board of directors
Tony de Veyra, President
Tony has been conducting research on hemp agronomy and horticulture since 2015. He obtained the first DEA import permit for Hemp Seeds in California as part of an M.S. program at Cal Poly Pomona in 2016. In 2018, Tony oversaw the first hemp plantings in California: 60 acres in Ventura County. Tony currently directs the WCF's agronomic research. He is focused on establishing fiber, seed and grain hemp as new crops for California Farmers and honing the best practices for regenerative hemp cultivation.
Brenda Kershenbaum, Co-Founder
Brenda has been active in the movement for decriminalization, legalization and farmers’ rights to cultivate Cannabis since 1989. Her work and activism was integral to the first publication of Jack Herer’s The Emperor Wears No Clothes. She co-founded the World Cannabis Foundation with Richard Davis in 1997. Brenda has an MA in psychology and is primarily focused on research into the clinical, medical and nutraceutical uses of hemp. Pictured with WCF co-founder Richard M Davis.
Matt McClain, Vice President
Matt has been a hemp advocate and entrepreneur since 2013. He founded the hemp apparel company Recreator and previously served on the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Industrial Hemp Advisory Board, where his insight and work on subcommittees were pivotal in getting best practices regarding sampling, testing and new variety development and certification into regulations for commercial hemp farming. His Pacifica Graduate Institute dissertation, “Herb & Shaman: Recreating the Cannabis Mythos” adds new chapters to the WCF’s growing archive of hemp culture and history.
personnel
Milan Ludovico, Executive Director
Milan worked closely with Richard Davis to co-produce the first complete exhibition of the USA Hemp Museum in 2010. Milan was Campaign Coordinator for the CCHI (California Cannabis Hemp Initiative aka Jack Herer Initiative) from 2014-2016 and is on the Advisory Board of Freedom Grow, a Cannabis prisoner outreach organization. She has continued advocating over the last decade for medical cannabis patients and hemp legalization.
MIlan holds a BS in Education and minor in Coaching from Syracuse University. She worked closely with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Catholic Charities on refugee resettlement and advocacy programs from 2000-2004.
Milan is CEO and Founder of the Cannabis Spa Association, a national trade organization created to support and educate the spa industry, beauty professionals and wellness practitioners on Cannabis therapeutics. Milan is passionate connector for the growing American hemp industry, as well as an crusader for the unification of the global cannabis community. She is the proud mother of two children and currently resides in Los Angeles.
advisers
Chris Boucher
Lawrence Serbin
Lawrence Serbin
Chris grew hemp at the USDA Research Station in Brawley, California in 1994, the first American hemp crop in over 30 years. He co-wrote the legal opinion “Hemp CBD is legal in all 50 States” in 2012. Chris is the founder and CEO of Farmtiva.
Lawrence Serbin
Lawrence Serbin
Lawrence Serbin
Lawrence is a hemp industry veteran. He founded Hemp Traders in 1993; Hemp Traders has since grown to be the largest supplier of Hemp Fiber Products in the USA. Lawrence conducted hemp fiber production trials in California in 2021.
Wade Attebury
Lawrence Serbin
Valerie Mellano
Wade is a cultivator, builder, educator, inventor and entrepreneur. Wade is the founder of Tiny Hemp Homes and Original 420 Brand, inventor of the award-winning DeBudder bucket lid. He teaches courses on hempcrete construction.
Valerie Mellano
Valerie Mellano
Valerie Mellano
Valerie is a plant pathologist, crop advisor and educator. She is the chair of the Plant Science Department at Cal Poly Pomona. Previously, she was director of the San Diego County Cooperative Extension. Valerie has a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from UC Riverside.
Conner Luckey
Valerie Mellano
Conner Luckey
Conner is an experienced cultivator, agronomist and hemp entrepreneur. He has a background in Agricultural Business and Management and is a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He is the founder of Luckey Farms.
John Lupien
Valerie Mellano
Conner Luckey
John has over 30 years of hemp related business, research and technology development. He has pioneered new technological advances for wet processing bast fiber and converting hemp hurd into nanomaterials, plastics, and cellulosic fibers. John is the Chief Innovations Officer of Hemp Ventures.
Paul Von Hartmann
Paul Von Hartmann
Paul Von Hartmann
Paul is an international cannabis scholar, activist, photojournalist and filmmaker. Paul is the founder of the California Cannabis Ministry and the author of Cannabis vs. Climate Change (2014).
Steve Sprinkel
Paul Von Hartmann
Paul Von Hartmann
Steve is the proprietor of the Farmer and the Cook, the founder of the Center for Regenerative Agriculture and president of the Ecological Farming Association.
Nick Stromberg
Paul Von Hartmann
Nick Stromberg
Nick is a horticulturalist and plant breeder that has been working with the cannabis plant for fifteen years. Nick is the founder and CEO of Beacon Hemp. Nick has a Master's Degree in Horticulture and Agronomy from UC Davis.
Ellen Brown
Craig Deininger
Nick Stromberg
Ellen is an attorney and author of thirteen books, including the bestselling Nature's Pharmacy, co-authored with Dr. Lynne Walker. She is a champion for financial reform and public banking. Her 300+ articles are at EllenBrown.com
Craig Deininger
Craig Deininger
Craig Deininger
Craig is a farmer, published author, poet, construction worker and professor of ecopsychology, Jungian psychology and creative writing. He currently works with the foundation as an archivist and writer. Craig has a PhD in Mythology and Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute.