Metro Philadelphia Cannabis Industry Power Players

William G. Roark is a principal at Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin, as well as the chair of the firm’s Medical Marijuana Practice. Furthermore, he is the co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Medical Marijuana and Hemp Law Committee. At Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin, he represents businesses and individuals who wish to get involved in the medical marijuana industry. He also educates other professionals about compliance with Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana law at educational seminars. 

Sheena Roberson, a former Chick-fil-A marketing executive, is now a highly sought-after cannabis entrepreneur and consultant with more than 12 years of experience in marketing and community engagement. Sheena has helped both establish and start up companies, forge meaningful connections with their audiences through uniquely crafted engagements, and strategically crafted profitable sales strategies. Sheena has developed a strong reputation for the ability to consistently drive progressive and profitable change both in business and within her community using these skills to ensure that systematically disadvantaged communities gain equitable access and opportunities within the cannabis space both medicinally and economically. 

Sheena created a platform called Cannabis Noire to do just that. She identified the tangible and measurable steps that could be taken to address the lack of diverse minority ownership and equitable access and began to take action. Cannabis Noire’s mission is to bridge the gap between the patients and the industry while ensuring that adversely impacted communities are not only reinvested in with intent but offered safe and equitable space and opportunity. Cannabis Noire offers education, resources, and regular advocacy efforts. 

As a mother of two, Sheena also uses her voice to empower other cannamoms who seek refuge from judgment stereotypes and unrealistic ideologies. Sheena has authored a children’s book alongside her son Jordan and works diligently with community programs, surrounding adversely impacted communities with a hyperfocus on restorative justice measures, minority farming, and food sovereignty efforts. 

Sheena is currently working on building tangible pathways of access to organic food options and growing programs as well as the virtual world that we see emerging, creating cannabis-friendly culture-driven spaces, solutions to banking and marketing obstacles, while ensuring that adversely impacted communities experience and benefit from virtual possibilities.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in five years?
I see with the continual efforts of organizations like ours a more robust and diverse cannabis space, I see ancillary companies being largely profitable and the production of hemp materials and goods being a valuable solution to long term sustainability.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis.
The word “canvas” is related to the word “cannabis.” Historically, canvases were made of hemp.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health, tell us your favorite way you stay healthy & fit.
A good infused kale cannabis and cucumber smoothie before a great high intensity workout keeps me limber relaxed and helps with muscle cramping and soreness during and after.

Jonathan Sandelman is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Ayr Wellness. After recognizing the opportunity for innovation within the cannabis industry, he founded Ayr Wellness, a company dedicated to becoming the most trusted cultivator of high-quality cannabis. Through his belief that everything starts with the plant, Jonathan has built Ayr into a leading multi-state cannabis operator, bringing high-quality cannabis products to its customers and empowering lasting, positive change in the communities the business serves.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in five years?
I believe Pennsylvanians will have access to adult-use cannabis, given the momentum we’ve seen. I also expect access to a broader range of products than today, including edibles, beverages, pre-rolls, and other products we haven’t even dreamed up yet.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
When following the early adult-use states legalize, I saw alcohol sales and consumption dropping. That point shows you the power of cannabis and the generational shift happening right before our eyes. It made me want to be part of that societal shift.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis.
Cannabis is a lifestyle unto itself. You hear a lot of people talking about creating lifestyle brands around cannabis…but that’s never felt right to me. It is the lifestyle.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health, tell us your favorite way you stay healthy & fit.
I love to cook — that is my typical nighttime activity with my wife and kids, as we attempt different, mostly healthy, recipes together. I also do my daily Peloton ride, which keeps me fit and energized.

Gary Santo is the CEO of TILT Holdings Inc., a global provider of cannabis business solutions, bringing over 24 years of experience leading teams in financial services, technology, specialty-pharma and more. Gary has held various senior-level positions, most recently at Columbia Care Inc., a leading multi-state operator in the cannabis industry. Gary holds an Investor Relations Charter® certification from the National Investor Relations Institute and a degree in Political Science from Boston University.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in five years?
While we hope that full legalization is on the horizon in the U.S., it is important that we continue to prove our success without federal support in each state in which we operate. TILT plans to improve the medical market in PA, ensuring that all patients have access to our Standard Farms products while supporting new innovative brands as they enter the space. 

