research Assistant at the NanoTech Institute with a focus on novel nanomaterials. Afterward, Dr. Novitski attended Simon Fraser University where he defended his doctoral thesis in analytical electrochemistry and achieved his goal of working in the fuel cell industry through a CaRPE-FC internship which developed into a Mitacs Accelerate postdoctoral fellowship at Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation.

In Dr. Novitski’s previous role as a Mitacs Elevate fellow and later Quality Control Chemist at Ionomr Innovations Inc., he was responsible for analytically testing ion exchange membrane material for consistency and quality.

Dr. Novitski is excited for the opportunity to contribute to a new field and is motivated to build new and improve existing processes so that the next generation of cannabis derivative products offer a reliable and repeatable experience for consumers.

Dr. David Novitski

PH.D
R&D Project Lead
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Dr. Jia joined Nextleaf in March, 2019 eager to apply her knowledge and skills in Analytical Chemistry to the burgeoning cannabis space; an industry she believes has tremendous potential to improve the quality of lives.  

Dr. Jia has leaned heavily on her innate talents of scientist, researcher and innovator to help support Nextleaf’s vision of on-going R&D activities. With that, she has led R&D projects including work done with the Industrial Research Assistance Program commissioned by National Research Council of Canada and has fostered long-term collaborations with Langara College.  

Before joining Nextleaf, Dr. Jia held several notable positions with Simon Fraser University where she headed laboratory lectures, independently designed and implemented research projects and managed daily operations of analytical teaching labs.  

Dr. Xuan Jia

PH.D
R&D Specialist
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As a process engineer since 2005, Dr. Pal has worked applying fundamental chemical engineering and applied scientific principles to problems in many diverse fields, including extraction technology for oilsands operations, biodiesel processing and the petrochemical industry. Before joining Nextleaf in December 2017, Dr. Pal focused her career on process scale-up and process development in industrial research and development.

Dr. Krupal Pal

PH.D, P.ENG
Engineering Manager
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Taran’s successfully tripled the size of the patent and trademark portfolios for firms he’s worked with, while reducing the aggregate total IP expenses incurred. Taran has managed IP protection at major international tech companies.

Taran Grey

Director of Intellectual Property
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As Quality Control Specialist, Dr. Novitski is responsible for the analytical testing and certification of both incoming and outgoing products to ensure they are free of defects and produced according to the industry’s highly regulated standards for quality.

Dr. Novitski attended The University of Texas at Dallas where he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry, where he worked as a Research Assistant at the NanoTech Institute with a focus on novel nanomaterials. Afterward, Dr. Novitski attended Simon Fraser University where he defended his doctoral thesis in analytical electrochemistry and achieved his goal of working in the fuel cell industry through a CaRPE-FC internship which developed into a Mitacs Accelerate postdoctoral fellowship at Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation.

In Dr. Novitski’s previous role as a Mitacs Elevate fellow and later Quality Control Chemist at Ionomr Innovations Inc., he was responsible for analytically testing ion exchange membrane material for consistency and quality.

Dr. Novitski is excited for the opportunity to contribute to a new field and is motivated to build new and improve existing processes so that the next generation of cannabis derivative products offer a reliable and repeatable experience for consumers.

Dr. David Novitski

PH.D
R&D Project Lead
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Dr. Jia joined Nextleaf in March, 2019 eager to apply her knowledge and skills in Analytical Chemistry to the burgeoning cannabis space; an industry she believes has tremendous potential to improve the quality of lives.  

Dr. Jia has leaned heavily on her innate talents of scientist, researcher and innovator to help support Nextleaf’s vision of on-going R&D activities. With that, she has led R&D projects including work done with the Industrial Research Assistance Program commissioned by National Research Council of Canada and has fostered long-term collaborations with Langara College.  

Before joining Nextleaf, Dr. Jia held several notable positions with Simon Fraser University where she headed laboratory lectures, independently designed and implemented research projects and managed daily operations of analytical teaching labs.  

Dr. Xuan Jia

PH.D
R&D Specialist
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Strategic Operations

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Scott Mayer joined the Nextleaf Solutions team in Summer of 2020, bringing over 20 years of international leadership experience in engineering, operations, and quality assurance from the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, cosmetic, and cannabis industries. 

Prior to joining the OILS team, Mr. Mayer was Senior Vice President of Operations, Head of Security, and Quality Assurance Person (QAP) for a BC-based LP. In his previous role, Scott completed the build-out and commissioning of the facility, established all cultivation and processing systems, implemented site security and quality management systems, and launched 2.0 products.

