The C-45 Quality Association has received a total of six (6) nominations for the 2023/2024 Board of Directors!
Voting will be held at the upcoming Annual General Meeting on June 27, 2023 at 1 PM Eastern / 10 AM Pacific. See our Forum or Events section for more info!
Name: Kori Ainsworth, BSc. BCHM.
Current Employment: VP of Quality and Regulatory Affairs, Cannabis Co-Pack
About Me:
Kori Ainsworth is an experienced quality and regulatory leader with success in developing quality management systems using a solution-oriented mindset. Driving growth, innovation and improving operational efficiency while ensuring high quality and compliance standards.
Kori entered the cannabis industry in 2015 after developing her Quality Control and Quality Assurance career in the food and pharmaceutical fields. She has built and mentored QA/QC and Regulatory teams at multiple licensed cannabis facilities in Canada and the US. As a senior leader, Kori provides strategic compliance direction regarding GPP, EU-GMP and Health Canada regulations to all cross functional teams to achieve growth objectives while monitoring the regulatory landscape of Recreational and Medical Cannabis programs.
Why I Would Like to Serve as a Director:
As a Board Member, it would provide an opportunity to share the knowledge and experience I have gained in the cannabis industry. I feel my contributions as a Board Member would help shape and develop the quality landscape, while providing mentorship to others.
Name: Stephanie Bach
Current Employment: President, Bach It Up Agri Consulting
About Me:
Stephanie is classically trained in molecular biology, genetics, plant breeding, and food science. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Alberta, and her graduate degree at the University of Guelph. Since then, her career has taken her through traditional and genetic plant breeding programs, indoor and outdoor agriculture, conventional and organic growing systems, food & microbiology testing laboratories, and through some international food companies.
Stephanie has been working in and around the cannabis industry since 2016, managing product launches across Canada. Most recently, she helped garner the processing sales license and research license for a producer located in Western Canada. There, she has headed up the departments of Regulatory Affairs, Product Development, and Project Management, while also supporting the Operations, Quality, and Sales departments.
With years of governance experience under her belt, Stephanie also has a strong understanding of, and ability to navigate, the regulatory and governance policies in the food, agriculture, and cannabis industries.
Why I Would Like to Serve as a Director:
I've been involved in indoor agriculture since 2016 and have spent the majority of that time since, working in and advocating for the cannabis industry. As a medical patient, the quality and regulatory aspect of the cannabis sector is incredibly important to me. I'd like to join the C45 board to help continue advocating for the the industry, in improving efficiencies and best practices.
Name: Kyle Boniface
Current Employment: Vice President Quality and Compliance, Decibel Cannabis Co.
About Me:
Dr. Kyle Boniface is an entrepreneurial "green chemist" with a passion for product development, regulatory compliance, and quality management. In 2018, Kyle earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Chemistry from Queen's University. At Queen's Kyle's multidisciplinary work developing novel green technologies for the chemical industry resulted in issued patents in the US and Canada as well as and several international publications.
Prior to joining Queen's, Kyle completed an Honours Bachelor of Science (HBSc) degree specializing in Chemistry and Business at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2012. Kyle has since held leadership positions in Canada's newly regulated cannabis industry where he focused on the development and operationalization of processes for cannabis cultivation, extraction, product development, research, regulatory compliance, inventory reporting, and quality management for sale in domestic and international markets.
Why I Would Like to Serve as a Director:
Dear C-45 Members,
I am running for the position of Board member because I am passionate about our organizations goals to promote positive measures to grow the industry and to champion sound scientific and business practices that protect public interest and wellness. I am an experienced quality professional with recent work in cannabis cultivation, extraction, product development, manufacturing, marketing, research, sale, export, quality management, regulatory compliance and leadership. I am a value-based leader who champions truth and integrity and if elected, I intend to use my experience and values as the basis to advocate for the needs of the members of this organization and of quality professionals nationally.
Name: Hubert Marceau
Current Employment: Development Director and Co-Founder, Laboratoire PhytoChemia
About Me:
Hubert Marceau is the Development Director and a co-founder of Laboratoire PhytoChemia, an analytical and research lab that was established in 2013 and licensed to work with cannabis a year later in 2014. Throughout his time there, he's taken on numerous responsibilities, including designing the lab space, securing accreditation, maintaining equipment, developing new methods, building customer relationships, and generally propelling business growth.
In addition to this role, he's also a founding member of Alchemia Solutions since 2015, a small business focused on crafting extraction systems. Hubert earned his Bachelor's degree in Natural Product Chemistry from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC), and he's an expert in analytical phytochemistry and data analysis. One thing's for sure – he loves plant chemistry.
Hubert was crucial in earning the ISO 17025 accreditation for the lab, where he implemented the right tools and procedures to guarantee accurate data management. He's also developed various methods within the cannabis industry and created open-source software to assist with the statistical analysis of data. He's shared his passion for plant chemistry at numerous conferences in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Over the past few years, he's been involved in internal software development as well, working on automating lab processes and optimizing data acquisition and retention.
Hubert has a data-driven approach to chemistry, always trying to understand patterns in the vast and complex world that is cannabis chemistry, and phytochemistry in general.
