Cannabis Conference (E2208020)

Mr. Austin serves as the Managing Partner of MTNMP. Mr. Austin has a quantitative modeling, business planning, valuations, & process improvements career that spans 20+ years in the U.S., Europe, & Africa. Mr. Austin created business models to facilitate liquidity events for Start-ups, Crowd Funders, & Private Placement. Mr. Austin is Co-founder of the Balance Sheet Enhancement Platform (BSEP+). MTN Media Productions is Business Consultant & Adviser for Film, Television, & Radio including Production & Publishing Houses to curate content. This includes working with NBA, NFL, & MLB players, entertainers, entreprenuers, influencers, and various studios around the world.

Dylan Bishop brings knowledge and experience from nearly every aspect of the political and legislative arenas. He currently lobbies for clients ranging from a regulated gaming coalition, the cannabis and hemp industries, the vapor products industry, and state employees, among others.

Dylan comes from the office of Senator Charles W. “Bill” Carrico, where he served as Chief of Staff and Legislative Aide to the Chairman of both the Senate Transportation Committee and the Joint Commission on Health Care.

Prior to his tenure in the legislature, Dylan worked as a legislative policy analyst for the Department of Motor Vehicles and was awarded the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Pinnacle Award for his work in crafting the regulatory framework for companies like Uber and Lyft. He also has effectively lobbied for a diverse group of business interests and trade associations before the Virginia General Assembly, and has managed successful political campaigns and grass roots initiatives across the Commonwealth.

Dylan is also an Associate at Kaplan, Voekler, Cunningham & Frank, PLC, where he has an administrative and regulatory practice.

Megan Budd is a Principal of Withum with over 16 years of public accounting experience. Her expertise spans a broad range of industries, including cannabis. As a member of the firm’s growing assurance and accounting practice, Megan’s background includes financial statement audits under U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards as well as advising clients on complex accounting issues to general business matters.

David M. Cunic is academically trained in physical therapy, healthcare management, professional networking, and cannabis science. However, he is a serial entrepreneur who is an Investor Relations and Networking Expert. “Dr. David”, as most people know him as, has raised capital, expanded several companies, and has employed over 300+ people. He has been in the medical field for 19+ years, has started 10+ companies since 2006 with several exits, and successfully opened 7 cannabis companies in the United States since 2010 and served on cannabis boards in several states.

As a speaker, David attends and shares his expertise throughout the U.S. He is a co-author of The Cannabis Conundrum and has been interviewed by several publications, including MSNBC, USA Today, Marijuana Business Magazine, and Cannabis Business Times. In 2010, he was also awarded the Sloan Award for Workplace Flexibility and Effectiveness which honors organizations that are using workplace flexibility as a strategy to make work “work” better—for both employer and employee. Lastly, some people have called Dr. David the “Triple Headed Dragon” due to his diversity and experience.

Davis is an experienced attorney whose practice primarily focuses on matters of corporate law and cannabis. Davis has represented clients at both the state and federal level in criminal court — including many clients charged with significant cannabis-related offenses. For her corporate clients, Davis focuses on addressing the needs of start-ups and entrepreneurs.

Specific to the cannabis industry, current clients include cannabis cultivators, processors, retailers, investors, and retail product manufacturers. Davis is well-versed in the multi-faceted issues facing the CBD industry, and routinely hosts seminars to educate businesses at every level of the CBD market.

In addition to representing clients in the CBD industry in North Carolina, Davis is a subject matter expert regarding the vast state and federal issues facing the CBD marketplace. Through her active role in the CBD Association, Davis has helped create Cannabis Complete, which is a robust database of all cannabis laws in the USA on a federal, state, and local level.

Additionally, Davis has cultivated a robust, nationwide professional network consisting of CBD industry leaders and is routinely asked to advise companies on best business strategies to address common problems such as: supply chain reliability, quality control of product, FDA and state agency regulation, criminal enforcement, business risks and rewards, international trade, and access to ancillary services (e.g., banking, insurance, logistics).

