STEVEN L. TRENK | Founder, Managing Member
For the past forty years, Steven L. Trenk has been a business owner and a prolific investor. Mr. Trenk began his career in 1973 as a bi-coastal innovator in the non-emergency medical transportation business. He spent twenty years providing a broad range of therapeutic healthcare products and services in acute, chronic, and out-patient settings.
Mr. Trenk led early efforts in the technology, internet, and alternative energy industries, and has also been an investor in both residential and commercial real estate.
Mr. Trenk has spent the last fifteen years in the aviation business, serving the broad tourism market and the narrow charter market in New York City and Las Vegas. Now, in response to changes in legislation and the climate nationally in the medical marijuana segment of the healthcare industry, Mr. Trenk has created Lizada as a vehicle to take full advantage of this exciting and rapidly-expanding new frontier.
For the past forty years, Steven L. Trenk has been a business owner and a prolific investor. Mr. Trenk began his career in 1973 as a bi-coastal innovator in the non-emergency medical transportation business. He spent twenty years providing a broad range of therapeutic healthcare products and services in acute, chronic, and out-patient settings.
Mr. Trenk led early efforts in the technology, internet, and alternative energy industries, and has also been an investor in both residential and commercial real estate.
Mr. Trenk has spent the last fifteen years in the aviation business, serving the broad tourism market and the narrow charter market in New York City and Las Vegas. Now, in response to changes in legislation and the climate nationally in the medical marijuana segment of the healthcare industry, Mr. Trenk has created Lizada as a vehicle to take full advantage of this exciting and rapidly-expanding new frontier.
ANDREA GOLDMAN | Investment Committee, Advisory Board Member
Andrea has more than 20 years of experience with equity and debt investments, from venture stage to middle market, and has managed more than $2 billion of investments across a variety of industries.
Andrea is currently a Senior Vice President responsible for underwriting and portfolio management for healthcare banking at a major US bank. She has held senior positions in underwriting and portfolio management, deal structuring and deal execution at GE Capital, BOL Opportunity Funds (hedge funds), NewStar Financial (specialty finance) and Antares Investment Partners (real estate funds and real estate development).
A former corporate and securities lawyer, Andrea represented issuers and underwriters in public offerings as well as private companies. As a small-cap investment banker, she focused on IPOs and private placements. Andrea is a CFA charter holder and a retired member of the New York State Bar Association. Andrea holds an MBA from
Yale, a JD from Duke Law School, and a BS from SUNY Albany.
Andrea has more than 20 years of experience with equity and debt investments, from venture stage to middle market, and has managed more than $2 billion of investments across a variety of industries.
Andrea is currently a Senior Vice President responsible for underwriting and portfolio management for healthcare banking at a major US bank. She has held senior positions in underwriting and portfolio management, deal structuring and deal execution at GE Capital, BOL Opportunity Funds (hedge funds), NewStar Financial (specialty finance) and Antares Investment Partners (real estate funds and real estate development).
A former corporate and securities lawyer, Andrea represented issuers and underwriters in public offerings as well as private companies. As a small-cap investment banker, she focused on IPOs and private placements. Andrea is a CFA charter holder and a retired member of the New York State Bar Association. Andrea holds an MBA from
Yale, a JD from Duke Law School, and a BS from SUNY Albany.
BRUCE BLECHMAN | Advisory Board Member
Bruce Blechman is the author of The Secret to Getting Money in Northern California, and co-author of the best-selling Guerrilla Financing, published by Houghton Mifflin in a number of languages and used in college courses nationwide. A nationally recognized speaker, Blechman is considered to be one of the country’s top experts on the subject of entrepreneurial finance. He has been a national columnist, author of the monthly column “Creative Financing” in Entrepreneur Magazine, and host of the New Venture Money Show on the Business Radio Network, as well as a guest on numerous radio and TV programs. Articles about him have appeared in USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and other national publications. He has taught courses on Entrepreneurial Finance as an adjunct professor and has been an advisor to the California State Governor and Legislature on entrepreneurial business. Blechman is also the founder of The Capital Institute, a 22-year-old, nationally recognized consulting firm that has helped thousands of entrepreneurs finance their businesses.
