2026 Cannabis & Environmental Stewardship Symposium | Cal Poly Humboldt

2026 Cannabis & Environmental Stewardship Symposium | Cal Poly Humboldt
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2026 Cannabis & Environmental Stewardship Symposium
April 17, 2026
Native American Forum (BSS 162)
Doors Open: 9am
Event: 10am - 5pm
Catered continental breakfast and hot lunch
Funded by
The Resource Legacy Fund
and
The Campbell Foundation
Register for the Symposium
The 3rd Annual Cannabis & Environmental Stewardship Symposium
is a student organized annual event designed to bring together farmers, researchers, cultural leaders, restorationists and agency representatives to collaborate on equitable solutions to support small farms and promote environmental stewardship.  Through short presentations, panel discussions and networking opportunities the symposium provides a unique opportunity for a diverse group of stakeholders to work together on creating more resilient watersheds and communities.
Panel Discussions
Cultivating Equity:
Diverse Perspectives on Environmental Stewardship
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Laura Herrera
, MPA, Merritt College
After completing a Master of Public Administration Fellowship at Baruch City University of New York and the New York State Health Foundation, Laura was invited to a family farm in Watsonville to trim during the fall harvest season 2009. She relocated to Oakland and from 2011 - 2017 she served as a Research Administrator/Financial Analyst under the UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor of Research Office. In 2017, she transitioned to full time cannabis consulting and by 2019 was contracted to work with Cannabis Social Equity programs in Oakland, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Long Beach to facilitate the disbursement of GOBiz grants.
In 2020, she returned to UC Berkeley in a multi year appointment in the College of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management to support the Berkeley Cannabis Research Center as their Digital Communications Specialist and Community-Based Researcher.
In 2024 she was recruited to be guest instructor for the Merritt College and City of Oakland Cannabis Apprenticeship Program and then hired to be a full time Financial Analyst, Coordinator of Grants & Special Programs for Merritt College where she is currently investigating cannabis workforce development pathways and apprenticeship certification through California Community Colleges.
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Kason Grady
, Racial Equity Liaison, North Coast Regional Water Board
Mr. Grady is a licensed professional civil engineer and supervisor of the North Coast Water Board’s Agriculture and Enforcement Division with over 19 years of experience administering various water quality protection programs in the North Coast Region. He has been regulating cannabis cultivation since 2014 and helped develop the regional and statewide water quality regulations for this industry; he is currently the regional program manager for the Water Boards’ statewide cannabis regulatory and enforcement program.
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Pheej Lauj
, Project Manager, UC Berkeley Cannabis Research Center
Pheej Lauj (Pheng Lor) is a Project Manager and Community Researcher with UC Berkeley's Cannabis Research Center. He also serves as a the Director at the Cultural Heritage Center in Fresno's Chinatown. He was born and raised in Fresno, California, and earned his undergraduate at UC Berkeley and his Environmental Humanities graduate degree from the University of Utah. He is dedicated to cultural, agricultural, and environmental progress, and passionate about bridging resource gaps to underserved and vulnerable communities.
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Alan Archuleta
, Vice Chairman, Mooretown Rancheria
Alan Archuleta is Tribal Council Vice Chairman of the Mooretown Rancheria, located in Oroville, CA.  Under his leadership, the tribe opend the first cannabis dispensary in Butte county in 2023.  He is the author of the bestseller, "The Gospel of Hemp: How Hemp Can Save Our World".  It is an eBook that is available for free on Amazon and Google Play Books, and is available in 179 countries around the world.  After just three years, the tribe will open their dispensay expansion, which more than doubles the size of their original building. Currently, Mooretown Rancheria is seeking to partner with hemp processing firms to help mitigate the obscene amout of waste used in legal cannabis product packaging, with biodegradable containers made with hemp.
