About

Cannabis Means Business

The Cannabis Means Business
Conference & Expo

NY Global Edition, Since 2014

CMB, formerly the CWCBExpo, has been the premier destination for professionals and companies who are serious about growth, innovation, and making deals happen in cannabis since 2014. As champions of a responsible, ethical, sustainable, and profitable cannabis ecosystem, we reflect the vibrancy and complexity of New York City a global hub for business, innovation, and cannabis.

CMB PROVIDES:

Meet the CMB Advisory Council Members

CMB thanks our 2025 Advisory Council Members for contributing their industry experience and insight to the CMB Conference & Expo.

  • Britni Tantalo

    Britni Tantalo

    Co-Founder and President, New York Cannabis Retail Association; Co-Founder and President of Flower City Dispensary

  • Kelley Crosson, Cannabis Advocate and Strategic Advisor

    Kelley Crosson

    Horticulturist, Designer, Consultant

  • Ken Weinberg

    Ken Weinberg, MD

    Founder, CEO, Cannabis Doctors of New York

  • Kim Prince

    Kim Prince

    Founder, CEO Proven Media

  • Kristin L. Jordan, Founder, CEO, Park Jordan

    Kristin Jordan

    Founder, CEO, Park Jordan; Adjunct Professor, LIM College

  • Kymberly "KymB" Byrnes

    Kymberly Byrnes, “KymB”

    Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, TribeTokes; Podcast Host, “The Highest: In the Room”

  • Nichelle Santos

    Nichelle Santos

    Founder and CEO, CannaCoverage

  • Sumit Mehta

    Sumit Mehta

    Founder, Former CEO, MAZAKALI

Britni Tantalo

Britni Tantalo

Co-Founder and President, New York Cannabis Retail Association; Co-Founder and President of Flower City Dispensary

Britni Tantalo

Co-Founder and President, New York Cannabis Retail Association
Co-Founder and President, Flower City Dispensary

Britni Tantalo is a woman minority New York State CAURD and SEE applicant looking to obtain a retail dispensary license as Flower City Dispensary. She is also the co-founder and President of the New York Cannabis Retail Association, an organization that aims to create educational pathways in cannabis and ensure access to resources in order to create a sustainable, equitable, and inclusive cannabis industry.

Britni is also the co-founder of Flower City Hydroponics, a retail grow store located in Fairport, NY. Flower City Hydroponics provides all equipment and supplies needed for indoor and outdoor cannabis cultivation. Additionally, she is the co-founder of MetaVega Corporation, a manufacturer, wholesaler, and distributor of indoor growing equipment and cannabis extraction products. MetaVega Corporation services hydroponic retail stores and smoke shops throughout the country. Britni holds a bachelor’s degree from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in finance and economics and an MBA from St. John Fisher University in accounting.

 

 

Kelley Crosson, Cannabis Advocate and Strategic Advisor

Kelley Crosson

Horticulturist, Designer, Consultant

Kelley Crosson

Horticulturist, Designer, Consultant

Kelley Crosson is a horticulturist, designer, and cannabis advocate. She owns KC, Inc., a consulting company based in Manhattan. From 2009-2018 she worked with major donors for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP.) MPP played the leading role in drafting, funding, and staffing the historic 2012 Amendment 64 initiative in Colorado – which made CO the first place in history to legalize marijuana for adults and regulate it like alcohol. MPP also led the coalitions that passed measures to legalize and regulate marijuana in Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada in 2014 and 2016, and led medical marijuana and decriminalization reform efforts in multiple states. Kelley also served as Vice President of the Board of Trustees for the New Jersey Cannabis Industry Association (NJCIA) from 2017-2019, as strategic advisor to Etain Health from 2018-2022, and created the class “Growing Cannabis” at the New York Botanical Garden. She has served as an advisor to the CWCBE since 2017.

Ken Weinberg

Ken Weinberg, MD

Founder, CEO, Cannabis Doctors of New York

Ken Weinberg, MD

Founder, CEO, Cannabis Doctors of New York

Kenneth R. Weinberg, MD was one of the earliest adopters among practitioners when the Compassionate Care Act went into effect in 2016. He is the Founder and CEO of Cannabis Doctors of NewYork and has seen, treated and certified hundreds of patients since. He is an emerging thought leader who has spoken around the state at numerous events and conferences including last year’s Cannabis World Expo in NYC. He has been featured on television, radio and print – is soon to publish a book about doctor/patient relationships based on his over 35 years of experience on the front lines of medicine.

 

 

Kim Prince

Kim Prince

Founder, CEO Proven Media

Kim Prince
Founder and CEO, Proven Media

Kim Prince is the founder of Proven Media, a communications agency serving B2B and B2C companies throughout North America.