Sam Delgado worked for Verizon New Jersey for 21 years, holding positions in Human Resources, Corporate Procurement, Government Affairs, and External Affairs. He retired as vice president of External Affairs in 2019 after being in that role for13 years overseeing municipal and county relationships, emergency management, public policy, customer service, public relations, and corporate philanthropy.

Lisa Gora is a partner with the law firm of Epstein Becker & Green. On the forefront of the burgeoning cannabis industry and with many years of industry experience, Lisa helps clients in the cannabis space navigate the industry’s complicated and ever-changing regulatory landscape. Her cannabis law practice includes the representation of alternative treatment centers within the medicinal cannabis industry as well as start-ups and multistate operators in the personal adult-use cannabis industry, such as cultivators, manufacturers, retailers, delivery services, distributors, and testing laboratories. Lisa advises clients in connection with licensing, ownership, and regulatory compliance pursuant to state laws, rules, and regulations. Lisa also advises clients on regulatory considerations associated with anticipated mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, she provides advice to physicians, hospitals, and others doing business in the legal cannabis market in New Jersey concerning issues related to recommending, authorizing, administering, and possessing medical cannabis.

Mitzi is known across the country as a cannabis industry expert in matters of financial due diligence, accounting, tax, and other financial challenges faced by operators, regulators, investors, and others ancillary to the cannabis industry. She is a regular speaker and presenter at national cannabis conferences, has published many articles, videos, and podcasts, and is an author of the Massachusetts Cannabis Law Manual.

Mitzi has a unique perspective on the cannabis business, as she has previous experience as an elected official in the town of Lakeville, MA, allowing her to understand the local regulatory challenges facing this industry. Having established a network of cannabis advisors, Mitzi is able to translate her knowledge to the needs of this unique industry as the industry evolves and is able to give you industry experience from working with actual growers, distributors, and applicants who have already navigated these waters. She has experience with working with cultivators, dispensaries, cannabis transportation companies, and cannabis-related businesses in both the United States and Canada.

Alex is the managing member of Alex E. Krasnomowitz, CPA, LLC, which caters to small and medium size businesses and high net worth individuals, and specializes in the cannabis industry with clients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He is the leader of the NJCPA Cannabis Interest Group and is a member of the Federal and State Taxation interest groups. He is the vice president of the North Caldwell New Jersey Board of Education and is a volunteer for the Professional Golf Association, United States Golf Association, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and World Cup Soccer. He has spoken on practice management and tax planning.

Mr. Lardieri has been in the medical field since 1978. He started his medical career at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston New Jersey. He held several positions during his many years at St. Barnabas. One key position was that of Research Assistant on a Genetic Epidemiology study. He interviewed, traced family history and collected tumor samples for 3500 patients and family members as part of his research. He co-authored several papers in reference to this research. Mr. Lardieri also held the position as the Cancer Center’s first Site Coordinator. In this position he worked with many oncologists, oncology nurses/pharmacists, international researchers and was part of a team responsible for randomizing several thousand patients to cancer clinical trials.

In 1997 Mr. Lardieri advanced his career into the Pharmaceutical industry. He started out as a Data Manager performing quality control/quality assurance, and query resolution on clinical trial databases. During this time he became a Certified Project Manager/Six-Sigma Green Belt and served in the capacity as Project Manager conducting Global Clinical Cancer Trials. He worked at several of the top pharmaceutical and CRO’s (Clinical Research Organization) as a consultant and/or permanent employee. One team he lead was responsible for approval of a drug for breast cancer.

In 2015 Mr. Lardieri entered into the cannabis space to advocate for social justice and cannabis research. In 2018 Mr. Lardieri founded THCBD LLC and was the visionary in establishing an incubator for cannabis research. Since 2015 Mr. Lardieri has attended hundreds of cannabis events, spoken on TV, radio, been featured in several cannabis publications and has written several articles in reference to cannabis social justice and research. In 2019 he was named as one of 100 most influential people in New Jersey in the cannabis space. He publishes a weekly blog under the name of SciGuy108 where he highlights a cannabis research article for an investment company.

Mr. Lardieri is also active with a second team for which he is a key contributing member. His team was invited by NASA and presented original research work in Oct 2019 at a Blue-Sky workshop held in Hampton Virginia. His team is currently also invited to present their research in Feb2021 at COSPAR in Sydney Australia.