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Dana Hauser
, Farmer and Director, Hayfork Chamber of Commerce
Dana Hauser is a farmer, entrepreneur, and rural economic development leader based in Trinity County, California. She serves the President of the Hayfork Chamber of Commerce and is an active voice in advancing sustainable economic opportunities across the Emerald Triangle, she is also a cofounder and board member of Trinity County Agriculture Alliance, a non profit trade organization with the mission of fostering an ethical, sustainable, and prosperous cannabis industry in Trinity County by empowering its members to advocate for their interests, promote their value, and support the communities they call home. Dana founded her businesses Lucky Trail Bisrtro in 2013, Hayfork Cannabis Company in 2018, and Hayfork Trailhead Apothecary in 2026.
Rooted in Northern California’s legacy cannabis and agricultural communities, Dana brings a practical, working-lands perspective to conversations around environmental stewardship, regulatory policy, and rural resilience. Her farm has been featured in national media, including High Times, highlighting Trinity County as one of the Emerald Triangle’s most authentic and under-recognized regions.
In addition to her agricultural work, Dana is expanding access to regulated markets through the launch of a state-licensed cannabis retail operation in Hayfork, coming soon in 2026. This effort reflects her broader commitment to supporting compliant pathways for small and legacy operators while strengthening the local economy.
Dana has contributed to regional economic development discussions, including serving as a panelist at a Lake County economic summit focused on rural industry and innovation. Across her work, she is focused on bridging environmental stewardship with economic viability—supporting small farms, promoting agritourism, and ensuring that rural communities have a voice in shaping the future of the cannabis industry.
At the 2026 Cannabis & Environmental Stewardship Symposium at Cal Poly Humboldt, Dana brings a grounded, real-world perspective to conversations on sustainable land use, equity, and the role of small-scale producers in California’s evolving cannabis landscape.
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Seth LaRosa
, Researcher, UC Berkeley Cannabis Research Center
Seth LaRosa is a PhD candidate in Environmental Science, Policy & Management at UC Berkeley studying cannabis policy and environmental regulation in California and beyond. He works with the Berkeley Cannabis Research Center using GIS, ethnography, and policy analysis to examine how regulatory frameworks affect diverse farming communities. Seth serves on the Technical Advisory Committee for the California North Coast Tribal Capacity and Climate Resilience Project. After completing his PhD, he plans to continue working on cannabis and environmental policy in California.
Intersection Between Research, Policy & the Environment:
Regulations and Care in California Medicine
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Chevon Holmes
, Co-Director, Transnational Research Centre on Emerging Drug Markets
Chevon C. Holmes, MA is a co-director of the Transnational Research Centre on Emerging
Drug Markets at the Loughborough University Law School, London UK, and a doctoral
candidate in the Geography Graduate Group at the University of California Davis. In her PhD
research, Chevon applies a mixed-methodological approach to interrogate how the institutional
arrangements that govern transitioning drug policies shape the legal production landscape and
their potential to support sustainable development in agrarian and remote-rural systems.
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Nathan Whittington
, Scholar, Cannabis Law and Policy
Nathan Whittington, J.D. is a lecturer in the Cannabis Studies Program at Cal Poly Humboldt whose scholarship and teaching emphasize the application of legal training to emerging cannabis regulation and environmental policy. He contributed to the drafting of Humboldt County’s first cultivation ordinance and to statewide regulatory frameworks through advocacy and policy development with the California Growers Association and Humboldt County Growers Alliance. Drawing on his experience establishing one of Humboldt County’s first locally permitted cottage farms, Whittington navigates compliance while developing case studies that illustrate how law and policy intersect with sustainability, equity, and community-based advocacy in the evolving cannabis sector.
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William Dolphin
, Researcher and Professor, Cannabis Studies, Cal Poly Humboldt
William Dolphin has been involved with medical cannabis advocacy for 25 years, providing communications and court support to organizations and individuals. He has published extensively about cannabis science, law, and policy, and co-authored the award-winning book
The Medicalization of Marijuana: Legitimacy, Stigma, and the Patient Experience.
Since 2024, he has been a lecturer in the Cannabis Studies Program at Cal Poly Humboldt and a faculty researcher in the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research.
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Adrien Keys,
Trinity County "Agriculture" Alliance
Adrien cultivates 5,000 sq ft of Sun and Earth certified cannabis on his homestead farm in
Hayfork, Trinity County.