Steven Schain is the winner of National Law Journal’s “2019 Finance, Banking, & Capital Markets Trailblazer” award and runs the 100% woman owned, national cannabis law firm Smart-Counsel, LLC’s Pennsylvania and New Jersey practices. Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Steve represents entities, governments and individuals in litigation, regulation and compliance, license applications, entity formation, and drafting legislation. Steve is also an adjunct faculty member of, and teaches “Cannabis Law,” at Stockton University.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in five years?
Leading the mid-Atlantic region in both medical and adult-use sectors.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
Opportunity to steer dynamic and trailblazing space.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis.
There’s 3 plants: Indica, Sativa, and Ruderalis.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health, tell us your favorite way you stay healthy & fit.
Yoga.

After two decades of working and studying medicinal plants as an herbalist, caring for people as a nurse, teaching the next generation of nurses as a nurse educator, and operating an organic herb farm, Linda knows that we have to find ways to work within and between systems in order to change them. To this end, her mission is to foster infectious joy experienced through connection with plants, spurring healthy systemic change.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in five years?
It is my hope that Pennsylvania has prioritized local, minority owned, and organic operations, which will set it apart from other states as this industry grows.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
I am an herbalist. I use plants. Cannabis is one of the most powerful plants on earth and I am so excited to legally incorporate her into my toolbox.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis.
Most people are familiar with the leaves and flowers of Cannabis, but the roots of the plant have a long tradition of use as well and have been found to demonstrate antimicrobial activity against some of our most pressing antibiotic resistant organisms.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health, tell us your favorite way you stay healthy & fit.     Sleep is foundational to health. I have found that simple water extract (tea) of Cannabis is the best sleep support that I have ever used.

Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Josh Shapiro was elected in 2017. He has shown his support for the legalization of recreational marijuana in recent years, and has emphasized that it must include the expungement of individuals who are in jail or prison for possession of marijuana, or who have been targeted by the War on Drugs. His focus in particular is on aiding black and brown communities that have been disproportionately targeted throughout the years. 

Skip is a social justice advocate, cannabis startup advisor, and community resilience non-profit executive. In 2017, he helped a local team put together a winning medical marijuana dispensary application and became chief operating officer of one of Pennsylvania’s first cannabis dispensaries. In 2018, Skip co-founded Soulful Cannabis to assist with corporate social responsibility, caregiver support and industry diversity. In 2022, he became president of Transition Town Media, a community non-profit focused on resiliency and localization.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in five years?
It is my hope that Pennsylvania will fully embrace an equitable, healthy and socially just marketplace. Small, diverse business owners should thrive beside larger multi-state operators. After all, a healing plant deserves a healing industry!

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
As a serial entrepreneur, I was attracted to the economic opportunity – but I fell in love with its potential to heal our bodies and our culture.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis.
Cannabis is one of the safest therapeutic plants available to humans. There are zero annual deaths in the world caused by cannabis overdose.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health, tell us your favorite way you stay healthy & fit.
I practice QiGong to keep energy flowing in my body. For relaxation, I enjoy a homemade brownie with light THC and CBD. The CBD helps balance out the psychoactive THC.

Melissa Shusterman represents Pennsylvania’s 157th district. In October of 2021, she introduced a bill to allow small businesses and local farmers to obtain permits to grow medical marijuana, which she claimed would help alleviate supply problems created by limits imposed on the number of cultivators that are permitted to operate in certain areas. Furthermore, her bill would also allow all entities to participate in and compete in the growing cannabis market.

Matthew Slocum is the co-founder at The Slocum Firm, where he works as an attorney and focuses on personal injury cases. He is also the co-founder of Legally Rooted, a firm that aims to educate individuals that wish to take part in the medical marijuana business in Pennsylvania. At Legally Rooted, Matthew provides assistance in obtaining medical marijuana permits in Pennsylvania, so that individuals seeking to create a business in the cannabis space are prepared for their applications.