Integrity, Excellence, Professionalism, Compliance
Meet the team
About Cannabis Trainers
The Sell-SMaRT™ Responsible Vendor Training program created by Cannabis Trainers in 2014 was the first enforcement division and state health department approved program in the U.S.
Founder, Maureen McNamara leveraged 27 years of professional Food Safety and Responsible Alcohol Service training experience to create a comprehensive, engaging program to guide organizations and individuals on working with cannabis compliantly, responsibly, safely, and smartly: Sell-SMaRT™.
A core value at Cannabis Trainers is a commitment to excellence in training, professional development, industry growth, and customer service.
Partner organizations can be confident of up to date and accurate information, with support just an email or phone call away.
Cannabis Trainers is a women owned business engaged with the cannabis community with scholarship and free or discounted training for Social Equity/Economic Empowerment licensees and employees.
We are committed to the industry as a founding member of Women Grow, chairperson of The Infused Products Committee with Foundation of Cannabis Unified Standards, a member of The Minority Cannabis Business Association, and participant in the Cannabis Cares program in Colorado.
Working with Our Experienced Team
In addition to bringing a cumulative 145+ years of training and management experience to the table, the team is dedicated to excellence in customer service.
Working with Cannabis Trainers is a partnership to deliver high value training and keep you on track all year long.
- Cannabis Trainers delivers highly interactive and compelling workshops with enthusiasm, humor and professional facilitation
- Superior, personal customer support is just a phone call away
- Experienced professionals design and deliver the RVT and Professional Development programs
- After the training - we provide extensive resources, updates, and free webinars to keep you current
- We are active in the cannabis industry working with regulators and professionals to stay up to date on best practices, real world challenges, and compliance changes
- A commitment to excellence and quality means we listen and are consistently improving to achieve the best results
Maureen McNamara wants to live in a world where compliance is a smile inducing word and cannabis prohibition is as out of style as the rotary phone.
With 25+ years of professional training experience, Maureen is the Founder and Chief Facilitator with Cannabis Trainers™. She has led thousands of workshops and inspires cannabis industry professionals to create and sell products compliantly and professionally.
Maureen and the team at Cannabis Trainers deliver highly interactive and compelling workshops with enthusiasm, humor and professional facilitation.
When she’s not empowering people to ensure the legal cannabis industry can move forward powerfully and compliantly, you can find her laughing with friends, hiking with her adorable rescue dog, learning to oil paint and pretending she’s flexible in yoga.
Amber Bacca spends most of her time wrangling plants and animals on her 40 acre off-grid property at 10k ft in Colorado.
Otherwise, she’s typically coaching individuals on cannabis compliance, but really, her not-so-hidden agenda is to promote consumer, employee, public, and environmental safety within our beloved industry.
Since 2009, Amber has been immersed in sustainability and the cannabis industry and she is finally ready to merge her two great passions.
She plans to bring the knowledge she’s obtained directly from some of the world’s sustainability greats and her own challenging and hilarious farm adventures to the cannabis industry.
Heather loves traveling and meeting new people. She enjoys hearing what inspires them on their journey.
Before joining the Cannabis Trainers team, Heather was a high school counselor, admissions director, studied herbalism, and was trained in Reflexology in Iceland.
When she’s not helping Maureen and the team, you can find her hiking, skiing, camping, making jewelry, practicing yoga, kayaking and being managed by her dogs.
She’ll be happy to assist you with any questions or getting your team members registered for our Cannabis Trainers classes.
Tony wants to live in a world where adults can easily access cannabis in a well-informed and welcoming manner.
As a Cannabis Training Expert, he’s been training budtenders all over the world and building training content for retailers and brands since the adult use market opened in the US in 2014.
When he’s not voraciously reading, digging through old record crates or cooking up a storm, you can find him fishing, hiking, and enjoying the bounty of the Midwestern US outdoors.
Look for Tony this year at the biggest and best cannabis networking events – or just drop him a note! Look for @GrandMoffTarbox through all social media channels – he loves meeting people in our industry and helping to solve their challenges and celebrate their victories!
Lisa Haas wants to live in a world where everyone is just a little more aware of one another.
As a course builder and trainer, accomplishments for Lisa Haas include successful execution of team management, communications strategies, technology integration and strategic plan goal achievements for various organizations.
When Lisa is not teaching, marketing or building courses, you can find her camping and traveling the world.
Rebecca Adams wants to live in a world where everyone feels loved and dogs never grow old.
When she’s not performing compliance audits for clients, you can find her at the beach, skiing, or at the driving range.
Her Company is expanding across the United States so you may see her at your local trade show or even in your facility performing compliance services!
Discover why compliance and risk management is necessary in the cannabis industry at www.1620partners.com.
Jamila Owens-Todd, Naturopathic Doctor started out as a Chemist, working in private industry; government and within the pharmaceutical industry. She then graduated from the four-year, Naturopathic Doctor degree program at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine.
Jamila has formulated and manufactured natural products and continues to consult in scaling production. This led to her last venture as the Research & Development Manager with a vertically integrated, Medical Cannabis operation.
Jamila provides high-quality manufacturing, practitioner and patient education on plant medicine, cannabis safety, and use and has joined St. Louis University’s Cannabis Science and Operations Program in Cannabis Pharmacology, as an Adjunct Professor. Currently Jamila works as a Consultant [Chief Science Officer] of a Medical Cannabis manufacturer.
Jamila is honored to serve on the Advisory Board for the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association (MOCANN) in addition to being a board member on JAINE, a Women In Cannabis-focused organization. Jamila has presented on a global stage on many topics of holistic health.
John Mancuso, Owner/Founder of Authentic Communication Matters, a learning and development consultancy, has worked with several clients in public and private industries, including: Grubhub, IDC Group, Valvoline, Prudential Financial, MJH Life Sciences, Consigli Construction, New York State Department of Transportation, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Lennox International, New York State Office of Victim Services, New York Presbyterian Hospital Network and New York City’s The High Line.
He last served in house as Director of Curriculum and Professional Development (internal training consultant) for the 47,000 employees of the New York City Transit Authority (MTA).
John loves the dynamism and diversity of cannabis and is very proud to be a facilitator with Cannabis Trainers, where he also gets to help new supervisors thrive in their roles.
John serves on the board of nvgnt Holdings, a business specializing in helping (cannabis) businesses navigate the complexity of ever-evolving regulation.
Student Success
Our Sell-SMaRT™ Responsible Vendor Training program for Cannabis Businesses, regularly receives positive feedback from our students.
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