Shannon Swantek, CQA

Chief Executive Officer/Principal Scientist

Shannon Swantek is the Principal Scientist and CEO of Enlightened Quality Analytics LLC., who holds broad knowledge of the environmental, nutritional supplement, and cannabis industries. She has a robust background that includes 10 years of experience performing audits nationally to the ISO/IEC 17025, ISO/IEC 9001, and cGMP Standards in environmental, food, agricultural, and cannabis laboratories. Shannon has experience as a project manager, analytical chemist, and senior scientist in environmental, drinking water, and nutritional supplement laboratories as well as developing the cannabis consulting program at a primary environmental consulting firm. With a deep network of industry professionals, Shannon has participated in investor relations such as due diligence audits and introductions, helped processors and producers come up to cGMP and ISO 9001 compliance from facility design to production, and helped license-holders nationwide work with their laboratories for high quality data that is appropriate to their products.

Shannon has been supporting the cannabis industry for 6 years in regulatory, technical and quality support roles. As a cannabis industry expert, Ms. Swantek served on the Cannabis Testing Rules Advisory Committee (RAC), which advised on the testing legislation for both the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) for medical cannabis and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) for adult-use cannabis sampling and analysis and on a wider level, she assisted the Oregon Department of Justice (ODOJ), Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), OHA, and OLCC by regularly advising on policy in all parts of the cannabis-industry legislation pertaining to testing, labeling, processing, and cultivation.

Additionally, she chaired the cannabis sampling sub-committee and participated in the pesticide sub-committee providing associated sections of the legislation. She participated in industry education efforts – speaking at processor, dispensary, and cultivator meetings on the changing legislation, working with the laboratories, and educating on process control. She remains engaged in state and national efforts to support the cannabis industry as well as provide laboratory development services to help elevate the industry’s standards for credible and high-quality scientific data. She serves on the editorial board of Terpenes and Testing magazine and is passionate about providing trainings and presentations to an industry in infancy that is in desperate need of technical guidance at conferences such as the Boston and New York Cannabis World Congress and Concentration 2019 as well as writing articles for journals such as Analytical Cannabis and Extraction Magazine.

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Gary Ward

Analytical QA Specialist

Gary K. Ward is currently retired and serving as a laboratory consultant and an experienced 3rd party assessor certified by the US EPA for organics, inorganics, radiochemistry, microbiology and Cryptosporidium. He is currently consulting to cannabis testing laboratories in Oregon and California and is providing regulatory comments to the California BCC as a member of California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA). Gary has served as Director of three NOAA laboratories and was Chairperson of the Interagency Committee for Water-Data Acquisition.

While at US EPA Headquarters, he served as Deputy Branch Chief of the Analytical Support Branch of the Superfund program and was National Program Manager of the Contract Laboratory Program (CLP).  The CLP had over 100 laboratories analyzing all the samples in the national hazardous waste sites. In this capacity, he also helped develop and write a number of CLP and SW-846 analytical methods, including ICP/MS and hi res GC/MS/MS and the EPA’s Quality Assurance/Quality Control procedures. Gary also worked at Intertek Testing-London, where he was Director of Laboratories for 240 laboratories worldwide. Gary has over 140 technical publications and presentations.

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Bill Hirt, PhD

Senior Technical Advisor

Dr. Hirt is a veteran of several organizations and is a dynamic educator and manager.  He has served in teaching, technical and management roles in a string of organizations. Dr. Hirt is a highly-experienced lead auditor and assessor and training instructor for ISO/IEC 17025, ISO Guide 34 (Reference Material Producers) and ISO 17043 (Proficiency Testing Providers). He is also an evaluator of accreditation bodies for APLAC (Asia-Pacific) and the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC).  Additionally, he has been an IRCA-registered auditor of ISO 9001 and 14001 environmental systems.  Dr. Hirt is the author of 14 technical publications and has been a speaker at several technical forums.

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Michael Rochlin, RN, MN, COHN-S, CSP (RET.)

Health and Safety Specialist

Michael Rochlin is an accomplished health educator, scientist, and project risk manager with over thirty years of extensive field experience in the aerospace, construction, transportation, petroleum, medical device manufacturing, food & beverage and environmental industries. Michael has extensive knowledge and working experience in systems safety engineering, building/equipment design, occupational health, clinical medicine and research. His achievements include leading efforts on the development of EHS audit protocols including corrective action tracking systems, contractor EHS program management, facility/HVAC, equipment specialty design, researching/writing technical standards and codes (DOD, DOE, USAF, EPA, OSHA) to determine safe design parameters for chemical & physical processes, establishing safe working processes, procedures and training.

Michael has performed and validated bulk, airborne and surface wipe sampling and analytical methodologies for various chemical hazards, including lead, cadmium, solvents, silica and asbestos. Michael applies his expertise for building & equipment design and process reviews to achieve improvements, using applicable standards, such as GMP, GAMP and USP, and applies best practices to improve quality and efficiency for processors. 

Michael is a Past-President and Professional member of the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Society of Safety Professionals, member of PNS-American Industrial Hygiene Association, and active research & education committee member of the American Cannabis Nurses Association, as well as Founding Member of the Cannabis Nurses Network. Mike was recently appointed to the Oregon Cannabis Commission (OCC) Clinical Practice and Training Subcommittee. Mike also manages the newly formed Oregon Cannabis Clinicians Group (OCCG), to advance excellence in cannabis clinical practice through advocacy, collaboration, education, research and policy development.

Ron Shapira, CFA

Finance Specialist

Ron Shapira, CFA has a background steeped in actionable corporate strategy, industry research, and a consultative approach to meet the complex needs of C-level executives at start-ups and major corporate entities. His strategy and research skills have brought him to work for UBS, CMS Technologies, and Bank of America; Merrill Lynch.  He founded Mosaic Advisory Partners to deploy these skills in the quickly growing legal cannabis space where he has developed relationships with industry thought leaders and performed research projects focused on new growth opportunities.

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Niko Uman

Soil and Cultivation Specialist

Niko Uman Borrero is currently the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Green Bee Farms, a holistic based cannabis consultant agency that specializes in helping cattle ranchers switch their hay fields into hemp fields and manage their cattle using high-intensity grazing practices. After studying Agricultural Business at Colorado State University, he went on to help grow managers set up facilities at an indoor gardening store in Boulder, Colorado. Currently he works with farms ranging from 3 acres of organic hemp to 1500 acre cattle ranches.

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