Wednesday, May 22nd, 2019

3:00 PM - 3:45 PM - Herscher Hall, Guerin B, Webcast

Cannabis Medical Efficacy, Cannabis Innovation and Investment: Medicine, Research & Technology

Dr. Sue Sisley, MD & Principal Investigator for the only FDA-Approved Study of Safety/Efficacy of Cannabis and Combat Veterans

Julie Raque, Vice President of Marketing, Cannabistry Labs

Matthew Nordgren, CEO and Founder, ARCADIAN Fund and ARCADIAN Capital Management

Boone Cutler, Author, Columnist and Warfighter Rights leader

Steve Albarran, CEO & Co-Founder, Confident Cannabis

Keith Spears, Managing Partner, Skytree Capital Partners

David C. Traub, Co-Founder, Epiphany Film Fund, Moderator

Steve Albarran, CEO & Co-Founder of Confident Cannabis: Before co-founding Confident Cannabis, Steve developed his career in New York with experience in startups, the finance industry and growth capital investing. He founded Left Lane Capital to invest in, incubate and co-found branded consumer-facing businesses. His investments include Health Warrior, one of the fastest growing superfood snack companies in the US. Steve then moved to California to study at Stanford Graduate School of Business where he met his co-founding team. Driven by the opportunity to create a vibrant industry where every ethical

cannabis business thrives, he co-founded Confident Cannabis. Steve and Tony Lewis now determine Confident Cannabis company vision and strategy, lead hiring, fundraising, and product development. Steve has a BA in Finance and a Master's in Management from Stanford GSB where he was a Sloan Fellow.

Dr. Sue Sisley, MD & Principal Investigator for the only FDA-Approved Study of Safety/Efficacy of Cannabis and Combat Veterans: Dr. Sue Sisley MD is an Arizona-based physician practicing Internal Medicine and Psychiatry. She works as Medical Director for medical cannabis license holders in 11 different states/territories from Hawaii to Puerto Rico to New York. Sue serves as Site Principal Investigator for the only FDA-approved randomized controlled trial in the world examining safety/efficacy of whole plant marijuana in combat veterans with treatment-resistant post traumatic stress disorder PTSD. Dr. Sisley is on faculty at Colorado State University PUEBLO campus, recruited for core planning team to organize the CSUP "ICR Institute of Cannabis Research" in Pueblo, Colorado. Dr. Sisley has been a Member of Nevada ILAC Medical Cannabis Commission for the past two years outlining regulations for laboratory testing including limits on pesticides, residual solvents and other guidelines that are currently being used as a model for other states medical cannabis laws. She also serves on the Steering Committee for Thomas Jefferson University Lambert Cannabis Medical Research Center.

Keith Spears, Managing Partner, Skytree Capital Partners: Mr. Spears is a Managing Partner at Skytree Capital Partners and specializes in real estate transactions and social impact investing.  Mr. Spears focuses on sourcing, evaluating, structuring and monitoring real estate investments for the firm.  Over the last two years, Mr. Spears has evaluated over 200 alternative investment opportunities.  Mr. Spears is an expert in private and public market finance vehicles including public companies and Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REIT”), which can be used to finance alternative investments.  A committed social equity advocate, Mr. Spears is one of the Skytree management team members that is advising the City of Oakland on its $3 million social equity loan program.  Mr. Spears is an alternative asset professional with a particular expertise in impact investing, private equity, mergers and acquisitions and real estate.  Over a 30-year career, Mr. Spears has worked on over 150 transactions and investment that range from $1 million to well over $10 billion in size.  He has led the due diligence effort on over 50 fund and co-investment opportunities and has generated top quartile performance on behalf of his clients.  Mr. Spears has advised on over $47 billion in transactions, including approximately $30 billion in 80 private equity fund investments and co-investments and $17 billion in 75 M&A related financings.  As a dedicated impact investor, Mr. Spears is committed to deploying capital to achieve top quartile returns while providing significant positive economic and social impact. Mr. Spears was a Vice President and co-managed Hamilton Lane’s Golden State Investment Fund (“GSIF”), a $550 million private equity separate account fund-of-fund/co-investment fund managed exclusively on behalf of CalPERS, the largest U.S. public pension.  With over $300 billion of private equity assets under advisement, Hamilton Lane is one of the largest private equity fund-of-fund advisory firms in the U.S.  Mr. Spears is also a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse.  Mr. Spears received his JD from Yale (corporate law), MBA from Stanford Business School (corporate finance) and his BA from Brown University (economics and urban studies).

