Expert Details
Food, Cannabis, Quality, Compliance, Edibles, Manufacturing, Processing and Operations
ID: 737603
California, USA
Areas of Professional Expertise Summary:
- Project Management
- Leading in Team Building
- Operations Management
- Supply and Procurement
- Planning and Decision Making
- Regulatory Compliance
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 2 | Degree: MBA | Subject: Business Administration | Institution: CA Sonoma State University |
| Year: 4 | Degree: General Science | Subject: Engineering | Institution: United States Naval Academy |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2020 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Director of Operations | Department: Operations |
Responsibilities:Oversees all processing, production, and manufacturing operations on campus. This includes drying, bucking, trimming, jarring, pre-roll production, infused pre-roll production, concentrates, vapes and quality control of all.• Leader in Team Building: Cross train staff to work in separate departments to saving approximately $50k annually in recruiting and onboarding fees • Client Relations: Meet with co-pack clients frequently to manage procurement and delivery of material as well as production of finished goods. • Operational Management: Successfully launched 10 new brands equating to 21 new flower and manufacturing products in 12 months. Manage 23 tons + of processing wet and dry cannabis from internal farm to trimmed material. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2019 to 2020 | Employer: The Galley | Title: Director of Operations | Department: Operations |
Responsibilities:Oversees and manages all build out, co-manufacturing client set up, manufacturing and regulatory functions of the business and strategic planning for scale for this start up company.• Operational Management: Successfully onboarding clients of a variety of cannabis products such as, sauces, baking products, tincture products, topical products, and confection products. • Strategic Planning: In wake of COVID19, pivoted entire operation to Hand Sanitizer production producing and selling <$34K revenue in first week of production in tandem with ongoing cannabis operations. • Regulatory Compliance: Set up all of the QMS to include GMP, HACCP, Master Manufacturing Protocols, Product Testing for Co-Packing at The Galley leading to near perfect CDPH and local Sonoma County audits. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2018 to 2019 | Employer: CannaCraft | Title: VP of Production | Department: Production |
Responsibilities:Oversees and manages all extraction, chocolate, tincture, gel cap, ABX HiFi Hops, soda beverage production. Installed a beverage line for Hi Fi Hops (collaboration with Lagunitas/Heineken) products, procurement, maintenance, and quality assurance functions of theCurrent Company business and strategic planning for scale. • Operational Management: Grew the company inventory value 10x in value in less than 6 months resulting in no out of stocks in first time in company history. • Strategic Planning: Developed and implemented first successful (METRC certified) ERP system to trace Cost of Goods Sold as well as have a 100% traceable operation. • Project Management: Successfully brought first CannaCraft California based cannabis product production and sales in a secondary state (Colorado). • Leader in Team Building: Achieved 100% performance reviews in division to begin professional skill building within all departments, which is another first in company history. • Regulatory Compliance: Completed successful CDPH inspections and one Sonoma County inspections with no major findings. Implemented quality systems to decrease customer complaints. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2015 to 2018 | Employer: CHEVOO | Title: Operations Manager | Department: Operations |
Responsibilities:Oversees and manages all production, procurement, and quality assurance functions of the start up CHEVOO business and works closely with demand planning of co-packaging clients.• Planning and Decision Making: Completed a $1.2M facility build in 7 months from gravel to running product working with contractors, vendors, and the local municipalities for timely construction. Twelve months later, led a second equipment installation, valued at $2M, which was completed in 6 months. • Supply and Procurement: Worked with vendors to find alternative solutions and bring CHEVOO products Cost of Goods Sold down 10+%. • Leader in Team Building: Grew the labor force 4x in a challengingly low unemployment labor market. • Regulatory Compliance: Achieved SQF Level 3, FSMA, USDA Organic, Gluten Free, Non-GMO, Kosher Certifications in < 12 months from new facility opening, as well as received the OSHA Golden Gate Award. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2012 to 2015 | Employer: La Tortilla Factory | Title: Quality Supervisor | Department: Quality Assurance |
Responsibilities:Supervised all Quality Control and Food Safety programs and employees.• Regulatory Compliance: Successfully led all food safety and quality programs and audit keeping within budget and finding cost savings. Led all third-party audits, organic audits, gluten free, Kosher audits, CDPH, military, and Non-GMO audits to excellent scores for all products and no major deficiencies. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2010 to 2012 | Employer: Crystal Geyser Water Company | Title: Quality Assurance Supervisor | Department: Quality Assurance |
Responsibilities:Responsible for the Quality Control Department and supervised all QC employees.• Regulatory Compliance: Developed and maintained Hold Program, Quality Assurance Training, Environmental Monitoring Program as well as supplier raw material compliance programs |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2008 to 2009 | Employer: Smuckers | Title: Quality Assurance Supervisor | Department: (Beverage) Quality Assurance |
Responsibilities:Responsible for the plants HACCP, Food Safety, Hold, Quality Assurance Training, and Laboratory programs.• Project Management: Initiated and led the raw material and finished good sampling program. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2007 to 2008 | Employer: Land O Lakes | Title: Lab Technician | Department: Quality Assurance |
Responsibilities:Responsible for daily analytical testing of all environmental samples and finished products that were produced at the Orland cheese plant which received 1 million pounds of milk daily. |
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Government Experience
| Years | Agency | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 1998 to 2005 | Agency: United States Navy | Role: Surface Warfare Officer | Description: 4 years of training at the United States Naval Academy and 3 years on the USS Wasp (LHD-1) as a Surface Warfare Officer. |
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| ASTM - D37 Cannabis Subcommittee Leadership Santa Rosa – Role: Alumni who supports developing effective community leaders. Leadership Mendocino Women Employed in Cannabis CCIA – Role: Manufacturing/Ag, Quality Control, DISE, Legislature Committee Member United States Naval Academy – Role: San Francisco Bay Area Board Secretary Marine Mammal Center – Animal food prep, Patient medicine administration, Animal Release Shasta Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation – Animal Feeding, Enclosure Cleaning, Community Education, Animal Release Barry Kirshner Wildlife Foundation – Community Education, Animal Feeding, Enclosure Cleaning, Animal Transport |
| Licenses / Certifications |
|---|
| PCQI Certified, Advanced HACCP Certified, SQF Practitioner Certified Advanced HACCP Certified The Center for Food Safety and Regulatory Solutions (CFSRS) (Petaluma, CA) SQF Practitioner Certified SQFI (State College, PA) |
| Awards / Recognition |
|---|
| Forty Under 40 —North Bay Business Journal Woman in Business Award—North Bay Business Journal SQF Practitioner of the Year Award (Finalist)—SQFI Audit Readiness Award—TraceGains |
Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| SQF Audit Readiness |
| Other Relevant Experience |
|---|
| Computer Skills:, Microsoft Office, ERP experience – SAP, Oracle, Navision, Salesforce, Fishbowl, Wherefour |
Language Skills
| Language | Proficiency |
|---|---|
| english | native |