Cannabis Retail | Dispensary Committee
The FOCUS Retail Committee develops detailed standards to guide the safe and productive operation of cannabis retail stores and medical cannabis dispensaries. The standard requires the retail or dispensary operation to demonstrate management responsibility, worker training, worker practices, cleaning and sanitation, compliant facility operations, patient and consumer procedures, record keeping, traceability and recall, product testing, product safety, product transfers, pest management, security, waste management, product storage, formulas, packaging and labeling, transportation and worker health and safety.
Brian Caldwell
Committee Chair
Brian Caldwell has been the managing director of Triple C Collective, a Washington State collective garden access point for medical cannabis and the state’s busiest standalone medical cannabis dispensary. He provides consulting services to other cannabis enterprises in the Pacific Northwest and serves as the Chairman of the Northwest Producers, Processors and Retailers Association (NWPPR), the largest Cannabis Trade Association in Washington State. Mr. Caldwell has a long professional history of working for Fortune 500 companies, as well as large financial institutions.
Bill Balisteri
Bill Balistreri graduated from University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee with a bachelors in Technical Writing. After working for three years in the hospitality industry, Bill moved to Denver in 2014. When he arrived, he continued working in the hospitality industry and then joined Canna Security America (CSA) as their Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator. With his focus on expanding and reinforcing the CSA brand, Bill is excited to help CSA grow with the dynamic cannabis industry.
Carrie Roberts
Carrie Roberts works with Medicine Man Technologies, a publicly traded Denver, Colorado based full-service cannabis licensing and consulting firm. In her role with Medicine Man Technologies she assists clients with successfully navigating State application frameworks, business planning, cultivation and dispensary operations, personal training and development, and the licensing of proven cannabis industry best practices and standards, including proprietary cannabis industry IP and technology. Carrie holds a degree in Sociology and Criminal Justice, has a strong entrepreneurial background in Customer Experience management, and 15 years of Marketing and Business Development involvement. Carrie is a former Colorado POST Certified Peace Officer and is currently on the speakers bureau for LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
Chelsea Muligan
Chelsea Mulligan is a motivated professional with experience in operations for Meraki Enterprises, for network solutions, patient management, customer service, employee management and marketing. Within the Cannabis industry Ms. Mulligan conceptualized efficient operations and patient flow procedures, increased patient visits in dispensaries, handled marketing campaigns in multiple markets through a variety of channels and set a standard for how patient care should be handled.
David Eichler
David Eichler is an advertising industry veteran of 25 years. David is the co-founder and creative director of Decibel Blue Creative Marketing & PR, with numerous awards and expansion from AZ to CO. Prior to that, Mr. Eichler oversaw the development, production and marketing/PR of Warner Brother, Disney, Paramount and 20th Century Fox features. David is a frequent contributor to numerous media publications including Forbes and MSNBC.
Don Schafer
Don Schaefer served in the military for 10 years studying the mechanics of logistics and the critical nature of having exacting standards when it comes to moving people and equipment to achieve a goal. After the military he applied the same thirst for knowledge to the restaurant, retail and hospitality industry. For 5 years he worked for Hillstone Restaurant Group (Houston’s Restaurant’s) and was the General Manager who oversaw the Management Training Program. He was an owner / operator for several restaurants in the Los Angeles area. Director of Operations for Le Pain Quotidien and Sweetgreen, Inc helping each company to develop operational standards and training protocols to support their sustainable growth. Currently a partner with 4Front Advisors the leading cannabis consulting firm which is helping to professionalize the industry by providing clients with the training, tools and information they need to be successful in this industry.
Katey Asaph
Katey Asaph is currently acting as the HR Director at Eden Medicinal Society in her hometown of Vancouver, B.C. Ms. Asaph has been involved in the cannabis industry 4 years. Prior to working in the cannabis industry she completed the culinary arts program at VCC. Katey is an activist, and especially passionate about community issues in her local area.
Mark Passerini
Mark Passerini is a Chicago native and graduate of the University of Michigan. He is the co-founder of the Om of Medicine as well as the Ann Arbor Medical Cannabis Guild in Ann Arbor, MI, which he served as president for its first two years. He currently serves as the government liaison for the Michigan chapter of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and is the president of the Illinois Cannabis Industry Association (ILCIA). He is currently working with various state legislators to further clarify existing Michigan laws to ensure patient access. He was an early member of the ArcView group. For the past 3 years, he has organized and emceed the Hash Bash, the nation’s longest running cannabis reform rally. He is a speaker on the cannabis industry circuit on the topic of responsible dispensary operations. Additionally, he has 20+ years of sales and executive management experience in renewable and energy efficient technologies.
Rudy Roma
Rudy Roma is an organizational and marketing entrepreneur with a professional career spanning 25 years of distinguished performance in operations, marketing, product development and technology. His portfolio of achievements include; increasing revenue, driving profit improvements, customer experience and improving brand awareness. His motivational leadership style and operational expertise were instrumental in building healthy early stage venture-backed companies and in the development of several successful start-ups. Mr. Roma specializes in technical solutions, the cultivation and management and of high-level strategic partnerships, building/optimizing organizational processes, and empowering internal teams to work cohesively as well as cross-functional.