Shanelly Pena is a New York native, mother and co-founder to Higher Dining, a brand that represents the luxe dining and smoker centric experience. They create products and experiences for cannabis consumers with the intention to enhance your euphoric experience all the whilst building community.  Alongside her sister Danisha Pena, they fashioned the ownership of the Higher Dining experience by reflecting on their rich heritage and family tradition; their eagerness to travel and engage in new cultures. Since it’s launch in 2017, Higher Dining has hosted over 40 private dining experiences and Higher Yogas. Shanelly is devoted to building community through her passion of two of the most communal things in the world— Food and Cannabis. 

Mary Pryor is a passionate and vocal media expert currently based in Los Angeles and New York. Raised in Detroit, Michigan, Mary received exposure to automotive design, electrical engineering, music, digital arts and marketing at an early age. Today, Mary is a powerful and accomplished Digital and Marketing Specialist who has worked for major brands across the music, media, technology, and marketing industries including Sony Music Group, Viacom, Attention PR, City Parks Foundation, Mirrorball, Black Enterprise, CBS News, Ebony Magazine, Essence Magazine, Rolling Stone, VaynerMedia, Mindshare, SheKnows Media, McCann XBC, McCann Health, Byron Allen Group, Sean Combs Enterprises, and McGarryBowen. Having realized there was a pressing need for agencies that catered to culturally rich and niche audiences through digital and social marketing integration, Mary founded her own firms, WeFancy (consulting) and UrbanSocialista (digital marketing consulting). In 2014, Mary was recognized as SXSW’s Innovator of the Year. Mary’s goal is to provide online branding and digital trend-forecasting for the general market by empowering communities through the utilization of digital tools. She is the co-founder and CEO of Cannaclusive, a collective focused on inclusion in the cannabis industry, New York Chapter President of Minorities for Medical Marijuana, and she serves as the current New York advocate for The People’s Dispensary.

Olivia Harris is the Head of Brand at LEVO, a patented kitchen appliance designed for creating herbal infused oil, butter, and honey for cooking & skincare. Launched with founder Chrissy Bellman in Fall 2016, LEVO is now available in over 1,000 retail locations throughout the US and Canada. Prior to LEVO, Olivia worked as a Brand Strategist & Creative Director, founding a boutique agency for creative services. Olivia is passionate about empowering consumers to have access to healthier lifestyle choices and wellness routines.

Charlotte Palermino is the co-founder of Nice Paper, a high-design publishing platform that makes weed as nice as you are. In addition to brand consulting cannabis companies in Canada and the US, Nice Paper publishes a weekly newsletter that explores the people and products behind weed in addition to experts in the space that are on the frontier of what’s to come. In addition to Nice Paper, Charlotte is the CEO of Dieu X, a cannabinoid skincare line set to launch in early 2020.

Julia Kramer is the Deputy Editor at Bon Appétit.