Andy Deonarine has spent the last 20 years in industries targeting adults while navigating highly regulated environments in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. Additionally, he has operated multiple restaurants and bars over this time and believes cannabis can provide an excellent opportunity for those in the culinary industry. Andy’s experience has allowed him to become a trusted voice for regulatory-driven industries wishing to implement best-in-class communication practices. His experience has been sought after in the cannabis industry where he has consulted with Ontario retailers and multiple companies that trade on the Canadian Stock Exchange and now currently oversees CannSell, the sole mandated certification program for all cannabis retail employees in Ontario.

After working for over a decade in academic health care, in 2018 Tamara Lilien took a leap out of the corporate world to start her own company, CannaLily Consulting. Since then, she has become a level 2 certified Cannabis Sommelier (CannaReps), a certified Interpener (Trichome Institute) and a certified Cannabis Educator (Michener Institute). In 2019, Tamara was selected from 25,000 applicants to serve as one of five members of the world’s only Cannabis Curation Committee. Her newest endeavour finds her taking on the role of Head of Education at CannSell Ontario. Tamara is passionate about educating the masses, dispelling cannabis myths and creating accessible communities.

Don Gingrich is a cannabis cooking and infusion educator, edibles consultant and certified chef with over 35 years’ experience. As a cannabis advocate and medical cannabis grower who, as a childhood cancer survivor, Don realized the healing potential of cannabis during chemotherapy. He sat on the Canadian Standards Council for the regulation of cannabis edibles and teaches cooking classes for home edible production.