2016 DENVER
CANNABIS SUSTAINABILITY
S Y M P O S I U M
Speaker Bios
Energy Efficiency
Neil Yorio, BIOS Lighting
Known in the industry as “the plant whisperer,” Neil Yorio is VP of LED Agricultural Lighting for BIOs. For more than two
decades, Neil worked at NASA and participated in several agricultural lighting research programs with bio-regenerative life support programs. He is an internationally recognized expert in electrical lighting systems and controlled
environment crop production. Neil most recently worked with the Lighting Science Group, where he held positions as
VP of the Advanced Projects Group and as Director of Agricultural Lighting. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Cellular and
Molecular biology from the Florida Institute of Technology. With his extensive background in plant-related lighting
research, LED design and manufacturing, Neil is an enthusiastic advocate behind the quality improvements LED
technology offers and how it can integrate with existing horticultural practices.
Nick Broderick, Sustainable Growth Technology
Nick Broderick cofounded 14er Holistics in 2009, a thriving medical and recreational Cannabis dispensary in Boulder,
Colorado. He holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder and
has an extensive background in waste water mitigation, air quality control and resource management. As an ethically
minded entrepreneur, he is passionate about sustainability and investing in technologies that benefit his community
and the environment. After witnessing the extreme energy demands of a burgeoning cannabis industry, he founded
Sustainable Growth Technology in 2012 to provide energy reducing lighting solutions for indoor growing facilities. A
year later, he created Sustainable Growth Systems to provide water efficient growth mediums and all natural plant
nutrients for horticultural use. With a natural inclination toward innovation and a ‘less is more’ mentality, Nick hopes to
continue shaping the standards of cannabis production by reducing its footprint on the world around him.
Brad Queen, Cube Resources
Brad Queen is the founder of Cube Resources, providing electric load optimization analysis and resource efficiency
planning. He started his career as an Edison Engineer, working in spacecraft design, systems engineering, and business
operations at General Electric, Lockheed Martin, and Ball Aerospace. As the Energy Division Director at the Center for
ReSource Conservation he managed the Residential Energy Action Program, the northern Denver Energy Challenge,
and the largest sustainable homes tour in Colorado. He created the ReNew Our Schools energy conservation competition. He is a member of the City of Boulder’s Environmental Advisory Board.
Gabe Archuleta, MarijuanaBilt
Gabe Archuleta, owner of MarjuanaBilt, has overseen the successful completion of well over 300 different large commercial projects in Denver, and well over 500 projects nationally. From night clubs, office space, retail and other types
of projects, Gabe has well over 25 years of experience in the construction field.
Having been approached by well over 50 different dispensaries and growing operations, Gabe and his team of
construction professionals have created a unique approach for those customers looking to start a Marijuana Dispensary or grow operation. From security to efficiency, MarijuanaBilt is a solutions based contractor that will provide a
comprehensive “build out” strategy for your dispensary or growing operation.
Water Conservation
Michael Thomas, Denver Water
Michael Thomas is a Conservation Specialist at Denver Water. He works primarily on Conservation’s data management
and analysis. In addition, he works with specialty customers such as marijuana growers, the brewery industry, and with
government customers on their water use efficiency. His work is a part of Denver Water’s commitment to assist the 1.4
million people and businesses in its service area to reach their water use efficiency potential. Denver Water is excited
to work with the marijuana industry on its sustainability efforts and help highlight customers who have taken steps to
use their water efficiently.
Dr. John Lea-Cox, Systematic Sensing, LLC
Dr. John Lea-Cox is President and Managing Director of Systematic Sensing, LLC., which provides real-time environmental information from plant production systems, using sensor networks. As a University researcher and Extension
specialist, John has specialized in water and nutrient management of intensive nursery, greenhouse, urban and
controlled environment production systems for the past 24 years. His business and experience helps people to make
better decisions, conserve resources, improve their profitability and reduce the environmental impact of their production practices on the environment.