Boone Cutler is an author, columnist, music video director and Warfighter Rights leader that has become the first nationally recognized radio talk-show personality who is also a combat veteran from the current war.  Boone’s message is simple, “America has lost faith in what they used to believe were the heroes of Hollywood, America has become disgusted with the political climate of today so the only place to turn to and trust for leadership is the Warfighter”. He wrote his book "Voodoo in Sadr City" during his combat tour in Iraq and later completed it while he recovered from wartime injuries, over a two period at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, at the height of the 2007 Neglect scandal. During his own recovery, Boone realized there was a critical void in the Warfighter Community and decided to approach Fox News affiliate 99.1 FM Talk with the concept of a new show that focused on national, international and social events based on the Warfighter’s perspective. In 2011, his show "Tipping Point with Boone Cutler" began and gave him a weekly stage for his raw Paratrooper, no-holds-barred style, quickly becoming a hit over the air waves and online with curious mainstream American listeners, and his fellow Warfighters. In June 2014, "Tipping Point with Boone Cutler" began its partnership with KNEWS 107.3 FM in Reno, NV where it can be heard every Saturday. In 2010, Boone founded the National Warfighter Symposium to bring much needed attention to Warfighter issues such as post combat life changes and especially the alarming Warfighter suicide and homelessness rates. America currently loses at least 23 Warfighters (22 veterans + 1 active duty) to suicide every single day. This is a number that Boone has made his mission to combat by his creation of "The Spartan Pledge" for fellow Warfighters to who promise not to take their own lives and instead vow to find a new mission to help one another. He has chosen GallantFew.org, founded by Ranger Karl Monger as his signature charity. In 2012, Boone was diagnosed with Early-Onset Parkinson's Disease secondary to a blast-injury in Iraq and is currently starting to campaign for more awareness on the issue in the Warfighter Community. Governor Sandoval of Nevada appointed Boone to the Inter-agency Council on Veteran Affairs for the 2012/2013 term. He is also very involved with the arts and works as music video producer / director for REDCON-1 MUSIC GROUP after seeing first the healing effects of music therapy. In 2014, Boone became the national spokesperson for the Warfighter Rights' Movement whose mission is to end Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder phobia that results in discrimination against Warfighters in employment, housing and the judicial process. Boone has focused on working with lawmakers advocating on behalf of the Warfighter Community, righting wrongs and educating those willing to listen and those that need to understand what is needed, what needs to change while using his voice to advocate for the community   he loves on the all the platforms he given. An Oath Of Exit Law drafted by Congressman Brian Mast ( FL-18/ US Army Veteran), was signed into law July 2017  based on The Spartan Pledge, created by Boone Cutler. This collaborative effort highlights the oath taken between Warfighters, solidifying the bridge between the civilian & Warfighter community, as they vow to end the epidemic of  Warfighter Suicide.

