Have you seen our panelists for the inaugural Women in Cannabis Roundtable? In this short blog, we give you an in depth look at each of our panelists and their backgrounds. Why a Women in Cannabis Roundtable? Because this industry has some amazing women breaking glass ceilings and changing stereotypes around cannabis. And on this 4/20, we want to celebrate their accomplishments, share their stories, and inspire other women to make a difference in the cannabis space.
At GreenGrowth CPAs, we believe in being an educational resource and business partner to the cannabis community. We do this by offering specialized accounting and financial services. And by helping operators truly understand the ins and outs of the industry.
Check out the list of panelists below and be sure to tune into hear their stories on April 20th, at 12 PM PST.
Meet our Panelists
Short Bio about Cheryl
Cheryl Shuman brings 25 years of industry experience to her agency with a list of satisfied clients including such stars as Tom Cruise, Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Demi Moore, Michael Jackson, Steven Tyler, the Black Eyed Peas and hundreds of other celebrities through her first company, Starry Eyes. Shuman specializes in lifestyle, entertainment and consumer marketing, never underestimating the importance of viral marketing as well as grassroots initiatives.
Cheryl built the largest cannabis media source in the world with Kush Magazine in 2010 as Director of Celebrity, Media & Public Relations. Taking them from $150,000 in gross revenues to more than $6.5 million in revenue within 18 months.
Known as the “Martha Stewart of Marijuana”, Cheryl now manages a $100 million funding facility to invest in the cannabis sector as well as a personal endorsement contracts with ancillary products in the cannabis industry. In a short time, Cheryl has secured product placements for products in FX’s Wilfred, CBS News, The New Ricki Lake Show, and more. Shuman lectures internationally about everything from seed to sale of the Cannabis Plant and is currently working with the prestigious William Morris Endeavor Agency in Beverly Hills for film, television, book and lecturing deals.
Short Bio About Sephida
Sephida is Co-Founder and President of the National Cannabis Party. She began her journey within the cannabis industry over 5 years ago, developing disruptive technology that would address issues of consumer safety and compliance in the space. She co-founded CannaMark USA along with Redman and Damon Jackson, which has now become BirthMark, further developing the technology platform alongside NCP. Her background has always been in the technology and gaming sectors, in which she’s been able to bring her skillset into cannabis with an innate ability to quickly build and cultivate relationships.
Sephida has spent over a decade advocating for social programs and equal access to opportunities in tech for black and brown communities, and now she is bringing the fight for equity empowerment to cannabis.
She is a proud CannaMom and caregiver to her three year old daughter Khansaa, who is a heart transplant recipient that was born with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). As a strong believer in the plant and all of its medicinal properties, she has used cannabis to treat her daughter and help improve her quality of life. This is one of the many reasons she has been an advocate for patient access and their right to choose cannabis as their medicine. She has served diligently as a bridge between underserved black communities and the lack of resources that cause economic disparities in urban neighborhoods, including health disparities due to a lack of inadequate access to proper healthcare.
As President of NCP, she is determined to help move the cannabis industry forward in the right direction, and ensure fair and equitable representation of the people regarding policy and legislation.
As People Operations Leader, Mandy is responsible for Human Resources programs and policies for GreenGrowth CPAs. Her hands-on experience leading HR and change management initiatives includes; driving employee engagement during times of change, workforce planning and development, and process engineering.
Mandy enjoys constructing and maintaining an employee first culture, and focuses her efforts on growing and developing the GreenGrowth team. Mandy received her Bachelor’s Degree from Post University in Connecticut and has worked in the Human Resources field for over ten years.
Sarah has been in the cannabis industry for nearly 5 years, and thrives on facilitating connections that will steward the industry in a time of rapid growth by aligning interests, people, and values towards a common goal. Her prior industry experience afforded her the opportunity to work with many companies of varying sizes, including MSOs, public and private entities. Additionally, she has experience working for a cannabis Fund, which included reviewing hundreds of cannabis deals and pitches, and has been instrumental in running due diligence on a number of prospective investment opportunities.
In addition to her professional experience, Sarah sits on the Advisory Boards of both LIM College, where she helped shape the first Bachelor’s Degree in Cannabis, as well as Ensemble Brands, which is a Fund focused on the cannabis and psychedelic industries.
Prior to joining the cannabis industry, Sarah had a long-tenured background in Fundraising — both in the arts and community resources. She is a Southern California native, who spent 15 years in the New York area honing her professional skill set, and is happy to be back on the West Coast, making a positive impact in the cannabis industry. In addition to her professional life, Sarah has two young girls, who she is raising to become the next generation of leaders.
Next Steps
To learn more or be a panelist on one of our upcoming roundtables, reach out to our team of financial experts at GreenGrowth CPAs. We are here to help your cannabis venture through any level of the accounting, tax filing, or business cycle.
We employ several financial programs to assist the company with its fiscal responsibilities, including tax planning and compliance, outsourced CFO support, audit preparation, tax controversy support, and much more.
For recommendations and assistance with tax planning and accounting services, schedule a free consultation or contact us at 1-800-674-9050.