The business was named one of the Top 5 Most Powerful Cannabis PR Firms by the Observer, a top PR firm by the Business Journal, and dubbed Star Makers by NV Magazine. Prince is the founder of Meet the Cannabis Press events and was named a 2023 Notable Leader by the Green Market Report. She specializes in strategic marketing communications for privately held and publicly traded companies and has a strong background in corporate messaging and public relations strategies for corporations, brands, and C-level executives. She has a passion for helping clients succeed.

She has served as the director of public relations for the Marijuana Industry Trade Association-AZ (MITA-AZ), and as a former board member of the Arizona Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. Outside of the cannabis industry, she served non-profit board positions for the Foothills Community Foundation, the Foothills Caring Corps, Career Connectors, and the Carefree/Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce. She is the former membership chair of the Arizona Business Marketing Association and a graduate of Northern Arizona University.

She was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year and the Alliance All-Star Award from ASU West and the Phoenix Business Journal. She has been a panel moderator at professional conferences throughout the country and has been an invited speaker at marketing associations and colleges to teach others how to maximize their media exposure.

 

Kristin L. Jordan, Founder, CEO, Park Jordan

Kristin Jordan

Founder, CEO, Park Jordan; Adjunct Professor, LIM College

Kristin L. Jordan
Founder, CEO, Park Jordan; Adjunct Professor, LIM College

Kristin Jordan is the Founder + CEO of Park Jordan, a commercial real estate brokerage and advisory services firm serving the cannabis industry.  She is also an adjunct professor at LIM College’s Business of Cannabis Undergraduate and Masters’ Degree Programs, real estate attorney, drug policy activist, and thought leader. Until recently, Kristin served as the Director of Real Estate at Acreage Holdings, selecting real estate sites for the company’s national footprint of cultivation, processing, and dispensary facilities, managing internal and external relationships, and negotiating and administering leases. Prior to her work in the cannabis sector, she practiced real estate law at several boutique firms and managed real estate portfolios for Kaplan, Inc., Morgan Stanley, and SoulCycle. She is a frequent speaker on real estate, cannabis regulations, and social equity and economic justice issues and in 2019 was distinguished by Forbes as one of “Fifteen Powerful and Innovative Women in Cannabis Right Now.”

Kristin’s passion for advancing cannabis reform has extended to a variety of professional and non-profit endeavors. She is the Founder and CEO of Mannada, a NYC-based cannabis professional event production company, which launched The Maze, a weekly cannabis event listing newsletter, as well as the Cannabis Summit Series including the Cannabis Media Summit, Cannabis Real Estate Summit, and Cannabis Law Summit. Kristin is also a co-founder of the Cannabis Cultural Association, a non-profit organization, and the founder of the Asian Cannabis Roundtable, a professional networking organization, both of which she serves as the President of the Board of Directors.   Additionally, Kristin is a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Cannabis and is on the Advisory Board for Shoki Brands, and Drop Technologies, both women-of-color founded brands.

Kristin graduated from the State University at Albany with a BA degree and received her JD from the University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law.

Kymberly "KymB" Byrnes

Kymberly Byrnes, “KymB”

Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, TribeTokes; Podcast Host, “The Highest: In the Room”

Kymberly Byrnes, “KymB”

Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, TribeTokes;
Podcast Host, “Highest: In the Room”

At TribeTokes, Kim Byrnes drives all the brand’s social and marketing strategy. She blends traditional marketing efforts, modern colloquialisms, and digital social culture to subliminally target customers and break into new markets in ways that many cannabis brands have yet to tap. Today Kym works with some of the most forward-thinking minds in the New York City cannabis scene: Kym sits on the Advisory Committee for the Cannabis World Congress & Business Expo, a business-to-business trade show event for the legalized cannabis industry. She volunteers and is on the committee for the NYC Cannabis Parade and Rally, one of the longest running cannabis events in the world. Kym is the NYC Ambassador for Women Grow, and frequently serves as a High Times Cannabis Cup Judge. KymB is also the host of a cannabis podast, “Highest: In the Room.”

As a Certified Pilates Instructor and Lululemon Legacy Ambassador, Kym merges her passion for health and cannabis through her “Plant-Based Pilates” CBD fitness platform. On the patient advocacy side, Kym works with Nugg MD to help New Yorkers get their medical marijuana cards. Kym is passionate about the future of cannabis and the potential impact of cannabis for women, health applications and the growth of the industry. When she’s not educating the world on cannabis, you can find Kym working out, exploring and traveling and of course consuming some of the best cannabis and CBD in the world.

 

 

Nichelle Santos

Nichelle Santos

Founder and CEO, CannaCoverage

Nichelle Santos
Founder and CEO, CannaCoverage

Nichelle Santos is an entrepreneur, business development executive in the insurance industry, practicing risk mitigation from the CannaBusiness industry, to healthcare; environmental health and safety, public policy. She has practiced as a Safety Engineer & Risk Manager in the chemical/pharmaceutical industry, protecting employees and the surrounding community through Process Safety Management, Behavior Based Safety, hazardous waste remediation, and regulatory compliance.

