Jennifer Germano is one of the WCS Luncheon Panelists and brings her extensive knowledge, experience and insights to the How to Succeed in the Cannabis Industry Panel.

Jennifer Germano founded ICS Consulting Service in 2015 based on her personal experience of running Cannabis operations and provides fractional compliance services for licensed operators nationwide. ICS specializes in Third-Party State Regulatory Audits, Metrc seed-to-Sale support, State and Local License Application Support, Technical Writing, Standard Operating Procedures Development, Compliance Operations Training & Employee Onboarding, Manufacturer Food and Product Safety Certifications/ServSafe® Instructor, Worker Safety Audits and Programs, Hazard Assessments, Compliance Programs, Safety Programs, IPM Programs, WPS (Worker Protection Standards), OSHA Gen Industry Compliance Reviews, QMS reviews and standards, Licensed Facility Build-out & Operational Readiness Support, Custom Training Programs, Cannabis Compliance Education for Bank CRB programs, Consulting support with State licensure investigations, administrative holds and hearings, Expert Witness Services and Custom Compliance Support.   

Jennifer is a long-time industry vet, witnessing the Colorado market going from the unregulated wild west in 2009 to the strictly regulated market of 2024. She has been participating in Cannabis Policy since 2015, working in several Government workgroup committees. Lobbying on Cannabis Policy is one of her passions, and she has participated in efforts in Washington D.C. in attempting to move forward the SAFE & SAFER Banking Act over the last several years. 

Shawn Hauser is a partner at Vicente LLP, where she co-chairs the firm’s Hemp and Cannabinoids Department and Federal and International Law Group.  She helps cannabis, hemp, and psychedelics businesses navigate the intersections between state and federal law and ensure compliance as laws evolve. Her practice focuses on regulatory compliance, licensing, general business representation, policy reform and strategic guidance to best position businesses for success at the at state, national, and international levels.

With more than a decade of experience in cannabis law and policy, Shawn is a go-to source for businesses, industry groups, governments, and reporters seeking opinions, analysis, and guidance. She has presented on cannabis law and policy to many local, federal, and international agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and UK Parliament.

Sarah Woodson, founder of The Color of Cannabis, comes from a long line of entrepreneurs, business is in her DNA. After receiving two Paralegal certificates, and an Associates of General Studies. Sarah attended CU Denver to pursue a BA in Sociology and a Minor in Legal Studies. She founded one of the largest Pro-Se Bankruptcy & Divorce companies in the state of Colorado.  As the CEO of a pro-se bankruptcy and divorce company, she created an equity program for women of color to start their own legal pro-se businesses. In 2016. Sarah had decided that she was going full force into cannabis. Not as a dispensary or a grower but as a Cannabis Experience Provider. She founded Kush & Canvases, a consumption-friendly cannabis art class, that has been featured in several publications such as,  Ebony Magazine, Business Denver and DGO.  A former consultant for Marijuana Industry Group. She is currently serving as the Legal Redress Chair for NAACP Denver Chapter. She sat on the Cannabis Social Community Committee for the city of Denver. She is currently serving as a Commissioner on the Denver African American Commission.

Lauren Miele , Founder & Chief Executive Officer of KushKards, the first cannabis greeting card where “one can strike a match and light what is attached.” A burgeoning fashion designer in 2013, Miele launched KushKards to fulfill a need to gift cannabis — at a time when there was no way to do it. Standard greeting cards lacked the form and function, so Miele created a niche market of innovative cannabis gifting for young professionals like herself looking for “the perfect gift with a lift.” Miele quickly grew KushKards into a national brand — KushKards’s just won Best New Product in the Lifestyle Category at The National Stationery Show in 2020, and to date has sold over ½ a million KushKards online and in retail locations including Museum of Sex and Planet 13 — a cannabis gifting staple of dispensaries, smoke shops, adult stores, stationery + gift shops, record stores, mall kiosks, and more. Miele is a Westchester, New York, raised graduate of The Fashion Institute of Technology and is currently based in Denver, Colorado. Miele holds an AAS in Visual Presentation + Exhibition Design and BA in Home Products Development and is bringing her talent from fashion to the cannabis industry!

Lara Fordis is one of the WCS Luncheon Panelists representing cannabis marketing.

Lara Fordis and the founder of Fordis Consulting. She is a multi-industry market research veteran with diverse CPG, tech, small business, and start-up experience. Her passion areas include food, cannabis, apps, and education. She is turned to as an expert on niche cannabis industry insights.

As both a qual and quant market researcher, Fordis Consulting projects span across multiple methodologies, from surveys to focus groups to product testing. This unconventional agency looks holistically at projects to ensure a 360-degree view of consumers (loyal as well as competitive customers).

In cannabis, Lara’s work fills in crucial market research gaps not covered by retail or POS focused data providers. Her specialty areas focus on the canna-curious soon-to-be consumers, budtenders, and Invisible Shopper customers.

Lara is proud to serve as a curiosity-driven, solutions-focused maverick and hands-on, strategic thought-partner to clients, always developing creative, nimble research plans that provide the foundation for actionable, results-driven outcomes.

Her overarching goal is to help businesses access and use data to make consumer-driven, informed decisions, instead of “winging it.” She strongly believes market research should not be solely for Fortune 500 companies, so her business was founded to take on projects that are too small for traditional market research agencies and deliver unsurpassed value in the process.

Emily Wells experience encompasses multiple aspects of cannabis marketing, she brings fresh insights to How to Succeed in the Cannabis Industry, as one of the WCS Luncheon Panelist.

Emily Wells, “I joined the CMA team full-time in June 2020, and continued to grow in my membership role while gaining more hands-on experience in marketing strategy and business development.

In my time at Cannabis Marketing Association, I’ve been given incredible opportunities to grow in my personal role and help scale the organization, all while navigating the intricacies of remote work and pivoting to an entirely online model in wake of the pandemic. I helped produce the first annual Cannabis Marketing Summit and Future of Cannabis Marketing virtual conferences (both of which hosted over 200 attendees from across 30 states and 7 countries), implemented software solutions to streamline internal operations, acted as partnership liaison to maintain relationships with other organizations, and grew the membership community by maintaining superior customer knowledge and providing unparalleled customer service.