During his 35 year career at NIDA, Dr. Gust had key responsibilities for cannabis research issues, including overseeing the production of research-grade marijuana, and developing and coordinating procedures and policies related to research on potential medical applications of marijuana for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  He also spent more than 20 years leading NIDA's International Program which focused on expanding research globally, building a strong network of international researchers, and exchanging and communicating scientific information.

Ms. Ashley is the Former Acting Assistant Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Diversion Control Division.

Mr. Fleming has been founding, financing and operating breakthrough life science companies for over 35 years in the USA, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. During his career he has raised more than $1 billion for early stage investment funds that made more than 200 investments resulting in over 20 IPOs and 40 M&A events.

Mr. Sheroff was Head of Supply Chain for large divisions within Johnson & Johnson, including Global Biologics and Jansen. Former WWVP of Quality at Warner Lambert (Pfizer) Mr. Sheroff is a supply-chain expert who has run multi-billion-dollar operations.

Ms. Baylor Henry has spent her career in medical regulatory affairs. Her roles have included Worldwide Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Medical Devices & Diagnostics at Johnson & Johnson, as well as senior roles at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including National Health Fraud Coordinator and Director of the Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications.

Catherine Maher, PhD, RAC, is an experienced biopharmaceutical global regulatory affairs executive with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. She is currently the Head of Regulatory Affairs at Evofem Biosciences, where she heads the corporate regulatory function and ensures that strategy and responses to health authorities remain consistent. She has a proven track record of leading the regulatory approval of novel products, including Phexxi®, a first-in-class, drug-device combination prescription contraceptive.

Prior to joining Evofem Biosciences, Catherine served as Head of Regulatory Affairs at Greenwich Biosciences, where she directed program-level regulatory strategy and all FDA interactions. She also led the NDA strategy, submission, defense, FDA Advisory Committee meeting, and approval of Epidiolex®.

Catherine has a strong foundation of regulatory expertise across multiple therapeutic areas, and she has built a reputation for her ability to understand and fulfill the needs of the regulatory environment.

Mr. Hoffman is the former Chair of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission and a former partner at global management consulting firm Bain & Company.

Dr. Thomas earned his doctoral degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology in 1992 from the Medical College of Virginia. He then joined Research Triangle Institute and assumed the role of Principal Investigator on National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) research contracts titled “Purity Specifications, Storage and Distribution for Medications Development,” “Preparation and Distribution of Research Drug Products,” and “Production, Analysis and Distribution of Cannabis, Marijuana Cigarettes and Related Materials.” In 2019, he joined Canopy Growth Corporation as Senior Director, Analytical Chemistry, Discovery Sciences, and Pharmaceutics, where he had management oversight of drug substance and product testing to support preclinical and clinical studies of cannabinoids in accordance with regulatory guidance. He was subsequently recruited by The Cronos Group to serve as the Director of Analytical Sciences, with management oversight of scientists at production and research and development facilities in the United States, Canada, and Israel. Over his career, he has authored or co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed manuscripts and numerous book chapters, coauthored a book, and served as the Series Editor of Elsevier’s Emerging Issues in Analytical Chemistry.

Mr. Hammergren served as Chief Executive Officer and chairman of the Board of Directors of McKesson Corporation for nearly 20 years, retiring in 2019. 

John Schmid has over 35 years of experience in financial and senior management as well as a board member in the biotech industry and has raised over $900 million in private and public equity as well debt financings as a Chief Financial Officer. He has taken two companies public as a CFO and over the past nine years, he has been involved in seven IPOs as an independent board member. He is a past President and a past board member of the San Diego Venture Group. Mr. Schmid received a BA in Economics from Wesleyan University and an MBA from the University of San Diego.