Scott Reach, RDI
Scott Reach is founder and COO of RD Industries, parent company for Rare Dankness and a brand-new
54,000-square-foot cultivation facility/dispensary in Denver, called House of Dankness. Rare Dankness strains are
grown and traded worldwide thanks to its international seed banks. Reach also has consulted on more than 300 grows
over the last five years and countless more before that. His new Denver facility is one of the most high-tech, automated cultivation sites in the world.
Integrated Pest Management
J. Chandler, urban-gro, LLC
Serving as the Vice President of Cultivation Technologies for urban-gro, Chandler is a Cannabis cultivation expert with
a passion for assisting growers in efficiently producing high-quality horticultural crops. He has been managing and
consulting for large-scale organic vegetable farms and greenhouses, as well as Cannabis production facilities since his
graduation from Texas A&M with a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture in 2003. He has a wide breadth of knowledge of
integrated pest management, fertility and automation in large-scale operations. After three years as Director of
Cultivation for L'Eagle Denver, he successfully launched Cannabis IPM Solutions in 2014. In 2015, urban-gro brought
him on board to do the same for their customers. Chandler is a CA Certified Crop Advisor by the American Society of
Agronomy.
Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University
Whitney Cranshaw is presently a professor and Extension Specialist of Entomology at Colorado State University. For
the past 33 years he has conducted a broadly based program largely directed at questions involving arthropod pests
affecting horticultural commodities in Colorado, including vegetables, shade trees, turfgrass and specialty crops. This
has resulted in production of over 85 refereed publications and several hundred related to Extension and outreach.
Among the latter include the books Pests of the West, Garden Insects of North America, Guide to Colorado Insects,
and, most recently, Bugs Rule! An Introduction to the World of Insects.
Whitney Cranshaw maintains an active Extension presence throughout the state and, increasingly, around the US,
annually addressing 30-50 program events including training sessions for Master Gardeners, arborists, turf care professionals, pest control operators, and vegetable producers. He also has long taught undergraduate courses at Colorado
State University, including Horticultural Entomology, Insects, Science and Society and, recently, has initiated an
on-line course (Horticultural Entomology, BSPM356), that will next be offered in the spring semester of 2017. He also
maintains the Colorado Insect Information Web Site at: http://bspm.agsci.colostate.edu/outreach-button/insect-information
Amanda Terry, Colorado Department of Agriculture
Amanda Terry is the Cannabis Educator for the Colorado Department of Agriculture. She has 7 years of experience as a
scientist conducting research on new chemistries including fungicides, insecticides and biopesticides for seed treatment on major agronomic crops.
She holds a degree in biology with a concentration in environmental studies and has worked for many years as a plant
pathologist. Amanda has been in sterile laboratory conditions, written EPA phase reports, played in the dirt planting
and inoculating projects, and has even had to break the ice to collect field samples. This background leaves her with a
wide knowledge base to pull from when working with the cannabis industry.
When she’s not writing or creating courses to help cannabis growers, you can find Amanda whipping up delicious
treats for her husband and their 2 children, hiking in RMNP or answering the question “why” for the twenty-millionth
time.
Josh Malman, The Clinic
Mr. Malman oversees all aspects of The Clinic’s cultivation facilities, in and out of state, including product quality and
quantity management. He has in-depth understanding of how to breed, cultivate and treat different cannabis strains.
While at the Clinic, he has cultivated 131 different strains. Mr. Malman is actively involved with several city and state
working groups, helping to shape policy and procedures for the industry. Prior to joining the Clinic, Mr. Malman
worked for Nurserymen’s Exchange, Inc., one of the largest commercial growers of indoor flowers, fresh cut herbs and
potted edibles in the country. Mr. Malman received a degree in horticulture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Solid Waste
Grant Parsons, Alpine Waste & Recycling
Grant is the sales manager at Alpine Waste & Recycling. Grant began his career at Alpine in 2006 as a territory sales
representative, becoming a Major Account Executive in 2007, Sales Supervisor in 2009, and finally Sales Manager in
2012. In the four years that Grant has managed Alpine’s sales effort, the company has experienced growth in excess of
130%. Grant is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder, and resides in Broomfield.
