POWER CONNECTIONS

Dr. Jason Abate is a transformative leader and national sales director for Community Choice Credit Union, with a rich academic and professional background. His journey includes a BA from the University of Michigan, an MBA in Global Management, and a Doctorate in Business Administration. With over 20 years of senior and executive-level leadership experience, he has held significant roles in banking, leading hundreds of employees and overseeing operations across the entire state of Michigan at leading financial institutions. As an educator, Dr. Abate’s published research on workplace dynamics and technology has gained widespread recognition. He has also worked with the White House on policy initiatives and has been a panelist at Harvard University, teaching at universities across the country. Dr. Abate’s involvement with one of the most successful apps in the App Store for a social cause, along with his role as chairman and founder of an app dedicated to saving millions of lives, has led to speaking engagements nationwide, including at Harvard, where he discussed the transformative power of media. He looks forward to understanding the unique needs of your cannabis business and offering thoughtful, tailored solutions to help you succeed. His dedication to various social causes, impacting millions worldwide, including children’s online safety, has garnered millions of views on social media, further amplifying his societal impact.

Albert Allen is a principal in the Business Valuation Practice with more than 10 years of experience providing valuations for closely-held businesses in a variety of applications. His expertise includes financial reporting, estate and gift tax planning, and litigation engagements, performing in-depth market research, financial statement analysis, and applying multiple valuation methodologies.

He provides utility conversion cost analysis models for regional energy offices, electric utility rate case analysis for residential services, eminent domain business cost analysis for government agencies, and building complex financial models, 13-week cash flows, internal financial schedules, budget reports, and daily departmental tracking reports in Microsoft Excel.

Myles Baker is a rising star in the areas of regulatory cannabis, complex business litigation, and labor and employment law. Myles received his undergraduate degree and law degree from Michigan State University. Myles began his career with Dickinson Wright PLLC by joining the firm in 2017. From there, Myles went in-house as the Director of Compliance of a vertically integrated cannabis operator. Myles then returned to Dickinson Wright, as a Partner, wedding his legal and operational expertise, to act as outside counsel for cannabis operators.

Tim Barash is the Chairman & CEO of Dutchie, the leading cannabis technology platform powering over 20 billion dollars of commerce across North America. Prior to joining Dutchie, Tim built and backed several technology companies in SMB and vertical industries, including as Chief Business Officer and CFO at Toast, one of the largest commerce companies in the world.

With over 20 years in financial services, Donna Bashi has become a trusted advisor to many. As Vice President of Business Development at Community Choice Credit Union, she expertly navigates complex financial landscapes, with particular insight into cannabis-related banking.

Donna’s extensive experience helping cannabis businesses has given her unique expertise in this challenging field. She offers tailored solutions, drawing on her deep understanding of the industry’s specific needs and regulations. For businesses seeking a knowledgeable partner to guide them through financial complexities, Donna’s experience makes her an invaluable resource.

Beyond her professional role, Donna is an active member of the Chaldean Chamber of Commerce and a devoted mother of two. From her home in Shelby Township, MI, she continues to make a positive impact in both the financial world and her local community.

After nearly 20 years as a financial services attorney and advisor, Mike entered the Cannabis industry in 2017, as a practicing lawyer doing what he always does best, solving problems with creative practical solutions.  Most recently, he has successfully transitioned from lawyer to business leader in his role as Chief Corporate Officer of House of Dank.  In that role he has been a part of HOD’s leadership team as it has exponentially grown its footprint and sales over the last three years.  Founded in the early days of Michigan’s care giver market, HOD has successfully navigated the transition from the Caregiver to MMFLA to MRTMA marketplaces.  Today it is proud to have 15 licensed facilities with approximately 400 employees throughout the State and an ambitious 2023 growth plan.

Dan Fischer is a seasoned banking executive with a distinguished career spanning several decades. Currently serving as the CEO of Citizens State Bank since September 2020, he has brought his expertise to lead the institution to new heights. Before his role at Citizens State Bank, Dan served as the President, CEO, Chief Lending Officer, and Director at The Citizens Bank of Logan from November 2014 to August 2019.
Dan’s previous leadership roles include Chairman and President at Urban Trust Bank, Executive Vice President at Associated Banc-Corporation, and Senior Vice President at Fifth Third Bancorp. Dan’s career trajectory is a testament to his dedication to the banking industry and his capacity for leadership and strategic vision. As the CEO of Citizens State Bank, he continues to steer the institution toward success, drawing upon his wealth of experience in the financial sector.

Kim James is the Director of Cannabis Affairs for the City of Detroit and oversees Detroit’s 171 medical and adult-use cannabis business licenses as well as the City’s social equity program known as Homegrown Detroit.  Homegrown’s mission is to facilitate entrepreneurship and employment opportunities in the cannabis industry by people of color and residents of disproportionately impacted communities. Prior to her tenure in the Office of Cannabis Affairs, she worked as a city attorney focusing on developing the regulatory framework for the Detroit cannabis market from caregiver centers to medical facilities to adult-use establishments.  She has practiced law for over 20 years, and specializes in land use, regulatory compliance, real estate, and contracts. 

