Garden Remedies, Inc. Launches New Catalyst Mentoring Program

Massachusetts Cannabis Entrepreneurs Receive Immersive Learning in Cultivation, Processing and Retail from Experienced Industry Professionals

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Garden Remedies, Inc.

Mar 05, 2019, 09:00 ET

BOSTON, March 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Garden Remedies, Inc., Massachusetts' first woman-led and physician-led cannabis company, recently launched its Catalyst Mentoring Program in January 2019. The program equips newcomers with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the fast-evolving and complex cannabis industry. The inaugural class is comprised of three participants – Gerardo Ramos, Erica Travis and Caroline Pineau – each approved as a priority applicant by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), which aims to ensure diversity in the new cannabis market.

The 14-week GRI Catalyst program consists of a series of in-person and virtual learning experiences and mentoring sessions aimed at addressing the unique business challenges and opportunities in the cannabis industry. Participants are paired with Garden Remedies mentors to offer fresh perspectives and one-on-one feedback. This class has access to three learning tracks—processing, cultivation or retail—with access to the knowledge of GRI's high-tech lab, kitchen, cultivation facility and retail dispensary professionals.

The Catalyst Mentoring Program is a natural extension of Garden Remedies' focus on educating cannabis consumers and the public at large about the many benefits of cannabis, and increasing access to safe, legal and natural cannabis products. "We are a mission-driven organization; it's core to our culture, and important to all of our employees. We're excited to play a role in helping this industry grow responsibly," said Dr. Karen Munkacy, M.D., Founder, President and CEO of Garden Remedies, Inc.

Meet the Catalyst Mentoring Program Participants

Gerardo Ramos is the owner and operator of Holyoke Green Growers, LLC, a cannabis cultivation start-up, and has dedicated the past 20 years to the self-study of marine biology, coral cultivation and reef restoration. He's also the owner of Marine Reef Habitat, a small online aquarium and aquaculture store for marine aquatic life. Gerardo's goal is to create a state-of-the-art cannabis cultivation facility in Holyoke, MA, to help meet growing demand from manufacturers and retail stores. His mission is to positively impact the city of Holyoke and state as a whole, by providing organic, quality cannabis in compliance with CCC guidance and state regulations.

Erica Travis is the Founder and Owner of Lily Pad Healing Arts in Shelbourne Falls, MA. Since 2009, she's helped clients achieve health and wellness goals by offering a variety of wellness services that nourish and soothe the body and mind. With the belief that plants are medicine, she's also been crafting herb-infused oils and salves for use in her massage practice, as well as a mineral-rich, nutritive tea. Now, Erica is launching a teas, tinctures and salves business that will produce herbal-cannabis topicals and nutrient-dense herbal-cannabis teas using local, sustainable, organically grown herbs and cannabis with local honey in summer 2019.

Caroline Pineau is the owner and CEO of Haverhill Stem LLC, in addition to being a marketing professional, yoga teacher and leader in sports technology. In 2010, she founded a community-centered yoga studio, The Yoga Tree, in Haverhill, MA, to create a place where the tradition of yoga could be authentically passed on, and to bring mindful individuals together. Now, Caroline plans to operate a cannabis dispensary with the same level of customer comfort, education and presence in Haverhill's downtown. As a female-run and locally owned dispensary, Stem will also revolve around community empowerment. There, Caroline will help educate adult-use consumers on the benefits of cannabis, and provide access, with guidance, to products that satisfy their health and wellness needs, personal tastes and palates. For more information, visit gardenremedies.com.

About Garden Remedies
With dispensaries in Newton, Melrose and (opening in early 2019) Marlborough, Massachusetts, Garden Remedies, Inc., (GRI) is Massachusetts' only cannabis company founded and led by a woman physician: our Founder, President and CEO, Karen Munkacy, M.D. Our mission is to help as many people as we can by providing access to safe, legal and natural cannabis products that help treat debilitating conditions and improve health, wellness and overall quality of life. We grow cannabis flower indoors to organic standards in super-soil, then formulate, process, test and package our products in our state-of-the-art cultivation facility in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Garden Remedies also offers home delivery to medical cannabis patients in Worcester, Middlesex, Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, and Essex Counties. We expect to begin adult use sales in multiple locations including Newton and Marlborough in 2019, to help more people live their best life through safe, responsible and healthy cannabis consumption.