CannaGather is the largest cannabis industry community in New York. Join us for a lecture style event with amazing speakers plus a great networking community. No cannabis consumption is allowed at our events, due to New York State law...we hope this will change!

Mitchell Baruchowitz has 20 years of entrepreneurial, legal, regulatory and financial experience in highly regulated industries and nine years of cannabis investment experience.  He is the founder and Managing Partner of cannabis-focused private equity fund Merida Capital Partners, which is currently on its second fund with ~$100MM AUM and is the largest outside investor in leading cannabis public companies KushCo(KSHB), GrowGeneration (GRWG), Freedom Leaf (FRLF) and leading private companies like New Frontier Data, MainStem, Emerald Scientific, Steep Hill Labs and Vireo Health.

Mitchell is considered a national expert in the regulatory component of cannabis limited licensing and multi-state cultivation operations and has architected top cultivation licensing scores in Connecticut and Minnesota. In 2013, Mitchell co-founded Theraplant, one of four Connecticut-based cultivators; Leafline Labs, one of two Minnesota cultivators; Grow West MD, one of 17 Maryland cultivation licensees, and Laurel Harvest Labs, a Pennsylvania-based vertical applicant in its pre-operational stage.  

Prior to founding Merida, Mitchell was the former Associate General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of publicly traded MarketAxess(MKTX). He was also the General Counsel of investment banking boutique Pali Capital, which had revenues of nearly $200 million and 200 employees when he was appointed in late 2009 by the Board to lead the restructuring and wind-down of the company. Since 2010, he has led numerous public and private offerings, assisted in the formation and funding of several credit funds and a $60 million REIT while the Head of Investment Banking of ACGM, Inc. and at Cavu Securities.

Mitchell sits on the Board of New Frontier Data, Steep Hill Labs, Simplifya and Mainstem. He  holds a B.A. in History from Brandeis University, and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. He also holds FINRA 7, 24, 63, 79 licenses.

Ray Correa is the Sales Director for the #1 online referral platform for patient acquisition- MarijuanaDoctors.com. He is responsible for managing sales, marketing, organizational and operational strategies to improve the overall efficiency and profitability of the business. Ray collaborates directly with CEO of MarijuanaDoctors.com and is responsible for articulating the value proposition of the company. He is 20 year veteran of the financial services industry and a former Vice president of the global investment bank UBS Financial Services where he advised, managed and consulted physicians, ultra high net worth individuals and institutional investors. He holds his FINRA Series 7, 63, 65 and life and health licenses.

Eric Reiner is a Partner at Sinai Ventures, a venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, with offices in New York City and Los Angeles with $90 million under management.