Founded in 1999, Alpine Waste & Recycling is the largest independent waste and recycling company in Colorado.
Alpine enjoys annual revenues of $45MM, and employs approximately 250 people. Alpine is the leader in sustainability initiatives in the waste and recycling industry in Colorado, offering the widest breadth of accepted items in its
Altogether Recycling program. Additionally, Alpine is the only waste and recycling company in the Metro area to
collect and process organic materials.
Chris Giles, Sun Grown Packaging
Sun Grown Packaging is an arm of Everett Graphics based in Oakland California. Everett Graphics was founded in 1980
and is family owned and operated. Sun Grown’s sole focus is cannabis packaging, specifically child resistant packaging.
They have developed, patented and tested cannabis packaging designs with ASTM. Sun Grown is focused on reducing
plastics and expanding sustainable child resistant packaging. Chris was born in Denver and lives in Salt Lake with his
wife and three kids. He graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Business Management and has worked
for Everett Graphics for ten years. Previously, he worked for Graphic Packaging, a packaging company that makes
folding cartons and paper bags.
Aaron Spindler, L’Eagle Services
Aaron Spindler graduated from University of Colorado with a degree in economics, and has been developing commercial grow environments for Colorado’s top dispensary’s for the last 8 years. In 2011 Aaron teamed up with Colorado
Alternative Medicine, bringing his expertise in genetic development, commercial hydroponics, and high quality
processes. His team help set the standard for large-scale marijuana production in the state of Colorado. With an
extreme dedication to growing only the highest quality product, his team has been recognized by High Times Magazine multiple times, and are known for producing some of the strongest strains on the planet. In late 2015 he joined
with L’Eagle to merge cannabis expertise with good cultural farming practices, and began focusing on CLEAN cannabis. CLEAN cannabis is not only defined by a clean product, but also by a clean sustainable process.
Community Engagement
John-Paul Maxfield, Waste Farmers
John-Paul Maxfield is the founder and CEO of Waste Farmers, a certified B Corp and regenerative agriculture company
cultivating solutions empowering the world to eat and grow sustainably. He started the company in 2009 with his
massive savings ($9,000), insatiable curiosity, and a belief that idealism and capitalism could coexist. So far that belief
still holds water and he remains as idealistic and curious as ever.
Guided by Waste Farmes’ mission and values, John-Paul founded and serves as the chairman of the Organic Cannabis
Association. The OCA recently announced the launch of its Pesticide Free certification. The certification is the first of
its kind for the industry and is badly needed by both the industry and it’s consumers. The OCA Pesticide Free certification process is more rigorous than any regulatory framework provided by adult consumption or medical approved
jurisdiction and is totally voluntary for the industry. The certification will indicate to consumers that the products
featuring the label will have zero residual pesticides.
Prior to starting Waste Farmers and the OCA, John-Paul founded “The Inspired Economy,” a blog that covers the people,
places, ideas and technologies redefining capitalism. In 2011, he was one of Colorado Statesman’s “Fifty for the Future”
as well as Denver Business Journals’ “40 Under 40”. In 2013, John-Paul was named 5280’s “Top of the Town Environmentalist”. He is also the co-founder and guitarist of the Western Roots band, Coal Town Reunion.
Kayvan S.T. Khalatbari, Denver Relief Consulting
A leading executive in the cannabis industry, Kayvan Khalatbari co-founded Denver Relief, the longest-operating
cannabis business in Denver, CO, prior to its sale to Willie Nelson in 2016. He is also co-founder and operations manager for Denver Relief Consulting, which has assisted clients across North America with winning licenses in merit-based
application processes and improving existing operations, and a founding partner in Cresco Labs, the largest medical
cannabis cultivator in Illinois, and Silver Sage Wellness in Las Vegas, NV. He has been active in cannabis advocacy and
government relations for over a decade and currently sits on the boards of the National Cannabis Industry Association,
the Minority Cannabis Business Association and the Resource Innovation Institute; is a founding member for the
Council on Responsible Cannabis Regulation; and co-chairs a Committee within the Denver Department of Environmental Health to promote environmental stewardship in the cannabis industry.