Bruce Blechman is the author of The Secret to Getting Money in Northern California, and co-author of the best-selling Guerrilla Financing, published by Houghton Mifflin in a number of languages and used in college courses nationwide. A nationally recognized speaker, Blechman is considered to be one of the country’s top experts on the subject of entrepreneurial finance. He has been a national columnist, author of the monthly column “Creative Financing” in Entrepreneur Magazine, and host of the New Venture Money Show on the Business Radio Network, as well as a guest on numerous radio and TV programs. Articles about him have appeared in USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and other national publications. He has taught courses on Entrepreneurial Finance as an adjunct professor and has been an advisor to the California State Governor and Legislature on entrepreneurial business. Blechman is also the founder of The Capital Institute, a 22-year-old, nationally recognized consulting firm that has helped thousands of entrepreneurs finance their businesses.
LORI FERRARA | Advisory Board Member
Lori Ferrara is a twenty-five-year veteran of the domestic and international television distribution industry. After working ten years for one of the largest program duplication and distribution companies, the native New Yorker founded Picture Perfect Partners in Chicago. The company delivered television programming worldwide via satellite for some of the largest syndicators in the industry. Clients included Warner Bros., Tribune Entertainment, Disney ABC Television Group, King World, and Harpo. Her attention to detail, focus on stellar customer service, and entrepreneurial spirit earned her the admiration and respect of the broadcast and cable industry. Lori is now very dedicated and involved in the cannabis industry. Her passion was jumpstarted when she was caring for her husband with cancer. As a result, she spent over two years educating herself and developing relationships with several top leaders in the cannabis field nationwide. She is a member of the ArcView Group and has been actively investing in this sector. She also enjoys coaching and advising start-up companies and entrepreneurs who share the same goals. Lori brings her incredible networking skills to the table and has been connecting potential strategic partners in the cannabis industry to enable them to accomplish their mutual goals. As a current and founding member of the ILCIA Board, Lori is focused on improving regulations for business owners, advocating for the education of qualified patients, driving membership and active participation in the ILCIA. As a successful entrepreneur, Lori is dedicated to translating her knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm, as a successful entrepreneur to the cannabis Industry.
Lori Ferrara is a twenty-five-year veteran of the domestic and international television distribution industry. After working ten years for one of the largest program duplication and distribution companies, the native New Yorker founded Picture Perfect Partners in Chicago. The company delivered television programming worldwide via satellite for some of the largest syndicators in the industry. Clients included Warner Bros., Tribune Entertainment, Disney ABC Television Group, King World, and Harpo. Her attention to detail, focus on stellar customer service, and entrepreneurial spirit earned her the admiration and respect of the broadcast and cable industry. Lori is now very dedicated and involved in the cannabis industry. Her passion was jumpstarted when she was caring for her husband with cancer. As a result, she spent over two years educating herself and developing relationships with several top leaders in the cannabis field nationwide. She is a member of the ArcView Group and has been actively investing in this sector. She also enjoys coaching and advising start-up companies and entrepreneurs who share the same goals. Lori brings her incredible networking skills to the table and has been connecting potential strategic partners in the cannabis industry to enable them to accomplish their mutual goals. As a current and founding member of the ILCIA Board, Lori is focused on improving regulations for business owners, advocating for the education of qualified patients, driving membership and active participation in the ILCIA. As a successful entrepreneur, Lori is dedicated to translating her knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm, as a successful entrepreneur to the cannabis Industry.
ANDY WILLIAMS | Advisory Board Member
Andy Williams is President & CEO of Medicine Man Denver (MMD), established in December of 2009. MMD is the largest single dispensary retail marijuana operation in Denver, and grows 100% of the marijuana it sells. It is well known in Colorado for consistent, safe, and high quality marijuana sold at market-leading prices. Andy is a board member of the Colorado Marijuana Industry Group and is heavily involved in the Colorado legislative and rule-making process for the industry. He has also taken a leadership role in representing the industry in the media. You can view his major media appearances at http://www.medicinemandenver.com.