Tracy LeMaire founded Evolve CPA Consulting, LLC in August 2021 as a result of her passion for helping companies navigate the inherent complex accounting issues in the growing and evolving cannabis industry. Tracy was a senior audit manager with a large regional CPA firm where she worked for the past 11 years. She primarily served cannabis clients for the past 6 years. She recognized the complex issues these companies face and the pain they were experiencing with managing rapid growth, a highly regulated industry that is constantly changing, high income taxes due to 280e, and the lack of both quality software systems designed for the industry and experienced cannabis accounting and finance talent and identified the opportunity to use her skills to help.

As counsel in Foley Hoag’s national Cannabis Practice, Mike has provided trusted counsel to start-ups and multi-state operators alike on issues associated with legislative/regulatory development and compliance. Michael has assisted clients in drafting and securing competitive state cannabis permits, having worked on winning applications in multiple states. Michael counsels clients on complex issues of regulatory compliance, including through advising companies on regulatory considerations associated with anticipated mergers and acquisition.

Mike has frequently been consulted as a point person for developments and insight for several national and local media outlets. Mike has also been the recipient of several honorary awards, including his selection by New Jersey’s largest newspaper as one of eighteen honorees as part of a series focused on the people that helped shape the cannabis industry in New Jersey in the lead-up to New Jersey’s adult-use cannabis referendum. More recently, Mike was selected for inclusion on the “Insider 100: Cannabis Power List,” which recognizes leading influential voices in the long battle to end cannabis prohibition.

Steven Monacelli serves as a tax partner with an expertise in providing tax planning strategies and forward-thinking solutions to closely held companies, particularly to firms in the cannabis and real estate industries. Prior to joining Withum in November 2021, Steven was a Co-Founder and Partner of Restivo Monacelli LLP, an innovative tax, accounting, and business advisory firm with offices in Providence, RI and Boca Raton, FL.

As a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in both Rhode Island and Florida, with more than 30 years of accounting, tax, and business consulting experience, Steven helps clients nationwide implement growth and exit strategies that maximize their business value and personal wealth and ensure compliance with complex tax laws. In 2015, Steven received a Certificate of Congressional Recognition in honor of being named one of the “Top Public Accounting Professionals for Rhode Island.”

Steven has provided firms in the U.S. cannabis industry value in accounting, tax, and consulting services since 2011. Steven has presented on accounting and tax issues confronting cannabis companies nationally. In addition, he has successfully represented business and individual clients with multinational interests, multistate taxation, and in complex tax examinations on federal and state levels and he assists business owners and corporate executives with personal financial planning designed to grow and protect their income and assets.

Steven’s areas of expertise are buying and selling businesses, procuring and negotiating financing alternatives, succession planning, including ESOP consulting, dissenting shareholder disputes, results-driven growth exit strategies for cannabis companies across the U.S., Tax strategy & planning for real estate investments; hospitality, cannabis and service industries including professional services firms and manufacturers, Representing businesses and high-net-worth individuals with multinational interests and multistate taxation, Personal financial planning for business owners & corporate executives.

Ronald P. Mondello has been a solo practitioner in Fair Lawn, N.J. since 1992. Mr. Mondello engages in the practice of municipal cannabis law, municipal law, and land use law. He predominately represents NJ municipalities in the cannabis field.

Mr. Mondello is the Hoboken Cannabis Review Board Attorney, Jersey City Cannabis Control Board Attorney, Cannabis Attorney for Atlantic City, Maywood and Oakland, Special Litigation Counsel for Fair Lawn, Paramus and Mahwah. He represents numerous zoning boards and planning boards throughout the state. Mr. Mondello is co-chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) Municipal Cannabis subcommittee, member of the NJSBA Cannabis Law Section, a New Jersey Institute of Local Government Attorney (NJILGA) trustee, and a member of the NJSBA Local Government Law Section.