As Vice President of Operations for Nextleaf Solutions, Mr. Mayer is responsible for the optimization of our extraction processes, scheduling, and inventory while overseeing all partner operations as well as the day-to-day operations at the site. When he’s not working, Scott can be found spending quality time with his family. He also enjoys playing golf, good food, and a nice glass of wine.

Scott Mayer

Vice President of Operations
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Keenan has been a cannabis advocate for well over a decade due to a two-storey fall in his residential framing career. Since then he’s had the privilege of working in the cannabis space, combining his love of cannabis, leadership, manufacturing, and a passion for innovation, and continuous improvement. He previously worked with a large licensed producer in Canada, helping them set up and run their edible line as the Manufacturing Manager. He’s excited about what the future of the cannabis industry can become and how Nextleaf will contribute to it.

Keenan Sindia

Production Manager
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One of Nextleaf’s longest standing employees, Adel is an integral contributor to the company’s operational excellence.

Adel is an accomplished academic, having made both the Dean’s List and President’s list at Mount Royal University, where he completed his BBA in Finance and Business Management. This experience has allowed Adel to thrive in his role as Operations and Finance Associate, where he coordinates internal services and works as a core liaison in financing initiatives.

Adel Fares

BBA
Operations & Finance Associate
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Scott Mayer joined the Nextleaf Solutions team in Summer of 2020, bringing over 20 years of international leadership experience in engineering, operations, and quality assurance from the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, cosmetic, and cannabis industries. 

Prior to joining the OILS team, Mr. Mayer was Senior Vice President of Operations, Head of Security, and Quality Assurance Person (QAP) for a BC-based LP. In his previous role, Scott completed the build-out and commissioning of the facility, established all cultivation and processing systems, implemented site security and quality management systems, and launched 2.0 products.

As Vice President of Operations for Nextleaf Solutions, Mr. Mayer is responsible for the optimization of our extraction processes, scheduling, and inventory while overseeing all partner operations as well as the day-to-day operations at the site. When he’s not working, Scott can be found spending quality time with his family. He also enjoys playing golf, good food, and a nice glass of wine.

Scott Mayer

Vice President of Operations
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Keenan has been a cannabis advocate for well over a decade due to a two-storey fall in his residential framing career. Since then he’s had the privilege of working in the cannabis space, combining his love of cannabis, leadership, manufacturing, and a passion for innovation, and continuous improvement. He previously worked with a large licensed producer in Canada, helping them set up and run their edible line as the Manufacturing Manager. He’s excited about what the future of the cannabis industry can become and how Nextleaf will contribute to it.

Keenan Sindia

Production Manager
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One of Nextleaf’s longest standing employees, Adel is an integral contributor to the company’s operational excellence.

Adel is an accomplished academic, having made both the Dean’s List and President’s list at Mount Royal University, where he completed his BBA in Finance and Business Management. This experience has allowed Adel to thrive in his role as Operations and Finance Associate, where he coordinates internal services and works as a core liaison in financing initiatives.

Adel Fares

BBA
Operations & Finance Associate
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Corporate Services

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Emma is a dynamic leader with proven expertise in building global lifestyle brands. She combines her passion for education, innovation, health sciences and marketing to deliver an “anything but average” approach to building world-class programs, products, and experiences. Most recently, Emma was a Partner, and Co-Founder of a multi-national strategic consulting company.

Through 10+ years working across the natural products, sport nutrition, and cannabis industries, Emma’s led the development of renowned education and experiential marketing programs within retail, CPG, and non-profit sectors; planned and facilitated hundreds of events for participants across North America; launched and reformulated SKU’s earning multi-million dollars in revenue across a variety of distribution channels including online, and retail.

Emma Andrews

BA, NPDP, RHN
Director of Marketing
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A Human Resources Professional who creates, develops and delivers programs to support the needs of teams and individuals, increasing engagement, adding value and contributing growth to the bottom line through highly engaged and productive staff.

As a Certified Strengths Coach,  conducting workshops on performance development, building on an individual’s strengths and natural talents. I have a passion for helping people and believe that their success is my success! It’s great to be part of a team that is changing the industry and will positively impact the lives of others.

Mary-Aaron

Director of Human Resources
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Catherine’s invested her time and talents in cannabis since the beginning of her career. While a passion for cultivation is what initially drew her into the cannabis industry, she’s immersed herself in all elements of the value chain, including processing, product development, regulatory, and patient care.

She’s a former MMAR Cultivation Manager, overseeing thousands of plants under production for medical use. A graduate of Kwantlen Polytechnical University’s Cannabis Professional Series, including Plant Production Facility Management, Catherine’s built a strong foundation of knowledge to pair with her valuable hands-on experience.