Michael Johnson is the CEO of Metrc .He is responsible for leading the team in ensuring the safety and security of the nation’s legal cannabis market. He also served as president and CFO, during this time, he transformed the organizational infrastructure and hired top leadership across all phases. Prior to joining Metrc, Johnson spent his career scaling hyper-growth tech businesses, working with investors and overseeing financial operations. Most recently, he served as the CFO of InformedDNA, the largest provider of genetics services, where he led the company to consecutive years of high growth, eventually selling the company to private equity investors. Prior to InformedDNA, Johnson served as the CFO of CM Group, a family of global marketing technology brands, where he drove cost efficiencies and increased margins through corporate acquisitions, financing, and restructuring. He is also a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

Mr. Katz is a director with UHY’s Valuation & Advisory Services group. Mr. Katz has performed hundreds of valuation and litigation engagements related to middle-market companies and family-owned businesses, including cannabis operations and related industries. Engagements have included those for estate planning, transactions, litigative matters, and more. Mr. Katz holds degrees from Michigan State University and Walsh College.

Mark Khoury is Senior Corporate Counsel for TerrAscend, Corp–a leading North American cannabis operator with vertically integrated operations in California, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as well as retail operations in Canada. In his role, Mark handles a variety of commercial legal matters for the business. Mark entered the cannabis industry in 2021 by joining Gage Cannabis. Mark looks to find practical solutions to problems the business faces. Mark holds a JD/MBA from the University of Miami.

Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt grew up as the middle child on a six-generation family farm in West Michigan. He went on to earn an economics degree from Hillsdale College, later earning a master’s in international business. He received the “Distinguished Alumnus” award from Hillsdale for his work as a conservative reformer.

Aric was elected to represent Van Buren County and part of Allegan County in the Michigan House of Representatives. He served three terms, achieving results for hardworking taxpayers by balancing budgets and reducing debt, lowering the tax burden, eliminating thousands of rules and regulations, and defending our values. He served as the House Majority Floor Leader and chair of the House Committee on Energy and Technology. Aric also served as a member of Gov. Rick Snyder’s cabinet, managing an agency that generates nearly $1 billion annually for public education. 

In 2018, Aric was elected to the state Senate. He now represents the 20th District, which includes portions of Berrien, Van Buren, Allegan and Kent counties. He has passed legislation to save drivers billions of dollars on auto insurance and fought to stop tax increases on families and small businesses. 

Aric currently lives in Porter Township, with his wife Trisha, daughter Catherine, and son William near the family farm.

Chris Ostrowski is the CTO and a founding member of Dutchie, the leading cannabis technology platform powering legal dispensaries. As CTO, Chris oversees product development, software functions and system operations. 

Chris previously served as the CTO at RetireUp, a supplemental financial planning tool, and as the founder, architect and CTO at RepPro, a retirement planning software for financial advisors. 

Rachel Reed has over 17 years of experience in sales, marketing, and distribution and has worked for some of the world’s most recognized brands such as Coca-Cola, Red Bull, and Ford Motor Company. She entered cannabis in 2019 when she launched STIIIZY in Michigan and is currently the Regional Wholesale Director for PharmaCann, overseeing Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio. Although Rachel has supported well over 50 CPG brands, she believes the most important brand you will ever represent is your own. She has coached dozens of high-performing sales and marketing teams based on that principle.

Ankur Rungta is co-founder and chief executive officer of C3 Industries, Inc. Under his leadership, the company has raised over $100 million of capital and employs over 600 people. Ankur and his team have overseen the development of six award-winning cannabis production facilities and nineteen retail stores in Michigan, Missouri, Massachusetts, and Oregon.

Ankur is also a co-founder and board member of Nickel City Pictures, a film and television production company based in Los Angeles and New York City that has produced such box office hits as “John Wick: Chapter 2,” “The November Man,” and “Mother’s Day,” among others. Before launching these companies, Ankur worked as an investment banker at Moelis & Company in New York and as a corporate attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York, advising clients on capital markets and M&A transactions.

Ankur earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in 2004. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law school in 2008 when he graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif.

In 2014, he was nominated to the Detroit Opera Board of Directors. He has taken an active role in the arts organization, serving as Vice Chairman of the Board and leading the Nominating and Governance Committee, the youngest person to hold those roles.

Ankur is also a dedicated family man. He and his wife reside in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with their three children. He enjoys traveling, spending time with his family, playing basketball, watching college and professional sports, and keeping up with current events and politics. Ankur was born in Columbus, Ohio, and grew up in Buffalo, New York.

Plunkett Cooney partner Jeffrey M. Schroder is a founding member of the firm’s Cannabis Industry Group. Since the enactment of the MMFLA in 2016, Jeff has been assisting clients with cannabis licensing, regulatory, and litigation matters.  Some of Michigan’s largest and most well-known cannabis businesses  rely on Jeff for expert counsel and advice. His clients include cannabis growers, retailers, among others for whom he provides business licensing and renewals and assistance with regulatory compliance, real estate, zoning, government relations, election ballot initiatives, employment law issues and many others. An experienced governmental law attorney who served for nearly a decade as Assistant City Attorney in Warren Michigan and as an Assistant Michigan Attorney General, Jeff was also uniquely qualified to counsel municipalities on the aspects of the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act and other state laws that created the framework for today’s cannabis industry.

​​Benjamin Sobczak is an experienced litigator with an emphasis on shareholder and close corporate disputes, collection actions, private securities litigation, class action defense, and business torts. He also serves as outside general counsel providing regulatory and transactional-based services to cannabis companies in various jurisdictions throughout the U.S. and Canada. He is a frequent speaker at professional seminars and conferences and is recognized as a leading legal contributor to the Michigan cannabis industry. Prior to joining Dickinson Wright, Ben served as the Chief Legal Officer for a vertically integrated cannabis company with multi-state operations. In that role, Ben gained invaluable experience as a business operator and entrepreneur. That expanded perspective enables him to fully appreciate client needs and develop practical and cost-effective legal solutions in furtherance of their success.