Matthew Nordgren, CEO and Founder, ARCADIAN Fund and ARCADIAN Capital Management: Matthew Nordgren is an ambitious executive, dedicated philanthropist, and accomplished athlete who brings a unique passion to creating strategic alliances. He has breadth and depth of experience in finance, corporate development, and capital sourcing, as well as in building highly motivated teams of skilled professionals. In 2005, Mr. Nordgren received his education at the University of Texas in Austin, while playing football for the Texas Longhorns football team.  As a quarterback on a National Championship winning team, he developed skills that would be carried through his lifetime and core business philosophies. He was the first full scholarship in the NCAA University of Texas football history to graduate with two degrees in less than four years and being accepted into and pursuing a dual Master’s Degree program. After playing professionally briefly with the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles (where he was sidelined with injury), Mr. Nordgren went on to earn two Master’s degrees in business and sports management from the University of Dallas. He was subsequently featured on the Bravo TV show “Most Eligible Dallas,” while becoming a partner in the family business, NORDCO, Inc., a Dallas-based energy conservation firm.  This is also when he helped to develop, manage and build his first private equity business/family office, which was a sports and entertainment focused portfolio. Throughout his career, Mr. Nordgren has been appointed to many executive leadership positions at a wide-ranging group of companies and industries. From real estate to sports and entertainment, from hospitality to insurance and financial services, from emerging industries to later stage leveraged buy outs, he is singularly focused on finding synergistic opportunities that have upside potential.  He is committed to successfully helping manage the overall financial state of his clients’ businesses and the companies with which he and his clients have interests within. Mr. Nordgren is currently CEO and Founder of ARCADIAN Fund and ARCADIAN Capital management, a venture fund focused on the ancillary service providing companies in and around the cannabis and hemp industries.  More specifically, on Series A type opportunities where proven businesses are looking for growth equity to attack and win new markets.  He was recently name one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the Cannabis Industry” by High Times Magazine. Additionally, he is the founder of NORDCO Consulting LLC, a private equity firm dedicated to buying and selling middle market companies with forward-thinking vision. To date, Mr. Nordgren has personally managed over $7 billion in transactions and maintains a portfolio of approximately 25 companies. Inspired by his belief that education and athletics can open doors for at-risk youth, Mr. Nordgren founded The Leadership Foundation—an organization committed to giving back to non-profits whose purpose is to empower youth through sports and education. He feels strongly that young people, regardless of their personal circumstances, should have the opportunity for a bright future and the chance to make a positive impact.  Furthermore, he is involved with and contributes to numerous philanthropic causes and remains dedicated to giving back and making a difference.

Julie Raque is the Vice President of Marketing at Cannabistry Labs where she is responsible for developing and implementing the company’s marketing and communications strategies. She has over ten years of marketing experience at both established and emerging pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including Horizon Pharma, GILEAD Sciences and Avexis Pharmaceuticals. Raque is an expert in developing and executing go-to-market plans; leading product launches in highly regulated industries; and overseeing the development, management, maintenance, distribution and product application in both domestic and international markets. Raque earned her master’s degree in pharmacology from University of Cincinnati, and her bachelor’s degree in psychology from University of Kentucky. Cannabistry Labs is a pioneer in developing and licensing innovative products and revolutionary brands for the multi-billion-dollar legalized cannabis industry. Its team of scientists, engineers and production specialists work collaboratively to research, develop and formulate a diverse array of product offerings. Through an exclusive licensing program, Cannabistry Labs helps empower partners’ operations to produce and market demonstrably better products and uniquely compelling brands.

David Traub, Global Ambassador, Unify.Earth: David earned a Masters in Education in 1990 from Harvard University, while conducting simultaneous class-work in interactive cinema and AI-based narrative at the MIT Media Lab.  HIs master thesis: design of the world's first virtual reality simulation game modeling family therapy. In 1984 he earned his undergraduate degrees in rhetoric and film with honors from the University of California at Berkeley, concluding with an honor thesis focusing on the use of film and television as "educational propaganda."  His primary focus: the aggregation and delivery of "social and emotional" and other learning-centric applications/content via feature films, TV, mobile phones, video games, thin clients/PCs and VR/AR.  In the real world, David has 20-years of experience as a digital media-oriented executive producer, entrepreneur, investor, venture catalyst, global business development executive, ind/or board member to over 40 startups/private equity companies. He has co-raised and deployed nearly $30 million dollars in support of these ventures. His most recent feature film as executive producer was JOBS, starring Ashton Kutcher;  with Bronx Bull his next movie to market (co-producer), and multiple others feature films and TV shows in  development.  David has created games, apps and other content as a co-founder,  executive and/or executive producer of digital products across a wide variety of clients such as EMI North America, MCA Records, Philips/Polydor, Microsoft/ MSN, Apple Computer and many others. He is also an author of nearly 50 articles and reports on the evolution of the digital domain for trade publications, professional books and institutional clients; and a speaker who has given nearly 50 forward-looking keynote and other speeches throughout the world for clients such as the EU, the Swedish and Canadian Governments, TV Globo (Brazil), the National Institute of Film in Denmark, Viacom, US West, Mercedes/Siebold, The Broadband Content Development Forum and numerous other economic development agencies and universities.