Why I Would Like to Serve as a Director:
I'm of the opinion that C-45 Quality Association is a unique association, serving not only as a conduit to the regulator but also as an educator. What sets C-45 Quality Association apart from other business associations is its role as a platform for information exchange, and I'm eager to play an active role in this organization.
As a leader in an independent laboratory that collaborates with a broad spectrum of businesses, ranging from smaller individual entities to larger organizations, I have gained a comprehensive perspective of the industry's current state. Furthermore, my exposure to non-cannabis sectors could offer distinct or supplementary viewpoints on certain issues.
Personally, I advocate for free access to information, a principle I'd be committed to promoting as a director. I envision C-45 Quality Association as a hub uniting QA and other industry members, a place where they can find answers to their questions without apprehension, thereby serving as a propelling force towards a stable and thriving industry.
Name: Jacqueline Menezes
Current Employment: Principal, 7th Wave Consulting
About Me:
Jacquie Menezes is a science and technology, government-relations and marketing communications consultant. She is currently involved in the reform of legislation and regulatory standards of the Canadian Cannabis Act and Cannabis Regulations working in conjunction with the Cannabis Council of Canada and Canadian Women in Cannabis.
She recently organized Grass On the Hill advocacy and government relations events on Parliament Hill, membership drives and a member advocacy program ('All Politics is Local'), encouraging industry members to invite their MP/MPP/Municipal leaders to visit their facilities.
Jacquie holds both a B.Sc. (Agr.) and a Certificate with Distinction in Cannabis Production, Quality Assurance and Regulations from the University of Guelph.
She believes in the power of science-driven policy-making and is a tireless advocate for professional standards and practices in biotech industries, particularly for the emerging cannabis industry.
Jacquie's background spans key areas for the emerging cannabis industry: plant genetics, processing, sustainable best practices and market development. She worked for Alpinemed/ Phivida, shepherding the organization through the early MMPR/ACMPR process. At Allelix Crop Technologies she was on the team that developed the biotech process for edible Canola production and at AGRA Industries, a field-to-table Canola process, in conjunction with CIDA for developing countries and SE Asia. She served on the research group that developed individually quick-frozen (IQF) field-to-table production for fruits and vegetables with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture. As part of the Tobacco Transition Crop research team Jacquie researched high ROI alternatives to tobacco farming, such as ginseng, greenhouse crops & vegetable production for Asian markets
Why I Would Like to Serve as a Director:
As a member of C-45, a QA professional and a lifelong cannabis advocate, my goal in joining the Quality Association Board is to help build C-45 into the preeminent voice for the science of cannabis and a primary influencer of government policy.
I'll actively promote a science-based approach to both product development and as input to the regulatory framework. I would advocate for active participation by QA professionals like C-45 in the legislative process to achieve a regulatory framework that is fair and beneficial to our industry, especially as the Government of Canada goes through the current statutory review process.
I would seek innovative ways to educate government officials, the public, association members and the industry on the safety and benefits of our products and to identify and respond to ongoing issues of importance to our membership.
As an ace networker, dot-connector and event manager I can bring the fun and help grow our association and its influence at a time when our industry is going through tough growing pains.
Name: Leanne "Brigitte" Simons
Current Employment: President/CEO, Safari Flower Company; Director of the C-45 Quality Association
About Me:
Dr. Brigitte Simons is a quality and regulatory compliance professional in support of science study-backed cannabis product development, laboratory services, and data management tools for the development of safe cannabis. Bridging expertise within chemistry, pharma drug development, and environmental testing – Brigitte has demonstrated a professional track record for cannabis industry knowledge towards building quality supply chain sustainability. Taken from lessons of laboratory quality control instrument mass spec services, analytical service contracting excellence for the Canadian federal agencies, and global sales experience in high value trade of laboratory services – cannabis is characteristic complex The toxicological implications and medical merits are studied at a molecular level by regulatory policy consulting labs and contract service findings.
Dr. Simons participated in early cannabis and hemp contracts within the agency settings Canadian Food Inspection, Health Canada, Agriculture Canada, and Pest Management Regulatory Agency. Following-on with field mass spec work with Molecular Science Corp, Brigitte established a craft cannabis quality assurance remote teams while companies navigate cultivator and processor partnerships with BC Craft Supply Co.and other early micro-licence holder applicants. Presently, Dr. Brigitte Simons is the President and CEO at Safari Flower Co, a craft-at-scale licence cultivator. A life-long drive to the right to choose personalized medicine. Brigitte received her Ph.D. in Chemical Biology at the University of Ottawa and a Kellogg-Schulich M.B.A. in operational business strategy.
Why I Would Like to Serve as a Director:
I am thrilled to declare my candidacy for a second term as Director of the C-45 Quality Association. In my initial term, I've been devoted to nurturing the Association from its early stages, actively bridging the gap between the cannabis industry and various regulatory bodies. In this upcoming term, my focus will be on expanding our engagement with regulatory entities, consistently organizing and hosting more informative events for our members and the public, and reintroducing live, in-person events such as our signature Quality Summit. I am confident that the experience and knowledge I've gained over the past three years as Director will be instrumental as we welcome new directors and strive to grow and diversify our membership.