As the CEO of CannaCoverage, Nichelle now brings her insurance and regulatory expertise to the CannaBusiness industry to create customized risk management consulting with insurance solutions, designed to protect businesses from failure. She believes with increased efficiencies and profitability of cannabusinesses, can build and cultivate sustainability for communities. Corporate Social Responsibility to maintain public safety & health; provide social justice in action; to impact the community and environment, is critical to the cannabis industry. CannaCoverage is licensed in 20+ states and scaling across the country.

Nichelle serves as a community leader and industry advocate, as the the M4MM State Director, NJ, to further her mission in Government Affairs for pro-cannabis policy, health and safety, GMPs, and industry standards; as well as to improve health outcomes with medical marijuana as an alternative treatment. She’s a member of the NJ CannaBusiness Association; National Cannabis Industry Association,serving the Risk Mgmt & Insurance Comm; and Board Member (BM) on the Coalition of Medical Marijuana of NJ; Greater Raritan Valley Workforce Development Board; the National Forum for Black Public Administrators; and National African American Insurance Association; and Founding BM of Elect Women NJ and Emerge NJ, to increase women as elected officials. Recognized as 2023 NY Cannabis Power Player; 2022 Insider NJ Cannabis Power List; 2023 & 2022 NJ Cannabis Insider – Minority Business of the Year, Woman Of The Year Honoree; Excellence in Consulting Honoree; Responsible 100, NY City & State.

Nichelle earned her B.S. at Rutgers University, Environmental Health and Occupational Safety, and has recently continued studies at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and at the Harvard Kennedy School, in Healthcare, Evidence, Leadership and Public Policy.

 

Sumit Mehta

Sumit Mehta

Founder, Former CEO, MAZAKALI

Sumit Mehta
Founder, former CEO, MAZAKALI

Sumit is a CEO, CFO, Board Director, Consulting Advisor and Public Speaker with tangible impact on business expansion and EBITDA growth. An EXECUTIVE with tenacity and empathy who inspires teams to exceed objectives, Sumit is also an ENTREPRENEUR who built 1) MAZAKALI, a San-Francisco based Investment Advisory and Banking practice, and launched 2) Empirical Brewery, a craft beer pioneer in Chicago.

Sumit’s ABILITY TO DRIVE REVENUE spans 20+ years with large Wall Street firms (UBS, Raymond James, JP Morgan, Susquehanna) as well as smaller Investment Advisers (Fiducient, NorthRock) and his own businesses (Emerald Ventures, MAZAKALI). Sumit has built and expanded multi-million dollar revenue streams several times over this time-span.

As a BOARD MEMBER and STRATEGIC CONSULTANT, Sumit combines his multi-national experience with practical, hands-on leadership gained via his entrepreneurial ventures. A former 1871 and Arcview Group mentor, Sumit has guided and coached multiple startups to profitability and expansion. A recognized PUBLIC SPEAKER, Sumit has keynoted 50+ conferences around the world with expertise in strategy, investment and entrepreneurship.

A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Sumit has earned an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BA with Honors in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. He holds investment banking, brokerage, M&A and investment advisory securities licenses as well as a Certificate in Financial Technology from Harvard University. Sumit enjoys motorcycles, yoga and the great outdoors.

 

 

Meet the CMB Team

We’re working to build the industry together.

  • Annie Scully

    Annie Scully

    Chief of Public Relations

  • Brooke Moore, Business Development Manager, CMB

    Brooke Moore

    Business Development Manager

  • Christine Ianuzzi, CEO, Co-Owner, CMB

    Christine Ianuzzi

    Co-Owner, CEO, CMB

  • Jennifer Hoff, Co-Owner, CMB

    Jennifer Hoff

    CEO, Founder, Taffy Event Strategies; Co-Owner, CMB

  • Mary Vaccaro

    Mary Vaccaro

    Marketing Manager

  • Michael Evans, Sales Director, CMB

    Michael Evans

    Sales Director

  • Rich Del Giorno, Account Executive

    Rich Del Giorno

    Account Executive

  • Rowena Burcham

    Rowena Burcham

    Project Manager, Marketing Director

Beyond the content, our show floor takes its cue from our home: New York City, where ideas turn into action, and deals come to life. We continue to be the industry’s town hall for vital conversations on ethical growth and long-term development, bringing together business and advocacy communities to shape the future of cannabis.

The CMB conference and expo is a connection point for industry leaders, providing unparalleled opportunities to engage with the North American market and explore international ventures. 

With expert partners offering a 360-degree view of global opportunities, we empower attendees to launch, finance, and scale their businesses.

Join us at the Cannabis Means Business Conference to tackle the industry’s toughest challenges and build a thriving, global cannabis economy.

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