He is a Founder of the Trinity County Agriculture Alliance, and serves as the Executive Director
and Chair of Policy. He recently retired from his nine year tenure as a Director of the Trinity
County Fair Association, and an avid mushroom forager.
Now with over ten years of cannabis advocacy and 40 years of cultivation experience, Adrien
works to bring economic and environmental sustainability to his rural community.
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Christina Dempsey
, Deputy Director of Government Affairs, Department of Cannabis Control
Christina Dempsey is the Deputy Director of Government Affairs for the California Department of Cannabis Control, where she serves as liaison to the Legislature and elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels.
Christina has been working on cannabis policy for nearly a decade, including eight years with California’s state programs. She was among the first staff hired to stand up the state’s regulatory framework and played a key role in establishing the Department of Cannabis Control, where she served as its first Policy & Research Director.
In state service, she directed a $20 million grant program, led public awareness campaigns, and oversaw development of a statewide data portal. She has extensive experience in statutory and regulatory development, public affairs, and multi-agency initiatives, and has been recognized by the California Department of Public Health for extraordinary service, including during the EVALI outbreak.
She holds an MBA from Rollins College and bachelor’s degrees from Florida State University, and lives in Sacramento with her wife and two sons.
The Relational Restoration:
Reimagining the role of Cannabis in Land Stewardship
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Dan Mar
, Researcher and Faculty, Cannabis Studies, Cal Poly Humboldt
Dan Mar is a lecturer, research associate and the environmental stewardship lead in the Cannabis Studies Department at Cal Poly Humboldt. He is a principal at High Tide Permaculture, a regenerative land-use consultation company, that is presently working with nonprofits that have received funding under CDFW’s Cannabis Restoration Grant Program. He also served as the co-director of the Regenerative Cannabis Farm Award that promoted regenerative practices within the cannabis industry throughout California and Oregon.
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Taylor Stein
, Farmer, Briceland Forest Farm, Humboldt County
Taylor Stein and her husband Daniel own and operate Briceland Forest Farm, a regenerative market vegetable garden and award winning cannabis farm in Southern Humboldt. She graduated from the University of Utah with a double BS in Psychology and Anthropology and a minor in Cognitive Science. Her studies prompted a strong interest in the impact of food production not only on the landscape but also communities and relationships. She is passionate about community food security and the importance of gathering and connecting at local markets. Throughout, cannabis has been a vital plant ally both as medicine and in farm ecology. She is honored to be raising two young boys on their legacy family homestead in a place of evolving land stewardship and rural community building.
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Ryan Bourque
, Senior Environmental Scientist, Cannabis Restoration Grant Program, Cal. Dept. Fish and Wildlife
Ryan Bourque is a Senior Environmental Scientist Specialist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) in Arcata, California. He received a B.S. in Environmental Sciences (Biology Concentration) from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, and a M.A. in Biology from Humboldt State University, Arcata, California.  Over the past twenty-five years, Ryan’s work has primarily focused on the conservation, ecology, and management of freshwater species and ecosystems, in northern California. Throughout his professional career, he has worked for State and federal resource agencies (e.g., U.S. Forest Service and U.S.G.S), academia, and private industry. For the past 10 years he has worked for CDFW as a member of the Cannabis Program and he is currently a grant manager with CDFW’s Cannabis Restoration Grant Program.
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Linda MacElwee
, Watershed Coordinator, Mendocino Resource Conservation District
Linda has worked for the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District since 2005. She works in both the soil and water programs. Her efforts have been focused on working with land stewards on implementing best management practices to restore watershed health and return wild runs of endangered Coho Salmon and threatened steelhead-trout.  Water conservation projects include salmonid habitat enhancement projects, on-farm water-use efficiency projects and rainwater catchment, off-stream water storage, stormwater infiltration, and tream flow enhancement projects.  Linda helped develop the soil health and agriculture program at MCRCD. With NRCS, UCCE and RCD partners in Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Humboldt Counties, she assisted in the formation of the North Coast Soil Health Hub. She works with the RCD Soils Team on carbon farm planning, hedgerow designs, and climate beneficial farming practices.
