National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) Featured

Aaron Smith is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA). Before the organization’s launch, he was a public advocate for cannabis policy reform. Initially, Smith worked with Safe Access Now, group of medical cannabis advocates based in California. He then went on to become the California State Policy Director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). In addition to his work with the NCIA, Smith has written a number of opinion articles that have been featured in newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times.

Steve Fox is Co-Founder and Strategic Advisor for the National Cannabis Industry Association. Similarly, he is Co-Founder and board member for SAFER – an organization dedicated to challenging the stigma against cannabis. Steve is currently the chief lobbyist for the NCIA. He has worked at Marijuana Policy Project for seven years, a time during which he co-authored the book Marijuana is Safer: So why are we driving people to drink? Fox has coordinated a number of statewide ballot initiatives, including the 2012 measure to legalize cannabis for adult use in Colorado.

Betty Aldworth is deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association and chair of the organization’s Women’s CannaBusiness Network. Since 2009, she has specialized in community outreach, public relations, advocacy and policy reform as a consultant to cannabis-related businesses and nonprofit organizations. Previously, Betty was a volunteer leadership professional with some of Denver’s most well-respected nonprofit organizations.

Brooke Napier is the Membership & Events Coordinator for the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA). Prior to joining NCIA, Brooke served as the Outreach and Events Coordinator for medical cannabis patient-advocacy group Americans for Safe Access where she facilitated the organization’s first national conference. Brooke has also been instrumental in program development as an intern for Students for Sensible Drug Policy, where she coordinated the first round of mentors & mentees of the Sister-to-Sister program and continues to volunteer as the director of development & special projects for the AMPLIFY project. She also led a statewide medical cannabis amnesty campaign …

Jill Lamoureux is the Patient-Focused Program Director for Americans for Safe Access (ASA). Jill’s background is in toll road operations and municipal bond finance; she received an MBA from the University of Denver in 1999. Jill has been a leader in Colorado’s medical marijuana industry since 2008 when she and her husband began one of the state’s most respected multi-location dispensary operations. She is a founding member of and served as the first woman Chairman of the National Cannabis Industry Association. Jill has presented on medical marijuana business topics and has taught CLE courses on rules and regulations nationally and …

Jessica Riley currently serves as Director of Operations of UpToke. She is an entrepreneur with her hands in a variety of projects at any given time. Ms. Riley is a Founding Member and current Operations Strategist of [freespace] in addition to her work at UpToke. Jessica is passionate about creating systems and processes within technology start-ups that encourage collaboration and communication. She describes herself as a data driven story teller focused on building the UpToke brand into a trusted resource for patients and families. Ms. Riley’s work previous work includes extensive experience in marketing and operations strategy for technology and …

Aaron Justis is the President of Buds & Roses, a premier Los Angeles Cannabis retailer serving customers and the community since 2006, and is a recognized thought leader in the Cannabis industry. At Buds & Roses, Aaron’s goal is, quite simply, to create the ultimate cannabis shopping experience for new and experienced cannabis users. This means consistently cultivating, sourcing and retailing only the safest and highest quality cannabis products available on the market. Further, Buds & Roses takes great care to employ highly-trained, certified, and knowledgeable staff to individually understand and meet the needs of its valued customers.