While previously at Aurora Cannabis, Catherine was part of the transition to a legal Adult-Use framework in Canada. Working within market development alongside sales, administration, and client care, Catherine provided support to several teams and stakeholders, responsible for initiatives around corporate social responsibility efforts, compliance, and risk management.

Now with Nextleaf, Catherine is the team lead for all aspects of customer success. Known for being solutions oriented she is driven by a desire to increase efficiency and streamline processes, which in turn helps clients scale their business with greater ease.

With a passion for seeing small businesses scale and thrive, she’s a firm believer that the most sustainable and viable growth opportunities within cannabis is not from the traditional vertically integrated operations model, but rather for businesses (of all sizes) to focus firmly on their core expertise.

Catherine Marion

Business Development
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Jason is driven by results and relationships. He has managed multi-million-dollar account portfolios, helped raise capital resulting in oversubscribed non-brokered financing, and engaged thousands of stakeholders through a diversity of roles at several publicly traded cannabis companies, and within a major league sports team.

Known for his work ethic and for being a ‘swiss army knife’, Jason’s demonstrated through his successful delivery of investor relations events with international reach, marketing and PR strategy, corporate social responsibility and community impact initiatives. Jason ranked as one of the Top 10 Account Representatives in Major League Soccer (MLS) working with the Vancouver Whitecaps. Working alongside Nextleaf’s Executive Team, Jason contributed to the completion of an oversubscribed non-brokered financing for $3 million during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Through his work experiences, Jason’s been deployed internationally for corporate development projects. This helped foster a sense of adventure, which has allowed him to transition into the dynamic cannabis industry with ease. As his knowledge around cannabis grew, it quickly became a passion. It’s an industry he wholeheartedly believes can make a positive difference in our quality of life.

Jason’s advice for transitioning into a career in the Cannabis Industry: “Don’t be afraid to wear a lot of hats in the beginning. Roll up your sleeves and pitch in with Operations, even if you intend to work within Corporate Services, or vice-versa. The more we all learn and know about different roles, the more harmonious the company and industry can be”

Jason McBride

BAA
Investor Relations
read more >
Linkedin-in
Instagram
Twitter

Ryan’s dedicated to driving brand growth through intelligent marketing strategy, with a focus on digital and event marketing. He’s successfully built online assets and infrastructure from the ground-up for emerging and established companies and led the execution of globally reaching event activations to engage industry, investor, and consumer audiences alike.

Ryan played a strategic role in retail operations and brand launch during the iconic transition from prohibition to legal adult-use cannabis in Canada while working with award winning multi-provincial retailer, Kiaro.

Since joining Nextleaf, Ryan’s increased visibility for the company’s patent portfolio and innovative technology, ensuring the value of intellectual property is integrated across all communication channels.

A communications and media graduate from Simon Fraser University, Ryan applied his skills in various industries before finding his niche within cannabis. He witnessed the impact of cannabis on a close family member coping with chronic pain and has been an advocate ever since.

Ryan’s work and insights have been featured in industry publications including Cannabis Retail Magazine, Leafly, and Cannabis Prospect Magazine.

Ryan Hirsch

BA
Marketing Manager
read more >
Linkedin-in
Instagram
Twitter

Emma is a dynamic leader with proven expertise in building global lifestyle brands. She combines her passion for education, innovation, health sciences and marketing to deliver an “anything but average” approach to building world-class programs, products, and experiences. Most recently, Emma was a Partner, and Co-Founder of a multi-national strategic consulting company.

Through 10+ years working across the natural products, sport nutrition, and cannabis industries, Emma’s led the development of renowned education and experiential marketing programs within retail, CPG, and non-profit sectors; planned and facilitated hundreds of events for participants across North America; launched and reformulated SKU’s earning multi-million dollars in revenue across a variety of distribution channels including online, and retail.

Emma Andrews

BA, NPDP, RHN
Director of Marketing
read more >
Linkedin-in
Instagram
Twitter

A Human Resources Professional who creates, develops and delivers programs to support the needs of teams and individuals, increasing engagement, adding value and contributing growth to the bottom line through highly engaged and productive staff.

As a Certified Strengths Coach,  conducting workshops on performance development, building on an individual’s strengths and natural talents. I have a passion for helping people and believe that their success is my success! It’s great to be part of a team that is changing the industry and will positively impact the lives of others.

Mary-Aaron

Director of Human Resources
read more >
Linkedin-in
Instagram
Twitter

Catherine’s invested her time and talents in cannabis since the beginning of her career. While a passion for cultivation is what initially drew her into the cannabis industry, she’s immersed herself in all elements of the value chain, including processing, product development, regulatory, and patient care.

