WHO WE ARE
LINDY SNIDER
Lindy Snider is one of the nation’s most respected experts on business development in the cannabis industry. She is a trusted, forward-thinking adviser to investors, and a successful entrepreneur with a long history in mainstream business as a top-level executive. This dedicated philanthropist is also the founder and CEO of Lindi Skin, a groundbreaking line of skincare products for cancer patients, used in major cancer centers across the country.
Before creating her own company and helping others build theirs, Snider served in senior-level roles in sales, marketing, operational and strategic capacities for elite sports and entertainment organizations, including the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, Comcast-Spectacor and the Wells Fargo Center at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.
She became interested in the business of medical cannabis while she developed Lindi Skin. In studying available treatments for cancer patients to improve their quality of life, she saw a need to develop best practices for an industry hampered by a dearth of science-based research.
Snider is on the vanguard of the legal cannabis industry’s expansion across the U.S. and in her home state of Pennsylvania. She has been actively investing since the early days when medical cannabis was legalized in only a handful of states, building a deep network of prominent executives and visionary leaders along the way.
She is well-versed in navigating challenges cannabis entrepreneurs and startups face through her extensive involvement with investment firms including The Arcview Group, Greenhouse Ventures and Manna Capital; property-focused Stem Holdings; Kind Financial, which provides banking services to cannabis businesses; and cutting-edge companies such as Lenitiv Scientific, founded by Montel Williams.
Snider chooses partners with shared goals and values. She is a champion of startups that share her passion for mentoring and elevating women entrepreneurs, which prompted her to seek out like-minded investors in the creation of Treehouse Global Ventures, a fund she co-founded that will raise capital for women-owned businesses in the cannabis space.
Her philanthropic endeavors include serving as the chair of Athletes for Care, a nonprofit founded by pro athletes who advocate for cannabis research and education, and working with the Entrepreneurship and Social Impact Initiative (ESII) to foster diversity in the cannabis industry. Snider serves on more than 20 boards and advisory groups.
LORI FERRARA
Lori Ferrara is an experienced adviser and a sought-after investor shark, a seasoned mentor, and pioneer. As a 30-year veteran of highly regulated industries—including international categories such as television distribution and cannabis, she’s lead in male-dominated industries’ via her tenacious entrepreneurial drive and fierce work ethic.
For more than a decade Ferrara managed syndication operations at Mediatech, Inc. for TV’s biggest titles, from Inside Edition to Jeopardy, Geraldo to The Oprah Winfrey Show. Moving on from Mediatech Inc., she founded Picture Perfect Partners, which delivered television programming worldwide via satellite for some the largest syndicators in the entertainment industry—including Warner Bros., Tribune Entertainment and Disney.
Ferrara began researching medical cannabis while she nursed her husband, Jim, through a battle with stage 4 tongue cancer in 2012 and fought her own way through an early stage breast cancer diagnosis in 2014. She delved into the ways cannabis component cannabidiol (a.k.a. CBD) was being used as a preventative treatment for potential relapses. As she watched the cannabis industry’s early development, she knew experienced leadership, entrepreneurs and diverse visionaries would legitimize and professionalize the business of regulated marijuana. Answering that call, she became the first female investor member of The Arcview Group, a network that now consists of 650-plus accredited investors who have put in more than $300 million into more than 300 companies.
Today, Ferrara’s Alexava Holdings, Inc., is a boutique private equity firm focused on mainstreaming cannabis businesses.
Ferrara’s latest creation is Treehouse Global Ventures, a fund she co-founded that will raise capital for women-owned businesses in the cannabis space. Her vision for Treehouse Global Ventures is to empower, inspire and mentor these female entrepreneurs while also managing a successful, female-led fund.
GAYNELL ROGERS
Gaynell Rogers is a national influencer and marketing & media relations communications expert. She is an unparalleled source for generating brand visibility as well as national and international media attention. She has cultivated extensive networks in a variety of industries including entertainment, cannabis, investing, and philanthropy. She has 20+ years of experience with thought leaders, celebrity talent, and brand names. In 2018 she was named Influencer of the Year by the Industry Power Women organization, and she was also included in the Top 100 Women of Weed by The Green Market Report.
Rogers’ wide-ranging career in publicity and media relations started in entertainment, where she managed music & film releases, high-profile recording artists, directors, producers, and composers. She worked on more than 25 feature film releases and hundreds of television shows & commercials for major studios including Pixar, Lucasfilm Ltd., Imagination Inc. - the famed Russian Hill Recording, all in Northern California.
As a trusted, established source for major U.S. and international media networks, Rogers has propelled numerous cannabis companies into the spotlight. She secured angel investment network The Arcview Group feature cover stories in Fortune, as well as instituted first national exposure for many of their new member brands including Medicine Man Technologies, New West Summit, Dixie, and Poseidon Asset Management. As head of Media Relations & Management for Harborside (California’s most noted cannabis retailer voted “best dispensary in the state”), she helped its visionary founder Steve DeAngelo gain national notice through first-time front page coverage in major dailies such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. She was also instrumental in securing Harborside’s first national cannabis reality TV show, Weed Wars (Discovery Channel, 2011), and DeAngelo’s first national book release, The Cannabis Manifesto.
Rogers also played a key role in bringing national attention to the Bob Hoban of The Hoban Law Group. Hoban Law Group had the first national TV commercial spot airing on CNN and other major networks which was a huge team effort. Her diverse roster of cannabis clients includes thought leaders, retailers, and events She also continues to work actively in music & entertainment, folk icon, 2 time Grammy winner and National Media of Arts recipient Ramblin' Jack Elliott and her extraordinary husband 8-time Grammy-winning producer and slide guitarist Roy Rogers with collaborations with John Lee Hooker, Carlos Santan, Bonnie Riatt, Sammy Hagar and Ray Manzarek of The Doors.
Rogers is forging many new cannabis investment relationships with a focus on social justice and opportunities for women and minorities. She recently co-founded a cannabis fund for this purpose, Treehouse Global Ventures.
A three-time cancer survivor, Rogers is heavily involved in philanthropy and has also served many years on a number of nonprofit boards. A very loud voice for performing arts advocacy, she is a consultant for California Advocates for the Arts, and currently on the Board of Advisors for The Galley in Santa Rosa, EZ Green Compliance in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Resonate Brands in Los Angeles. She has been a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Grammy Awards) for more than 30 years.