Andy is a US Army veteran. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and is a PMI-accredited Project Management Professional (PMP). Andy has extensive experience in manufacturing, process, and industrial engineering in multiple industries. He has a proven track record of leadership and success, having worked as a Project Portfolio Manager for Jeppesen, a Boeing company, where he oversaw the development and execution of a portfolio of projects valued at over $100 million annually. He was the Director of Electronic Warfare Associates (EWA) in Englewood, Colorado, where he led a team of engineers, technicians, and support staff to design, manufacture, sell, install, and service world-class EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft flight
simulators, as well as components for DOD and large defense contractors.
Andy Williams is President & CEO of Medicine Man Denver (MMD), established in December of 2009. MMD is the largest single dispensary retail marijuana operation in Denver, and grows 100% of the marijuana it sells. It is well known in Colorado for consistent, safe, and high quality marijuana sold at market-leading prices. Andy is a board member of the Colorado Marijuana Industry Group and is heavily involved in the Colorado legislative and rule-making process for the industry. He has also taken a leadership role in representing the industry in the media. You can view his major media appearances at http://www.medicinemandenver.com.
Andy is a US Army veteran. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and is a PMI-accredited Project Management Professional (PMP). Andy has extensive experience in manufacturing, process, and industrial engineering in multiple industries. He has a proven track record of leadership and success, having worked as a Project Portfolio Manager for Jeppesen, a Boeing company, where he oversaw the development and execution of a portfolio of projects valued at over $100 million annually. He was the Director of Electronic Warfare Associates (EWA) in Englewood, Colorado, where he led a team of engineers, technicians, and support staff to design, manufacture, sell, install, and service world-class EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft flight
simulators, as well as components for DOD and large defense contractors.
PAT LEONARD | Advisory Board Member
Pat Leonard is a successful businessman from Kansas and a highly regarded investor in the new legal cannabis industry. He was a Professional Lender for nearly 18 years until selling his company in 2007. Soon after, Pat began investing in the legal cannabis industry, when he purchased an interest in a medical marijuana dispensary and a grow facility in Colorado. As demand for infused products increased, Pat invested in extraction equipment and formed Canna Equipment Leasing which has leased or sold equipment in Colorado, Washington, California and Arizona.
Pat is a founding Principal of Med-West, a successful, state-wide distribution network for cannabis products in California. He now owns an interest in two cultivation facilities and two dispensaries in Colorado and is also an investor in various other cannabis related businesses such as Privateer Holdings (Leafly), Cannabuild and Island Breeze Systems CA and is a Licensee for Bhang products in California and Nevada.
"The one thing that I have learned about success is that you have to create financially profitable situations that are
good for both sides, then it will flourish. Bottom line: Make it fair! Keep it fair!"
Pat Leonard is a successful businessman from Kansas and a highly regarded investor in the new legal cannabis industry. He was a Professional Lender for nearly 18 years until selling his company in 2007. Soon after, Pat began investing in the legal cannabis industry, when he purchased an interest in a medical marijuana dispensary and a grow facility in Colorado. As demand for infused products increased, Pat invested in extraction equipment and formed Canna Equipment Leasing which has leased or sold equipment in Colorado, Washington, California and Arizona.
Pat is a founding Principal of Med-West, a successful, state-wide distribution network for cannabis products in California. He now owns an interest in two cultivation facilities and two dispensaries in Colorado and is also an investor in various other cannabis related businesses such as Privateer Holdings (Leafly), Cannabuild and Island Breeze Systems CA and is a Licensee for Bhang products in California and Nevada.
"The one thing that I have learned about success is that you have to create financially profitable situations that are
good for both sides, then it will flourish. Bottom line: Make it fair! Keep it fair!"