She’s a former MMAR Cultivation Manager, overseeing thousands of plants under production for medical use. A graduate of Kwantlen Polytechnical University’s Cannabis Professional Series, including Plant Production Facility Management, Catherine’s built a strong foundation of knowledge to pair with her valuable hands-on experience.

While previously at Aurora Cannabis, Catherine was part of the transition to a legal Adult-Use framework in Canada. Working within market development alongside sales, administration, and client care, Catherine provided support to several teams and stakeholders, responsible for initiatives around corporate social responsibility efforts, compliance, and risk management.

Now with Nextleaf, Catherine is the team lead for all aspects of customer success. Known for being solutions oriented she is driven by a desire to increase efficiency and streamline processes, which in turn helps clients scale their business with greater ease.

With a passion for seeing small businesses scale and thrive, she’s a firm believer that the most sustainable and viable growth opportunities within cannabis is not from the traditional vertically integrated operations model, but rather for businesses (of all sizes) to focus firmly on their core expertise.

Catherine Marion

Business Development
read more >
Linkedin-in
Instagram
Twitter

Jason is driven by results and relationships. He has managed multi-million-dollar account portfolios, helped raise capital resulting in oversubscribed non-brokered financing, and engaged thousands of stakeholders through a diversity of roles at several publicly traded cannabis companies, and within a major league sports team.

Known for his work ethic and for being a ‘swiss army knife’, Jason’s demonstrated through his successful delivery of investor relations events with international reach, marketing and PR strategy, corporate social responsibility and community impact initiatives. Jason ranked as one of the Top 10 Account Representatives in Major League Soccer (MLS) working with the Vancouver Whitecaps. Working alongside Nextleaf’s Executive Team, Jason contributed to the completion of an oversubscribed non-brokered financing for $3 million during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Through his work experiences, Jason’s been deployed internationally for corporate development projects. This helped foster a sense of adventure, which has allowed him to transition into the dynamic cannabis industry with ease. As his knowledge around cannabis grew, it quickly became a passion. It’s an industry he wholeheartedly believes can make a positive difference in our quality of life.

Jason’s advice for transitioning into a career in the Cannabis Industry: “Don’t be afraid to wear a lot of hats in the beginning. Roll up your sleeves and pitch in with Operations, even if you intend to work within Corporate Services, or vice-versa. The more we all learn and know about different roles, the more harmonious the company and industry can be”

Jason McBride

BAA
Investor Relations
read more >
Linkedin-in
Instagram
Twitter

Ryan’s dedicated to driving brand growth through intelligent marketing strategy, with a focus on digital and event marketing. He’s successfully built online assets and infrastructure from the ground-up for emerging and established companies and led the execution of globally reaching event activations to engage industry, investor, and consumer audiences alike.

Ryan played a strategic role in retail operations and brand launch during the iconic transition from prohibition to legal adult-use cannabis in Canada while working with award winning multi-provincial retailer, Kiaro.

Since joining Nextleaf, Ryan’s increased visibility for the company’s patent portfolio and innovative technology, ensuring the value of intellectual property is integrated across all communication channels.

A communications and media graduate from Simon Fraser University, Ryan applied his skills in various industries before finding his niche within cannabis. He witnessed the impact of cannabis on a close family member coping with chronic pain and has been an advocate ever since.

Ryan’s work and insights have been featured in industry publications including Cannabis Retail Magazine, Leafly, and Cannabis Prospect Magazine.

Ryan Hirsch

BA
Marketing Manager
read more >
Linkedin-in
Instagram
Twitter

Regulatory & Quality Assurance

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Tom Ulanowski is Vice President of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs at Nextleaf Labs, where he also holds the positions of Quality Assurance Person (QAP) and Responsible Person. At Nextleaf, Tom is intimately involved in day-to-day production/manufacturing activities, as well as research and product development, regulatory liaison, and licensing/permitting. Tom is a Professional Chemist (ACPBC), Chartered Chemist (ACPO), and Articling Agrologist (BCIA), and holds an HBSc Degree in Analytical Chemistry & Environmental Monitoring from the University of Toronto, as well as a MSc Degree in Biogeochemistry and Hydrogeology from the University of Western Ontario.