Kayvan is also a successful entrepreneur beyond the cannabis industry, with multiple business ventures. And, he is an
active civic leader, mentoring children through the Denver Kids program; founding art&, a progressive creative collective aimed at exploring the relationships that art has with civics, entrepreneurship, livelihood and drug and social
policy; and the lead proponent for Denver’s 2016 Neighborhood-Supported Cannabis Consumption Pilot Program,
which would make Denver the first city in the world to regulate the social use of cannabis.
Kelly Perez, The Kind Colorado Foundation
Kelly Perez is the CEO/founder of the kindColorado foundation (kindCO), created to build bridges between cannabis
businesses and communities to develop mutually beneficial strategies (hyper-local and community-driven) to impact
the community, thus reducing barriers between industry and community. kindCO works with non-profit boards and
community coalitions to advocate for working with the cannabis industry to solve community problems, thus infusing
new ideas, resources and energy into community challenges and increasing cannabis' social license to operate. She is
passionate about social justice and has expertise in strategic planning, health equity, advocacy and policy. She was
Human Services Policy Adviser to Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and lead statewide initiatives including the
Colorado Plan to Reduce Prescription Drug misuse/abuse. She leads a collaborative effort in the Governor's office
along with with multiple state agencies to create the nation’s first state Marijuana Policy (and office) using a public
health framework as a guide. She has over 20 years of professional experience working in health and human services
policy, and working for equity-focused community organizations serving children and families. Kelly has a Master's
Degree in Social Work with a focus on Health Policy and International Studies from the University of Denver. She and
her Love have 5 children between them.
Design for Sustainability
Katie Wallace, New Belgium Brewing Co.
Katie Wallace is the Assistant Director of Sustainability and “Purveyor of the Good Life” at 100% employee-owned New
Belgium Brewing Co., where she has been for 12 years. In her role, Katie works on B Corp initiatives and helps to lead
Sustainability efforts as they relate to operations, company culture, community engagement, supply chain, and brand.
She sits on the management team at New Belgium and co-chairs the sustainability committee for craft brewing’s
industry association. Passionate about business’s potential as a force for good in the world, Katie frequently shares
New Belgium’s business model and best practices as a national presenter and by partnering with company leaders and
government officials across the globe. To support this work, she earned a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from
the University of Pennsylvania.
Jacob Policzer, The Cannabis Conservancy
Jacob has committed his career to learning about sustainable cultivation systems worldwide. He has worked on farms
and research projects on six continents, specializing in permaculture, ecosystem management, eco-village design, and
natural building. Jacob received a B.Sc. in Environmental Studies at Emory University and a M.Sc. in Environmental
Science, Policy and Management through the MESPOM consortium focusing on Urban Agriculture Sustainability and
Environmental Justice. Prior to co-founding TCC, he founded Urban Environmental Innovations, which provided
sustainability consulting for local food organizations, restaurants, and craft breweries. He is a member of the Denver
Department of Environmental Health’s Cannabis Sustainability Work Group. Throughout his career, Jacob has strived to
find innovative and pragmatic solutions to the world’s complex environmental problems and is now applying his
knowledge and experience to address the environmental issues pertaining to the cannabis industry.
Keynote
Joel Salatin, Polyface Inc.
Joel Salatin, 56, is a full-time farmer in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. A third generation alternative farmer, he returned
to the farm full-time in 1982 and continued refining and adding to his parents’ ideas.
The farm services more than 5,000 families, 10 retail outlets, and 50 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs with salad bar beef, pastured poultry, eggmobile eggs, pigaerator pork, forage-based rabbits,
pastured turkey and forestry products using relationship marketing.
He holds a BA degree in English and writes extensively in magazines such as STOCKMAN GRASS FARMER, ACRES USA,
and FOODSHED.
His speaking and writing reflect dirt-under-the-fingernails experience punctuated with mischievous humor. He
passionately defends small farms, local food systems, and the right to opt out of the conventional food paradigm. Four
generations of his family currently live and work on the farm.