Todd is a partner at Sax with more than 30 years of in-depth auditing and accounting experience. He has been tasked with kick-starting several new practice areas for the firm over the years from conception to long-term success. Currently, Todd leads the firm’s Cannabis, Transaction Advisory and Not-for-Profit Practices. As the leader of Sax’s Cannabis Practice, Todd understands the intricacies of the rapidly expanding and evolving industry, and provides advisory services to cultivators, dispensaries, extractors, investors and manufacturers to help structure entities and accounting practices. As Head of Sax’s Transaction Advisory Practice, Todd assists private equity companies by thoroughly analyzing and validating financial, operational and strategic measures that capture opportunities and minimize loss and liabilities through the transaction process. In addition, he has presented over 100 educational programs to professionals and to the public, and has lectured on various accounting and auditing matters. He is actively involved in the training and education of clients and staff on the new auditing standards put forth by the Auditing Standards Board. He is also the creator of the Smart Good podcast.

Nick Richards is a Partner in the Tax practice group at Greenspoon Marder LLP. He represents individuals and businesses in tax audits & trials, M&A, in managing tax debt, and he advises cannabis companies, owners and investors regarding tax and regulatory compliance matters. Mr. Richards has been a tax attorney for more than twenty years beginning his career with the IRS where he was a leading trial attorney, a Chief Counsel advisor, and a Special Assistant United States Attorney.

With his broad experience and understanding at all phases of the tax system, from reporting and assessment through appeals, court, and tax debt resolution, Mr. Richards achieves successful legal solutions tailored to his individual client’s needs. Mr. Richards also teaches tax attorneys and CPAs throughout the US and he is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Denver, Graduate Tax Program, where he teaches State and Local Tax and Civil and Criminal Tax.

Taxes can be stressful and Mr. Richards’ clients find relief in his broad experience in the IRS and in representing taxpayers large and small. He understands the tax system, provides informed advice, and protects taxpayers from the mistakes and missteps of those less experienced. Several years after leaving the IRS, he represented a Colorado cannabis company in one of the first IRS audits in the legalized industry. Since that ground-breaking case, he has gone on to successfully represent companies in many cities, states, courts and before the federal government. In addition to tax audits, trials and collections, he is widely recognized as a leading cannabis industry attorney and has extensive experience in IRC Section 280E and BSA cash reporting requirements. His knowledge of the tax system is essential when advising business owners and investors, particularly in mergers, acquisitions and entity formation.

Nick is a father of two young children, a proud husband, a music fan, and he enjoys the outdoors when not fighting for his clients.

Tiffany Richardson is a partner in the tax group at Crowe. She specializes in tax consulting and compliance services for financial institutions. Tiffany has more than 15 years of experience providing tax consulting and compliance services and M&A tax planning, as well as optimizing tax positions to reduce tax liability. She has also managed several tax process optimization projects for public and private entities.

Brian A. Silva is a Partner of Withum. As a certified public accountant (CPA) and a key member of the firm’s growing accounting and auditing practice, Brian is highly regarded for providing top notch client service and guidance to clients on how to ensure compliance and forecast maximum profitability and financial projections. He has 5+ years of cannabis industry experience and represents more than 80 cannabis companies across 13 states.

Brian leads cannabis audit engagements while working with clients to meet the needs of investors and debtors, manages audit review and compilation services to clients across diverse industries, including construction, manufacturing, real estate development, education and healthcare. Brian provides innovative tax planning strategies to mitigate IRS Section 280E tax burdens and allow for cannabis companies to reinvest in the company or return capital to investors.

Stacey is a director of Valuation and Litigation Services at HBK Valuation Group, which specializes in valuation, forensic accounting, economic damages and litigation support services. Her experience includes valuations of businesses and professional practices for purposes of estate and gift tax planning and compliance, divorce, business succession planning and mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, she has prepared damage study reports in connection with stockholder, insurance claims, and lost profits litigation, as well as reports in connection with bankruptcy proceedings utilized by the courts and trustees. Stacey also provides accounting and tax services for closely-held and family businesses including financial statement preparation, business and personal income tax planning and compliance, estate and business succession planning. She is a member of the AICPA, NJCPA, NACVA and New Jersey NACVA, and was previously the leader of the NJCPA Cannabis Interest Group.