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Earl Crosby
, (retired) Deputy Director, Watershed Branch, Karuk Tribe, Dept. Natural Resources
Earl Crosby worked for Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy for over 20 years. He has interacted extensively with local, state, and federal government officials in a staff-to-staff capacity. Currently the Tribal Coordinator for the Cannabis Removal on Public Lands Project (CROP). He also works as a consultant.
He received a B.S. from Humboldt State University in 1997. His passion for restoration began in 1985 when he joined the California Conservation Corps. He is dedicated to California tribes inherent right in protecting, promoting, and preserving the cultural/natural resources and ecological processes upon which tribal communities depend.
Presentations
"High Productivity":
Exploring the intersections of Race, Gender, and Cannabis
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Katy Lira
, Combined Pathway Graduate Student
, BA/MA in Public Sociology
The Ergonomics of Cannabis Farming
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Dr. Whitney Ogle
, Cal Poly Humboldt
My research is focused on understanding the relationship between cannabis and human movement. I have been a prominent member of the growing research domain of cannabis in sport and exercise and co-founded the Sport, Physical Activity, Cannabis and Exercise (SPACE) research group for fellow researchers. Because of my expertise over the past few years, I have also been invited to be a keynote speaker at a conference, provided continuing education for physical therapists, wrote a book chapter on future research considerations, and have been interviewed in multiple high-profile publications such as Scientific American and Nature. In addition, I have been a member of the
Humboldt Institute of Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research (HIIMR)
since 2017 and have served as co-director of HIIMR since 2021. My goal is to take the findings from survey data on cannabis use to guide future human subjects research, policy, and education.
Tribal Communities and Youth Programs
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Tori McConnel
, Youth-Forward
Tori McConnell (Yurok, Karuk) is an enrolled member of the Yurok tribe born and raised in Humboldt County. Tori is a graduate of UC Davis, pursuing her Master's at Cal Poly Humboldt. She is currently a Tribal Policy Advocate in the tribal department at Youth Forward as well as the 2025-26 Graton HeyDay Berkeley Roundhouse Writing Intern for Native News from California. Her professional work stems from her background in local history, Native American studies, her Yurok/Karuk culture, food sovereignty, her burgeoning cultural fire practice, and her experience carrying the title of a former Miss Indian World.
Cannabis Farming in the Emerald Triangle:
The Yellow Brick Road to Legalization
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Ya Reinier,
Public Sociology M.A., Cal Poly Humboldt
This study examines how legacy outdoor cannabis farmers from the Round Valley area of Mendocino County are navigating the changing legal landscape of freedoms and constraints, along with market pressures. Ethnographic interviews with these farmers provides a deeper understanding of the challenges they are facing and their survival strategies at this critical time, as many are losing their ability to make a living.
Key Focus Areas
Regulation Impacts: Regulatory frameworks can have different impacts in practice than their stated goals. Interviews with cannabis farmers provide insight into how goals such as environmental protection and crime prevention are experienced on the ground.
Market Impacts: Legacy farmers have encountered many barriers to succeeding in the regulated marketplace. The downturn in the market has also had a disproportionately negative impact on smaller scale farmers.
Survival Strategies: Farmers bring forward ideas such as direct sales to consumers and access to dispensary shelf space. The farmers from this area have also been very active in advocacy groups and cannabis cooperatives.
Why It Matters
Smaller scale outdoor legacy cannabis farming has the potential to be done regeneratively. The Round Valley area has a long history of regenerative farming practices that have been passed on to newer generations and shared throughout the community. Practical strategies of how to support legacy farming in this area would not only benefit the environment but also the local economy. As an area that is challenged economically, smaller scale outdoor farming has provided much needed support for the community historically, and could continue to do so.
Special Guests
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Assemblymember Rogers
District 2, California
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President Richard A. Carvajal,
Cal Poly Humboldt
A certified
Zero Waste
event
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Cannabis Studies Lab
Lower Floor, Bret Harte House
Daniel.Mar@humboldt.edu
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