Previous to joining Nextleaf, Tom was the Quality Assurance Manager, Quality Assurance Person (QAP), and Qualified Person in Charge (QPIC) at Canna Farms Ltd., a BC’s first legal licensed producer of award-winning cannabis products, based in Hope, BC. Since joining the legal cannabis industry in 2014, Tom has quality-assured hundreds of batches of cannabis, while leading to efforts to obtain multiple production and sales licences, win national industry awards, and increase output ten-fold via expansions, improvements to current practices, and the development of new processes and products. In 2018, Tom led the effort to manufacture, license, and market “Canna Kief”, the first legal concentrated form of cannabis commercially sold in Canada.

Tom is an advocate of a science-based approach to cannabis cultivation, processing and regulation, and encourages the use of critical thinking and healthy skepticism. He has been integral in developing Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s (KPU’s) Plant Production & Facility Management course, and has taught hundreds of students around the world about cannabis production and the interpretation of national and international regulations. Prior to his work with the cannabis plant, Tom was managing an environmental research laboratory at the Biotron Institute for Experimental Climate Change Research at the University of Western Ontario and conducting multidisciplinary scientific research in northern Canada.

Tom Ulanowski,

MSc, P.Chem/C.Chem, A.AG
Quality Assurance Person
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Amanda joined the Nextleaf Solutions team in the Fall of 2020, bringing a wealth of industry knowledge and skill as the former Director of Quality for Canopy Growth’s Delta facility, BC Tweed. Prior to her career in cannabis, Amanda was a Quality and Regulatory Specialist for two different medical device start-ups.

Amanda has championed knowledge management and process improvement with all quality systems she has worked with. She was drawn to the cannabis industry by the challenge of learning a newly regulated industry. Furthermore, she looks forward to what new research discoveries around cannabis will be found in the next few years.

As OILS’ Quality Assurance Manager, Amanda will continually update and improve our team as regulations evolve. Nextleaf is excited to see the impact on efficiencies and procedures she will undoubtedly make on our Quality and Regulations team.

Amanda Ford

Quality Control Manager
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Tom Ulanowski is Vice President of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs at Nextleaf Labs, where he also holds the positions of Quality Assurance Person (QAP) and Responsible Person. At Nextleaf, Tom is intimately involved in day-to-day production/manufacturing activities, as well as research and product development, regulatory liaison, and licensing/permitting. Tom is a Professional Chemist (ACPBC), Chartered Chemist (ACPO), and Articling Agrologist (BCIA), and holds an HBSc Degree in Analytical Chemistry & Environmental Monitoring from the University of Toronto, as well as a MSc Degree in Biogeochemistry and Hydrogeology from the University of Western Ontario.

Previous to joining Nextleaf, Tom was the Quality Assurance Manager, Quality Assurance Person (QAP), and Qualified Person in Charge (QPIC) at Canna Farms Ltd., a BC’s first legal licensed producer of award-winning cannabis products, based in Hope, BC. Since joining the legal cannabis industry in 2014, Tom has quality-assured hundreds of batches of cannabis, while leading to efforts to obtain multiple production and sales licences, win national industry awards, and increase output ten-fold via expansions, improvements to current practices, and the development of new processes and products. In 2018, Tom led the effort to manufacture, license, and market “Canna Kief”, the first legal concentrated form of cannabis commercially sold in Canada.

Tom is an advocate of a science-based approach to cannabis cultivation, processing and regulation, and encourages the use of critical thinking and healthy skepticism. He has been integral in developing Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s (KPU’s) Plant Production & Facility Management course, and has taught hundreds of students around the world about cannabis production and the interpretation of national and international regulations. Prior to his work with the cannabis plant, Tom was managing an environmental research laboratory at the Biotron Institute for Experimental Climate Change Research at the University of Western Ontario and conducting multidisciplinary scientific research in northern Canada.

Tom Ulanowski,

MSc, P.Chem/C.Chem, A.AG
Quality Assurance Person
read more >
Linkedin-in
Instagram
Twitter

Amanda joined the Nextleaf Solutions team in the Fall of 2020, bringing a wealth of industry knowledge and skill as the former Director of Quality for Canopy Growth’s Delta facility, BC Tweed. Prior to her career in cannabis, Amanda was a Quality and Regulatory Specialist for two different medical device start-ups.

Amanda has championed knowledge management and process improvement with all quality systems she has worked with. She was drawn to the cannabis industry by the challenge of learning a newly regulated industry. Furthermore, she looks forward to what new research discoveries around cannabis will be found in the next few years.

As OILS’ Quality Assurance Manager, Amanda will continually update and improve our team as regulations evolve. Nextleaf is excited to see the impact on efficiencies and procedures she will undoubtedly make on our Quality and Regulations team.

Amanda Ford

Quality Control Manager
read more >
Linkedin-in
Instagram
Twitter

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